Note: This is the loose-leaf version of  Learning Theories   and does not include access to the Pearson eText. To order the Pearson eText packaged with the loose-leaf version, use ISBN 0134013484.

This work offers a very current and comprehensive look at the key theoretical principles, concepts, and research findings about learning. Special attention is paid to how these concepts and principles can be applied in today’s classrooms. In this essential resource, students are introduced to and see how to apply the key theoretical principles, concepts, and research findings about learning. The book begins with a discussion of the relationship between learning theory and instruction. It then looks at the neuroscience of learning. Five chapters cover the major theories of learning—behaviorism, social cognitive theory, information processing theory, and constructivism.  The following four chapters cover key topics related to learning—cognitive learning processes, motivation, self-regulated learning, and contextual influences. The final chapter, Next Steps, helps students consolidate their views about learning. Throughout, the book features numerous applications.

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Dale Schunk is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education, School of Education, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. From 2001 to 2011 he served as Dean of the School of Education. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University. Previously he was a faculty member at the University of Houston and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to his move to UNC Greensboro in 2001 he was Head of the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University. His research focuses on the effects of social and instructional factors on students’ cognitive processes, learning, self-regulation, and motivation, with special emphasis on the application of social cognitive theory. He teaches graduate courses in learning, motivation, and educational psychology, and undergraduate courses in foundations for learning and educational psychology. He has published over 110 articles and chapters, is author of Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (6^th edition) and (with Judith Meece and Paul Pintrich) Motivation in Education: Theories, Research, and Applications (4^th edition), and has edited eight books on self-regulation and motivation. His awards include the Distinguished Service Award from the Purdue University School of Education, the Early Contributions Award in Educational Psychology from the American Psychological Association, and the Albert J. Harris Research Award from the International Reading Association.  He is listed in Who’s Who in America.

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study of Learning