CSET Multiple Subject Subtest 3 Human Development Practice Exam

Learning in childhood, according to Bandura, happens through direct experience and by watching others model behavior. Bandura’s social learning theory shows that children learn not only by doing but by observing and imitating models such as teachers, peers, and other people in their environment. Observational learning can be reinforced indirectly through vicarious reinforcement—seeing others get rewarded for a behavior makes imitation more likely, even without the observer's own direct experience. In the classroom and school setting, the behaviors demonstrated by teachers and peers provide plentiful models that children imitate and adapt. Focusing only on personal experience misses the substantial influence of watching others, and treating punishment as the primary driver ignores the central role of modeling and social reinforcement. Therefore, learning arises from both direct experience and observing behavior of teachers, peers, and others in the school environment.