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What is learning?

Published by Lindsea on January 30, 2008 in Learning, and Teaching. Tags: Kant, 

Learning, Marx, neo-education,  philosophy, students, teachers. 

Learning is the process in which a person consciously takes their self farther away fromignorance. Ignorance is the lack of knowledge, the inability to understand somethingwithout guidance from an outside force. Ignorance can also be the willful act of not

learning. As Immanuel Kant said, “Sapere Aude!” (1784 Kant). Dare to know. To take

charge of one’s own learning, or the admission of ignorance and the want to change,cannot be done without courage and self-confidence.

Who are these outside forces that guide the ignorant? Those are teachers. In Modern

Education, teachers take charge of our learning for 13 years, meeting our individual

needs, and educating us in the subjects that have formed the basis for our world. Our teachers become some of the most important and revered authority figures in our lives,

next to our parents. We learn from our teachers.

In general, learning is a popular thing. Students learn. It’s our traditional role. Books, and

now the wonderful world of the Internet, serve our understanding. They satisfy our requirements. Teachers are generally eager to teach. Teachers are the guardians of 

knowledge.

However, learning is different from thinking. A teacher can teach and teach but they can

never force a student to take the plunge into the vague pit that is critical, applied andabstract thought. A student (with the big brains that come packed onto the human label)

can enter in the methodical algorithms that make it possible to pass for a very intelligent

 person. Yes, they may even be admired by all the right people, and regarded as a primecandidate for all the right schools in all the top places. But the real question is, do they

actually think?

In the past, the leap from learning (and

knowing) to thinking has been acceptedas a dangerous thing. To all oppressed

 people, learning—accepting facts and

dogmas—helped them survive, butthinking got them killed in an instant.

My own fair sex learned all about what

it had to do in order to live in a worldlead by men. Until we started thinking,

that is. The key factor in suppression of growth is knowledge without thought. The

collective perception of a group of people jumping from merely learning to actually

thinking is what spurs revolutions. In it’s purest form it is change.

As I mentioned before, the teachers in our lives have been pervasive authority figures.

They have taught us all they could within their own human limitations. As authority

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figures, they have the responsibility to educate their students (give them knowledge that

will help them survive beyond school), and also help them think critically, applicability,

and abstractly. Being the catalyst to the thoughts of students is the most important role of a teacher, because, again, it is what changes the world.

Under what conditions can teachers retain their control, while still teaching all they canand most importantly promoting thought at every opportunity? What can lead students

away from the dangerous trap of algorithms and into the belief-questioning probe of thought?

The teaching methods of “don’t ask questions, learn!” or “don’t argue, believe!” will

absolutely discourage thought. But certainly complete freedom wouldn’t guide students

toward thought, either. Total anarchy is never the answer, I’ve found through personalexperience, because if learning is as I described (requiring guidance form an external

force), then in order for students to learn, the teacher needs to draw on despotism. (A

despotism that instead claims the gain of it’s charges, not its own personal gain.) No, I

 believe the best answer is, “Question, think, explore and dissent at your own free will, butlisten (and obey)!”. A student cannot refuse the direct orders from a teacher to learn, but

as a thinker s/he must question all the knowledge that s/he is accepts into his/her mindfrom the teacher or any other external source.

If in learning, a student applies critical thought and decides that that particular piece of 

information goes against their belief system and all ideas of truth, then I believe the

student is still obligated to learn it. Ignorance is the willful act of not learning, and withignorance there cannot come knowledge. This leads to the logical conclusion that without

knowledge there cannot come thought, and without thought there cannot come change.

The idea of a generation that does not fight to change what it sense to be wrong in the

world is one that literally sends shivers down my spine.

But I won’t ever have to worry about that, because it is impossible. If we loosely use the

analogy of the teachers being the powerful bourgeoisie and the students being the lead

masses of proletariats, then we can see that because the bourgeoisie seek to take controlover the proletariats, without providing a forum to speak through, the natural thing for the

 proletariats to do is join together. Once united, the now connected proletariats will now

have “improved means of communication…created by Modern Industry [ModernEducation]” (1848 Marx). Teachers created Modern Education, and through that, the

students have united in order to voice their opinions. I don’t need to point out that

Students 2.0 is a great example of what I have described.

