User:Dainaloo/sandbox

Outline
- What is Stimulus Sampling Theory? (Stimulus-Response connections)- Could I possibly use the picture from Olson & Hergenhahn (2009)? "Stimulus sampling models have enjoyed increasingly wide application in learning theory" (Estes & Suppes, 1959). - How Stimulus Sampling Theory applies in the classroom (Folding-In technique) (Generalization)

Addition to leading article
In order to develop a statistical explanation for the learning phenomena, William Kaye Estes developed the Stimulus Sampling Theory in 1950 which suggested that a stimulus-response association is learned on a single trial; however, the learning process is continuous and consists of the accumulation of distinct stimulus-response pairings.

Estes on Education
Estes proposed a model of learning that he called Stimulus Sampling Theory (SST). SST is a probabilistic model that provides a statistical explanation of how we learn a stimulus-response association in a single trial, but require more stimulus-response repetitions to build an evident unit of learning. Stimulus-sampling models aid at least two functions. One is to make experimental predictions for situations in which the stimulus elements are controlled, in part at least, by the experimenter. The stimulus-sampling theory also aids as a heuristic device for discovering effective truisms about changes in response probabilities. The general theory of stimulus-sampling assumes the existence of a population of discrete stimulus elements and hypothesizes that an entity draws a sample from this population on each trial of a learning experiment. All stimulus-response theories have stimuli that are “connected” or “conditioned” to possible responses of the entity. A natural extension of SST theory provides explanations of discrimination, generalization, temporal processes, and even motivational phenomena.

The “folding-in” technique used in classrooms today is derived from the stimulus sampling theory. An example of the folding-in procedure is a student reviewing ten flash cards (seven known, three unknown) and working through them till the student learns the ten cards 100%. After learning the ten cards, the student then replaces the three originally unknown cards with three more unknown cards. This drill is used to promote acquisition and fluency, and studies have shown that drill is extremely effective in teaching a wide range of responses.