As the exploration of my final learning and instructional design theory​ draws to a close, I have begun to understand why it was scheduled last, after behaviorism and cognitivism.  In my opinion, if social learning theory had been ahead of the other two, I would not have found much use for them.  While behaviorism and cognitivism are of vital importance and preceded social learning theory, I feel that social learning theory provides a far more effective understanding and explanation of how we learn.  While social learning theorists, such as Albert Bandura, stood on the shoulders of behaviorists and cognitivists, they also managed to take previous schools of thought regarding learning to a new level.  A level that seems to serve as the standard today.  Further, my studies of social learning theory exposed me to a seemingly incontrovertible fact; the three theories focused upon for this knowledge base are intricately intertwined and support one another while simultaneously arguing against each other.  All research has to start somewhere, and those researchers can only hope that once they are gone, someone else will pick up the mantle and carry it forward, as today's social learning theorists and researchers are doing with the works of Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky, Thorndike, and Pavlov.  I believe that social learning theory was far easier for me to comprehend than the previous theories I explored.  I feel that this is so due the ease of comprehension regarding social learning theory.  It just makes sense.  People learn from their own environments and model their behaviors after those they observe.  While observable behaviors and unobservable cognitive functions play a large role in learning, I ask, what inspired, motivated, or encouraged that individual to learn in the first place?  Are we innately wired to learn things and grow?  Or, are we creatures of replication that utilize what we experience and observe from others to grow and survive?  It is my opinion that without the theory of social learning, there is no incentive to learn.  Ultimately, the behaviorists, and cognitivists that preceded social learning theorist felt that they provided the groundwork, the foundations required to build upon, but it is my opinion that social learning theory provided the actual foundation.

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*Note - There are three grey link icons located next to the headings of each instructional design theory on the Instructional Design Infographic.  These links will take you to external resources to improve understanding on the associated design theory.