In classic education, students’ voices were never fully heard because they were divided. Now, in neo-education, we retain the authority of the teacher, while making sure to

 provide opportunities for the roles of student and teacher to get lost in the greater goal of 

learning, and later, thinking; and second, to actually take into consideration the thoughts

 produced from those exercises. To teach in a neo-educational environment is to trulyallow for and encourage thinking in the classroom, which means to lose the conventional

 boundaries of classic education. It means to obey the students’ wishes as much as enforce

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the teachers own. It is teachers and students learning, and thinking together, in a way

acknowledges the connections and unity formed between the students and the world at

large. Neo-education promotes learning both at it’s most basic, and most complex levels.

learning theory

What is learning? Is it a change in behaviour or understanding? Is it a process? Here we survey some common models.

contents: introduction · learning as a product · task-conscious or acquisition learning, and

learning-conscious or formalized learning ·learning as a process  · thebehaviourist orientation to learning · the cognitive orientation to learning · the

humanistic orientation to learning · the social/situational orientation to learning 

· further reading · how to cite this article

 I want to talk about learning. But not the lifeless, sterile, futile,

quickly forgotten stuff that is crammed in to the mind of the poor 

helpless individual tied into his seat by ironclad bonds of conformity! I am talking about LEARNING - the insatiable

curiosity that drives the adolescent boy to absorb everything he

can see or hear or read about gasoline engines in order to

improve the efficiency and speed of his 'cruiser'. I am talking about the student who says, "I am discovering, drawing in from

the outside, and making that which is drawn in a real part of 

me." I am talking about any learning in which the experience of the learner progresses along this line: "No, no, that's not what I 

want"; "Wait! This is closer to what I am interested in, what I need"; "Ah, here it is! Now

 I'm grasping and comprehending what I need and what I want to know!" Carl Rogers

1983: 18-19

For all the talk of learning amongst educational policymakers and practitioners, there is asurprising lack of attention to what it entails. In Britain and Northern Ireland, for 

example, theories of learning do not figure strongly in professional education

 programmes for teachers and those within different arenas of informal education. It isalmost as if it is something is unproblematic and that can be taken for granted. Get the

instructional regime right, the message seems to be, and learning (as measured by tests

and assessment regimes) will follow. This lack of attention to the nature of learning

inevitably leads to an impoverishment of education. It isn't simply that the process is lesseffective as a result, but what passes for education can actually diminish well-being.

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Here we begin by examining learning as a product and as a process. The latter takes us

into the arena of competing learning theories - ideas about how learning may happen. We

also look at Alan Roger's (2003) helpful discussion of task-conscious or acquisitionlearning, and learning-conscious or formalized learning.

Learning as a product

Pick up a standard psychology textbook - especially from the 1960s and 1970s and you

will probably find learning defined as a change in behaviour. In other words, learning isapproached as an outcome - the end product of some process. It can be recognized or 

seen. This approach has the virtue of highlighting a crucial aspect of learning - change.

It's apparent clarity may also make some sense when conducting experiments. However,it is rather a blunt instrument. For example:

• Does a person need to perform in order for learning to have happened?

•

Are there other factors that may cause behaviour to change?

• Can the change involved include the potential for change? (Merriam and

Caffarella 1991: 124)

Questions such as these have led to qualification. Some have looked to identifyingrelatively permanent changes in behaviour (or potential for change) as a result of 

experiences (see behaviourism below). However, not all changes in behaviour resulting

from experience involve learning. It would seem fair to expect that if we are to say thatlearning has taken place, experience should have been used in some way. Conditioning

may result in a change in behaviour, but the change may not involved drawing upon

experience to generate new knowledge. Not surprisingly, many theorists have, thus, beenless concerned with overt behaviour but with changes in the ways in which people'understand, or experience, or conceptualize the world around them' (Ramsden 1992: 4)

(see cognitivism below). The focus for them, is gaining knowledge or ability through the

use of experience.

The depth or nature of the changes involved are likely to be different. Some years ago

Säljö (1979) carried out a simple, but very useful piece of research. He asked a number of 

adult students what they understood by learning. Their responses fell into five main

categories:

1. Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge. Learning is acquiringinformation or ‘knowing a lot’.

2. Learning as memorising. Learning is storing information that can be reproduced.

3. Learning as acquiring facts, skills, and methods that can be retained and used asnecessary.

4. Learning as making sense or abstracting meaning. Learning involves relating

 parts of the subject matter to each other and to the real world.

