CORE Learning Theories 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The principle of 'spaced practice' in learning theory suggests that outdoor educators should:
- Cover all material in one intensive session
- Schedule review sessions distributed over time rather than in one block (Correct answer)
- Focus only on the most complex topics
- Allow students to self-pace without any schedule
Correct answer: Schedule review sessions distributed over time rather than in one block
Spaced practice (the spacing effect) improves long-term retention by distributing learning over multiple sessions separated by intervals.
Question 2: A CORE instructor uses a pre-test, then teaches a unit, then administers a post-test. Which learning model does this follow?
- The ADDIE model
- The ARCS model
- Mastery learning / the learning cycle (Correct answer)
- Social learning theory
Correct answer: Mastery learning / the learning cycle
Mastery learning uses assessment-instruction-reassessment cycles to ensure each learner achieves competency before moving forward.
Question 3: Which concept describes a student's tendency to apply a fishing knot learned in a hunter education course to a new camping task without being told to do so?
- Negative transfer
- Positive transfer (Correct answer)
- Extinction
- Latent learning
Correct answer: Positive transfer
Positive transfer occurs when prior learning facilitates performance on a new, related task.
Question 4: In experiential learning theory (Kolb), after 'concrete experience,' the next stage a learner moves through is:
- Active experimentation
- Abstract conceptualization
- Reflective observation (Correct answer)
- Accommodating
Correct answer: Reflective observation
Kolb's cycle progresses from concrete experience → reflective observation → abstract conceptualization → active experimentation.
Question 5: An outdoor educator rewards students with praise only after they have correctly demonstrated safe archery form multiple times in a row. This is an example of:
- Fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement (Correct answer)
- Variable interval schedule
- Continuous reinforcement
- Negative punishment
Correct answer: Fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement
A fixed ratio schedule delivers reinforcement after a set number of correct responses.
Question 6: Which term describes the process where a student forgets safety procedures they learned in a CORE course because they have since learned conflicting procedures from a different course?
- Proactive interference
- Retroactive interference (Correct answer)
- Positive transfer
- Extinction
Correct answer: Retroactive interference
Retroactive interference occurs when new learning disrupts the recall of previously learned material.
Question 7: A conservation educator asks students to journal about their emotional reactions after observing habitat destruction. This activity primarily supports which domain of Bloom's Taxonomy?
- Cognitive
- Psychomotor
- Affective (Correct answer)
- Kinesthetic
Correct answer: Affective
The affective domain addresses attitudes, values, and emotional responses, which are central to conservation education.
CORE Learning Theories 4
The principle of 'spaced practice' in learning theory suggests that outdoor educators should: