Learning, Cognition and Technology Seminar by Gabriel S Konayuma, Munyarari Ndoro, Jarome Reitz Postgraduate Diploma in Education (ICTs in Education)Class University of Cape Town 26 July 2011 1. Definition of Behaviourist Learning Theory Behaviourism, also called the learning perspective (where any physical action is a behaviour), is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviours (Skinner, 1984). Behaviourism as applied to learners is the idea that the learner is an empty container to be filled with “the learning”. What the learner does after learning is called his “behaviour.” The behaviour can be shaped by putting various things into the container and observing what happens (Focal Works, 2011). Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate (i.e. tabula rasa) and