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5. Learning as interpreting and understanding reality in a different way. Learning

involves comprehending the world by reinterpreting knowledge. (quoted in

Ramsden 1992: 26)

As Paul Ramsden comments, we can see immediately that conceptions 4 and 5 in are

qualitatively different from the first three. Conceptions 1 to 3 imply a less complex viewof learning. Learning is something external to the learner. It may even be something that

 just happens or is done to you by teachers (as in conception 1). In a way learning becomes a bit like shopping. People go out and buy knowledge - it becomes their 

 possession. The last two conceptions look to the 'internal' or personal aspect of learning.

Learning is seen as something that you do in order to understand the real world.

'knowing that' and 'knowing how' 

A man knowing little or nothing of medical science could not be a good

surgeon, but excellence at surgery is not the same thing as knowledgeof medical science; not is it a simple product of it. The surgeon must

indeed have learned from instruction, or by his own inductions andobservations, a great number of truths; but he must also have learned by

 practice a great number of aptitudes. (Ryle 1949: 48-49)

Learning how or improving an ability is not like learning that or 

acquiring information. Truths can be imparted, procedures can only beinculcated, and while inculcation is a gradual process, imparting is

relatively sudden. It makes sense to ask at what moment someone

 became apprised of a truth, but not to ask at what moment someone

acquired a skill. (Ryle 1949: 58)

In some ways the difference here involves what Gilbert Ryle (1949) has termed 'knowing

that ' and 'knowing how'. The first two categories mostly involve 'knowing that'. As we

move through the third we see that alongside 'knowing that' there is growing emphasis on'knowing how'. This system of categories is hierarchical - each higher conception implies

all the rest beneath it. 'In other words, students who conceive of learning as

understanding reality are also able to see it as increasing their knowledge' (Ramsden

1992: 27).

Learning as a process - task-conscious or acquisition learning and

learning-conscious or formalized learning

In the five categories that Säljö identified we can see learning appearing as a process -

there is a concern with what happens when the learning takes place. In this way, learningcould be thought of as 'a process by which behaviour changes as a result of experience'

(Maples and Webster 1980 quoted in Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 124). One of the

significant questions that arises is the extent to which people are conscious of what isgoing on. Are they aware that they are engaged in learning - and what significance does it

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have if they are? Such questions have appeared in various guises over the years - and

have surfaced, for example, in debates around the rather confusing notion of 'informal

learning'.

One particularly helpful way of approaching the area has been formulated by Alan

Rogers (2003). Drawing especially on the work of those who study the learning of language (for example, Krashen 1982), Rogers sets out two contrasting approaches: task-

conscious or acquisition learning and learning-conscious or formalized learning.

Task-conscious or acquisition learning. Acquisition learning is seen as going on all the

time. It is 'concrete, immediate and confined to a specific activity; it is not concerned

with general principles' (Rogers 2003: 18). Examples include much of the learning

involved in parenting or with running a home. Some have referred to this kind of learningas unconscious or implicit. Rogers (2003: 21), however, suggests that it might be better to

speak of it as having a consciousness of the task. In other words, whilst the learner may

not be conscious of learning, they are usually aware of the specific task in hand.

Learning-conscious or formalized learning. Formalized learning arises from the

 process of facilitating learning. It is 'educative learning' rather than the accumulation of 

experience. To this extent there is a consciousness of learning - people are aware that the

task they are engaged in entails learning. 'Learning itself is the task. What formalizedlearning does is to make learning more conscious in order to enhance it' (Rogers 2003:

27). It involves guided episodes of learning.

When approached in this way it becomes clear that these contrasting ways of learning can

appear in the same context. Both are present in schools. Both are present in families. It is possible to think of the mix of acquisition and formalized learning as forming a

continuum.

At one extreme lie those unintentional and usually accidental learning events which occur continuously as we walk through life. Next comes incidental learning - unconscious

learning through acquisition methods which occurs in the course of some other activity...

Then there are various activities in which we are somewhat more more conscious of 

learning, experiential activities arising from immediate life-related concerns, though evenhere the focus is still on the task... Then come more purposeful activities - occasions

where we set out to learn something in a more systematic way, using whatever comes to

hand for that purpose, but often deliberately disregarding engagement with teachers andformal institutions of learning... Further along the continuum lie the self-directed learning

 projects on which there is so much literature... More formalized and generalized (and

consequently less contextualized) forms of learning are the distance and open education programmes, where some elements of acquisition learning are often built into the

designed learning programme. Towards the further extreme lie more formalized learning

 programmes of highly decontextualized learning, using material common to all the

learners without paying any regard to their individual preferences, agendas or needs.There are of course no clear boundaries between each of these categories. (Rogers 2003:

41-2)

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This distinction is echoed in different ways in the writings of many of those concerned

with education - but in particular in key theorists such as Kurt Lewin, Chris Argyris, 

Donald Schön, or Michael Polanyi.

