Gestalt
Learning Theory
Gestalt became one of the main theories of learning. The
three main Gestalt theorists (Wertheimer, Kohler, and Koffka) were all Germans, and
received their training and did their early work in
Germany, but all three ended their careers in the US.
The term "Gestalt" was coined by Graf Christian von
Ehrenfels. His ideas influenced the trio of theorists.
Gestalt was a holistic approach and rejected the
mechanistic perspectives of the stimulus - response models.
Numerous new concepts and approaches emerged from this
different philosophical perspective. The Gestalt theory
proposes that learning consists of the grasping of a
structural whole and not just a mechanistic response to a
stimulus.
A "Gestalt" is an integrated whole system with it's parts
enmeshed. The whole is greater than just the sum of the
parts.
The "PHI" phenomenon described a characteristic of things
wherein they have a recognizability inherent in their
nature. Examples include the recognizability of a melody,
no matter how it is arranged or what instrument plays it,
or the recognizability of a letter rendered in a wide
variety of different fonts or type styles. Other examples
include the apparent motion created by a rapid sequence of
stills in motion pictures, and the sequences of illminating
elements in neon signs which give the illusion of movement.
Visual and auditory examples are numerous. This phenomenon
leads to the conclusion that elements sensed are not the
only reality.
"Phenomenology" is the acceptance of first hand experience
as it is found in human consciousness.
Gestalt Learning Theory proposed several laws of
organization, which are innate ways that human beings
organized perceptions. A gestalt factor is a condition that
aids in perceiving situations as a whole or totality.
Isomorphism refers to the Doctrine of Psychophysical
parallelism and depicts the cerebral cortex as "mapping
these gestalt fields of stimuli.
The Factor of Closure suggests that perception tends to
complete incomplete objects. When only part of an image,
sound, thought or feeling is presented as a stimulus, the
brain attempts to complete it to generate the whole.
The Factor of Proximity suggests that when elements are
grouped closely together, they are percieved as wholes.
This has relevance in reading, visual arts, and music.
The Factor of Similarity proposes that like parts tend to
be grouped together in cognition. This has implications for
instruction, suggesting that learning is facilitated if
similar ideas are treated and linked together and then
contrasted with opposing or complementary sets of ideas.
The Figure-Ground Effect suggests that the eye tends to see
the objects, rather than the spaces or holes between them.
Trace Theory - This proposes a mechanism for learning in
which neruological changes occur as connections are made in
the brain. These changes, called traces, represent links
between thoughts, ideas, concepts, images, etc. REpetition
and uniqueness reinforce a trace. Thus, learning is the
creation of traces. Traces group together to form maps.
Instructional methods relating to repetition and to making
items to be learned somehow distinctive to make learning
(trace formation) quicker and more lasting.
From the early theorys of Gestalt, there also emerged a
branch of therapeutic interventions, called Gestalt
Therapy. Fritz Perls went through psychoanalytic training
with Karen Horney and then with Wilhelm Reich. He also
adapted existentialist philosophy along with Zen and Taoist
views to therapeutic work, and was strongly influenced by
Freud.
Learning Theory
Bibliography
Sahakian, 1976
Wulf, 1996
