When enactive learning went missing, vicarious learning became a must

Abstract

ABSTRACT Albert Bandura’s social learning theory focused on the interaction of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors. This article honors Bandura’s legacy with the real-life application of his theories regarding modeling, enactive rehearsal, vicarious learning, and self-efficacy. Included are excerpts from a discussion of a group of teachers from a low-income school sharing their effective classroom strategies. The teachers discussed how learning has been lost due to the interruption of the pandemic. In their conversation, teachers lamented the lack of basic skills, such as using scissors, that students were missing and general social behavior skills, including sitting in a chair, when school resumed as “normal.” This article provides strategies teachers can use to teach or reteach basic skills and behaviors through conversation, modeling, observing, and setting expectations. Also included are practical examples of Bandura’s theory at work in the classroom setting.