Learning as a process - learning theory

The focus on process obviously takes us into the realm of learning theories - ideas about

how or why change occurs. On these pages we focus on four different orientations (the

first three taken from Merriam and Caffarella 1991).

the behaviourist orientation to learning

the cognitive orientation to learning

the humanistic orientation to learning

the social/situational orientation to learning 

As with any categorization of this sort the divisions are a bit arbitrary: there could be

further additions and sub-divisions to the scheme, and there a various ways in which theorientations overlap and draw upon each other.

The four orientations can be summed up in the following figure:

Four orientations to learning (after Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 138)

Aspect Behaviourist Cognitivist Humanist Social and

situation

al

Learningtheorists

Thorndike,Pavlov, Watson,Guthrie, Hull,Tolman, Skinner 

Koffka, Kohler,Lewin, Piaget,Ausubel, Bruner , Gagne

Maslow, Rogers Bandura, Laveand Wenger , Salomon

View of thelearning process

Change inbehaviour 

Internal mentalprocess(including insight,

informationprocessing,memory,perception

A personal act tofulfil potential.

Interaction/observation insocial contexts.

Movement fromthe periphery tothe centre of acommunity of practice

Locus of learning

Stimuli in externalenvironment

Internal cognitivestructuring

Affective andcognitive needs

Learning is inrelationshipbetween people

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and environment.

Purpose ineducation

Producebehaviouralchange in desireddirection

Develop capacityand skills to learnbetter 

Become self-actualized,autonomous

Full participationin communities of practice andutilization of resources

Educator's role Arrangesenvironment toelicit desiredresponse

Structurescontent of learning activity

Facilitatesdevelopment of the whole person

Works toestablishcommunities of practice in whichconversation andparticipation canoccur.

Manifestations

in adult learning

Behavioural

objectives

Competency-based education

Skill developmentand training

Cognitive

development

Intelligence,learning andmemory asfunction of age

Learning how tolearn

Andragogy

Self-directedlearning

Socialization 

Socialparticipation

Associationalism

Conversation

 

As can seen from the above schematic presentation and the discussion on the linked

 pages, these approaches involve contrasting ideas as to the purpose and process of learning and education - and the role that educators may take. It is also important torecognize that the theories may apply to different sectors of the acquision-formalized

learning continuum outlined above. For example, the work of Lave and Wenger is

 broadly a form of acquisition learning that can involve some more formal interludes.

Further reading

For this listing I have tried to bring together a selection of books that look to the main

themes arising in the literature around learning (and education). For those familiar with

Tennant (1997) (which is a set text on a course I teach!), the writers can be grouped as

follows:

• humanistic orientations - here I chosen Maslow and Rogers.

•  psychoanalytical approaches - Salzberger-Wittenberg et al provide a useful

introduction.

• the cognitive orientation - with Piaget, Gagné and Bruner 

• learning styles - Witkin on field dependence and independence; and Kolb on

experiential learning.

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views of the mind; curriculum implications; and learning and assessment processes. See,

also, Leach, J. and Moon, B. (eds.) (1999) Learners and Pedagogy, London: Paul

Chapman. 280 + viii pages; and McCormick, R. and Paetcher, C. (eds.) (1999) Learning 

and Knowledge, London: Paul Chapman. 254 + xiv pages.

Ramsden, P. (1992) Learning to Teach in Higher Education, London: Routledge. 290 +xiv pages. Ramsden's text can be profitably read by those teaching in other arenas. It

 provides a focused introduction to learning and the implications for programme designand encounters in the classroom.

Rogers, A. (2003) What is the Difference? A new critique of adult learning and teaching ,

Leicester: NIACE. 85 pages. Short and very helpful exploration of the nature of learning

(with particular attention to current debates around informal learning) and the extent towhich adult learning and the teaching of adults is the same or different from that of 

younger persons.

Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning , London: Routledge. 182 + xii pages. Good discussion of the relevance of psychological theory to adult education.

Includes material on humanistic psychology and the self-directed learner; the

 psychoanalytical approach; adult development; cognitive developmental psychology;

learning styles; behaviourism; group dynamics; critical awareness. New edition includeshelpful material on situated learning plus updates on the literature

Tennant, M. and Pogson, P. (1995) Learning and Change in the Adult Years. Adevelopmental perspective, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 218 + xvii pages. Examines

relationships between development and learning in adulthood; intellectual and cognitivedevelopment; practical intelligence and expertise; theories of the life course; autonomy

and self-direction; experience; and teacher-learner relationship. Provides a helpful seriesof insights drawn from a developmental psychology tradition.

Key texts

Bruner, J. (1960, 1977) The Process of Education, Cambridge Ma.: Harvard University

Press. 97 + xxvi pages. Argues for 'the spiral curriculum' with a discussion of the

importance of structure; readiness for learning; intuitive and analytical thinking; motivesfor learning; and aids to teaching.

Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think 2e , New York: D. C. Heath. Classic and highly

influential discussion of reflective enquiry, with Dewey's famous five elements:suggestion, problem, hypothesis, reasoning, testing. For a discussion that focuses onlearning communities see, J. Dewey (1915) The School and Society, 2e., Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

The introduction of active occupations, of nature-study, of elementary

science, of art, of history; the relegation of the merely symbolic andformal to a secondary position; the change in the moral school

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atmosphere, in the relation of pupils and teachers - of discipline; the

introduction of more active, expressive, and self-directing factors - all

these are not mere accidents, they are necessities of the larger socialevolution. It remains to but to organize all these factors, to appreciate

them in their fullness of meaning, and to put the ideas and ideals

involved into complete, uncompromising possession of our schoolsystem. To do this means to make each one of our schools an

embryonic community life, active with types of occupations that reflect

the life of the larger society and permeated throughout with the spirit of art, history, and science. When the school introduces and trains each

child of society into membership within such a little community,

saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the

instruments of effective self-direction, we shall have the deepest and best guaranty of a larger society which is worthy, lovely, and

harmonious.

John Dewey (1915) The School and Society, 2e., Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press, pages 28-9.

Freire, P. (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed , Harmondsworth: Penguin. Classic account

of Freire's position. See, also, P. Freire and A. Faundez (1989) Learning to Question. A pedagogy of liberation, Geneva: World Council of Churches. Gives an account of learning through problem-posing.

Gagné, R. M. (1985) The Conditions of Learning 4e, New York: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston. 308 + viii pages. Important study, first published in 1965, that 'attempts to

consider the sets of circumstances that obtain when learning occurs, that is, when certain

observable changes in human behaviour take place that justify the inference of learning'(p. 5). Basically a systems approach with chapters on varieties of learning (8 types); basic

forms of learning (signal, stimulus response); chaining: motor and verbal; concept

learning; problem solving; learning structures; the motivation and control of learning;learning decisions.

Jarvis, P. (1987) Adult Learning in the Social Context , London: Routledge. 220 pages.

Important attempt to ground thinking about adult learning in a sociological perspective. Auseful addition to thinking around reflection and experiential learning.

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning , Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall. 256

 pages. Learning is approached as a process leading to the production of knowledge.

Substantial discussion of the ideas underpinning Kolb's well-known model.

Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning. Legitimate peripheral participation,Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. 138 pages. Significant exploration of 

learning as participation in communities of practice. Participation moves from the

 periphery to the 'centre'. Learning is, thus, not seen as the acquisition of knowledge byindividuals so much as a process of  social  participation. The nature of the situation

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impacts significantly on the process. Chapters on legitimate peripheral participation;

 practice, person, social world; specific communities of practice.

Maslow, A. (1968) Towards a Psychology of Being 2e, New York: Van Nostrand. Inwhich he argues for the significance of self-actualization. His 'theory of motivation'

moves from low to high level needs (physiological, safety, love and belongingness, self-esteem, self-actualization). See, also, A . Maslow (1970) Motivation and Personality 2e,

 New York: Harper and Row. for a full discussion of the model.

Mezirow, J. (1991) Transformative Dimensions of Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

247 + xix pages. Exploration of some of the processes by which people can free

themselves from 'oppressive ideologies, habits of perception, and psychological

distractions'. Draws on psycho-analytical, behaviouristic and humanistic theories.

 Newman, F. and Holzman, L. (1997) The End of Knowing. A new developmental way of 

learning , London: Routledge. 185 + viii pages. Looks at learning as performed activity.

Piaget, J. (1926) The Child's Conception of the World , London: Routledge and Kegan

Paul. It is difficult to know which of Piaget's 50 or more books to choose here - but thisand The Origin of Intelligence in Children are classic starting points. H. E. Gruber and J.

J. Voneche (1977) The Essential Piaget: an interpretative reference and guide, London is

good collection. See, also, M. A. Boden's (1979) Piaget , London: Fontana for a succinctintroduction.

Retallick, J., Cocklin, B. and Coombe, K. (1998) Learning Communities in Education,

 London: Cassell. 248 pages. Explores the theory and practice of learning communities

from an international perspective. Covering primary/elementary, secondary and tertiary

levels in a variety of educational contexts, leading researchers discuss: theoretical issuesand debate; processes and strategies for creating learning communities; and learning

communities in action .

Rogers, A. (2003) What is the difference? a new critique of adult learning and teaching,

Leicester: NIACE. Very helpful, short discussion that distinguishes between task-

conscious or acquisition learning and learning-conscious or formalized learning

Rogers, C. and Freiberg, H. J. (1993) Freedom to Learn (3rd edn.), New York: Merrill.

Reworking of the classic Carl Rogers text first published in 1969. Looks at how person-centred learning can be used in schooling and other situations and the nature of 

facilitation. See, also, H. Kirschenbaum and V. L. Henderson (eds.) (1990) The Carl  Rogers Reader , London: Constable. 526 + xvi pages.

Salomon, G. (ed.). Distributed Cognitions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Path-breaking collection of pieces that explore the extent to which learning lies in the

resources to which people have access.

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Salzberger-Wittenberg, I., Henry, G. and Osborne, E. (1983) The Emotional Experienceof Learning and Teaching , London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 155 + xii pages. While

largely focused on adult-child interactions, this book demonstrates the power of  psychoanalytical insight into a range of learning relationships.

Skinner, B. F. (1973) Beyond Freedom and Dignity, London: Penguin. Probably the mostaccessible entry into Skinner's work and provides a classic account of his all embracing

vision of behaviourism.

Wenger, E. (1999) Communities of Practice. Learning, meaning and identity, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. 318 + xv pages. Substantial exploration of situated learning

and communities of practice.

Witkin, H. and Goodenough, D. (1981) Cognitive Styles, Essence and Origins: Field 

dependence and field independence, New York: International Universities Press. Account

of Witkin's very influential exploration of the impact of context on perceptual

 judgements.

Other references

Krashen, S. D. (1982) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Oxford:Pergamon.

Säljö, R. (1979) 'Learning in the learner's perspective. I. Some common-sense

conceptions', Reports from the Institute of Education, University of Gothenburg , 76.

Links

Explorations in Learning & Instruction: The Theory Into Practice Database - TIP is a tool

intended to make learning and instructional theory more accessible to educators. The

database contains brief summaries of 50 major theories of learning and instruction. These

theories can also be accessed by learning domains and concepts.

Picture - The picture of Carl Rogers is believed to be in the public domain via Wikipedia

Commons [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Ransom_Rogers.jpg]

How to cite this article: Smith, M. K. (1999) 'Learning theory', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm, Last update:

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DEFINATION of LERNING

Over the weekend, Mission to Learn quietly slipped into its third year. As befits such

occasions, I’ve been trying to spend a bit of time reflecting on how the site has changedover time and where I’d like to take it going forward. One thing that occurred to me is

that, in spite of this being a site about learning, I’ve never actually offered a definition

here of what I mean by “learning.” So here’s my definition:

Learning is the lifelong process of transforming information and experience into

knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes.

I might add to that:

• It is not dependent upon classes and courses – though these can be very useful

tools for learning

• It does not require a degree, certificate, or grade to prove its worth – though

clearly these have social value that most people would be unwise to ignore

• It does require – in varying degrees, and in varying times and circumstances – 

activities like practice, reflection, interaction with the environment (in the broadest sense), and social interaction. The latter, in particular, can be greatly

facilitated by the range of new technologies for communication and collaborationnow available to us.

• It does not always – probably not even most of the time – happen consciously – 

though I think that those who strive for a more conscious approach to learning

throughout their lives – whether at work  or otherwise – tend to be more successfulin pretty much whatever way they define success.

I think that pretty well sums up the view of learning that drives my efforts here at

Mission to Learn. What do you think? Does this capture your view of learning? What

would you add or take away?

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So what is ‘Learning’?

This is tricky. When I started what developed into these sites, I adopted rather arbitrarilythe definition from what was then probably the most popular psychology textbook. I

wrote;

"a relatively permanent change in behavior (sic.; it's American of course) that results

from practise." (Atkinson et al 1993). This is of course arguable, particularly the"practice" criterion. Others would accept changes in "capability" or even simple

"knowledge" or "understanding", even if it is not manifest in behaviour. It is however an

important criterion that "learned" behaviour is not pre-programmed or wholly instinctive(not a word used much nowadays), even if an instinctual drive underpins it. Behaviour 

can also change as a result of maturation—simple growing-up—without being totally

learned. Think of the changing attitude of children and adolescents to opposite-sex peers.

Whatever the case, there has to be interaction with the environment.

But we are becoming more confused: evidence from genetics, evolutionary psychologyand neuroscience is arguing ever more strongly for predispositions for our behaviour.

Locke’s tabula rasa is getting dirtier by the minute: this is one of those areas for which

Mark Twain’s (attributed) comment might have been coined:

“Many researchers have already cast much darkness upon this subject, and it is probable

that if they continue, that we shall soon know nothing at all about it”

Even if psychologists ever agree about what learning is, in practice educationalists won't,

 because education introduces prescriptive notions about specifying what ought to belearnt, and there is considerable dispute about whether this ought only to be what the

teacher wants the learner to learn (implicit in  behavioural models), or what the learner wants to learn (as in humanistic models).

For a useful comment see this parallel page from infed.orgThere is a radical view that anyself-organising system adapting to its environment is "learning": the autopoietic theory of 

Maturana and Varela. Click here for an external introductory tutorialOn the "tabula rasa"

or "blank slate".

I seriously distrust the use of dictionary definitions, particularly when they are used toshort-cut legitimate debate in an academic context (Scheffler, 1960—no, it's not in the

 bibliography. Look it up for yourself...). Like Humpty-Dumpty's view "learning" means

whatever the user meant by it, and few people are prepared to be constrained bydictionary definitions.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I

choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different

things.'

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`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master - - that's all.'

So let's just think about a few general characteristics; (you can expand the pointsyourself, of course)

• It's about change. Yes, I think that is agreed. ...Isn't it?...

• in behaviour. Tricky. It may be in a "capacity for" behaviour which is never 

actually translated into action. There may be many kinds of behaviour whichmight count as evidence of having learned an underlying principle. No-one else

might ever know how much of behaviour is due to learning, or at what level.

Someone mutilates herself (sorry, it's more often a woman, I have learned—what

does that mean?) Was that accounted for by her "learning" her worthlessness in aloveless and abusive family. Apart from anything else, this is a tricky issue for 

assessment. How do you test whether someone has learned a skill or procedure

you hope they will never have to exercise (remember the "kiss your a**e goodbye

drills on planes?)?• Which more or less sticks; I've just gone for another glass of wine as I think 

through how I am going to put this. I know from experience that if I have a drink while writing on line, I don't post the result until next morning. Where is the

learning? Is the possibility of changed behaviour as a result of alcohol "learning"?

Or is the learning in the strategy of not posting ? (See here!)

• and is the product of interaction with the organism's environment. Sorry to refer 

to you as an "organism", although of course you are. That is just a reminder that

learning is not only a human achievement. But many organisms, including

humans, simply "grow up" or "mature". They thereby achieve capabilities whichare changes in behaviour which are more or less permanent for the life of the

organism, but are not learned. I'm thinking most obviously here of insects such as butterflies or dragonflies which change through their life cycle. For them,"learning" is Darwinian "natural selection". So perhaps we need to specify

• within an organism's lifespan? As I write (May 2009) there is a great kerfuffle

about the expenses of Members of Parliament in the UK. Many prominent politicians are declaring that "we must learn the lessons..." Indeed, I hope there

will be change, but... do institutions learn in the same way as individuals? That is

 beyond the scope of this site, but see Senge...)

What is Taught and what is Learned

It is a simple point that what is taught is not the same as what the students learn, but itdoes have a number of implications.

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In the figure above, it is clear that some of what we teach is wasted effort: but thediagram is a representation of only one learner’s learning. It may be that within a class as

a whole, everything we teach is learned, by someone. The shape representing the teaching

is smaller than that for learning, because students are also learning from other sources,including colleagues and the sheer experience of being in the educational system, as well

as more conventional other resources such as books.

It is an open question in any given case as to whether what they learn apart from what

they are taught is a "good" thing or not. It includes the “hidden curriculum”, which is a phrase used by Snyder (1971) to describe what students learn by default in educational

settings. His original observations at MIT in the late 'fifties were about how students with

an over-loaded curriculum acquired survival tactics to get through their courses, such asmugging up only the parts which were likely to come up in the exams, and thus losing the

 point of much of the teaching. This selective learning is one of the characteristics of what

is now called "surface learning", although that tends to be seen as an attribute of the

learner — Snyder saw it as a problem of the institution.

From a sociological (Marxist) rather than primarily educational perspective, Bowles andGintis (1976) suggested that all US schooling has a hidden curriculum dictated by the

demands of a capitalist economy. More recently, critical theorists have sought to exposethe hidden assumptions behind curricula (see, for example, Collins (1991) — see also

Cultural Considerations). Some of the work seems marginal and academically political,

 but there is no denying that teachers' strategies, such as labelling, can have a profound

effect on a student's experience. Claxton (1996) has convincingly argued that adultlearning is profoundly influenced by “implicit theories of learning” acquired at school,

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and that teachers tend to reproduce their implicit models in the ways in which they

themselves go on to teach.

Read more: What is learning?

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/whatlearn.htm#ixzz1S38OoGfe Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

TYPES OF LEARNING 

1) Perceptual learning – ability to learn to recognize stimuli that have been seen

 before

• Primary function is to identify and categorize objects and situations

• Changes within the sensory systems of the brain

2) Stimulus-response learning – ability to learn to perform a particular behavior 

when a certain stimulus is present

• Establishment of connections between sensory systems and motor systems• Classical conditioning – association between two stimuli

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o Unconditioned Stimulus (US), Unconditioned Response (UR),

Conditioned Stimulus (CS), Conditioned Response (CR)

o Hebb rule – if a synapse repeatedly becomes active at about the same

time that the postsynaptic neuron fires, changes will take place in the

structure or chemistry of the synapse that will strengthen it (see Figure

14.1)o Rabbit experiment – tone paired with puff of air 

• Instrumental conditioning – association between a response and a stimulus;

allows an organism to adjust its behavior according to the consequences of that behavior 

o Reinforcement – positive and negative

o Punishment

3) Motor learning – establishment of changes within the motor system

4) Relational learning – involves connections between different areas of the

association cortex

5) Spatial learning – involves learning about the relations among many stimuli

6) Episodic learning – remembering sequences of events that we witness

7) Observational learning – learning by watching and imitation other people

LONG-TERM POTENTIATION

• long-term increase in the excitability of a neuron to a particular synaptic input

caused by repeated high-frequency activity of that input

• hippocampal formation - specialized region of the limbic cortex located in the

temporal lobe. It contains:o entorhinal cortex whose axons grow toward the dentate gyrus, forming

the perforant path

o dentate gyrus projects to pyramidal cells in CA3

o pyramidal cells project both to CA1 and to basal forebrain

• associative long-term potentiation - produced by association in time between 2

sets of synapses; weaker strengthens after being paired with stronger synapse

• series of pulses delivered at a high rate all in one burst will produce long-term

 potentiation, but not the same number of pulses given at a slow rateo there are aftereffects which serve to prime future pulses by depolarizing

the postsynaptic membrane

o long-term potentiation requires two events:

1. activation of synapses

1. depolarization of the postsynaptic neuron

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• NMDA receptors - type of glutamate receptor, critical in long-term potentiation

o found in hippocampus, mostly CA1

o controls a calcium ion channel which normally is blocked by a magnesium

ion

o even the channel is stimulated by glutamate, calcium ions can’t get past

the magnesiumo  but, if the membrane is depolarized, then the magnesium is ejected and the

channel can admit calcium ions

o therefore, need both glutamate and depolarization to admit calcium

o calcium is critical for long-term potentiation - both necessary and

sufficient

entry of calcium activates some calcium dependent enzymes

1) protein kinase C (PKC) - normally in

cytoplasm, activated by calcium to increase

synaptic transmission

2) CaM-KII - when activated by calcium itremains active even after calcium is gone,

until deactivated by another enzyme

3) tyrosine kinase - also plays a role in

long-term potentiation

o nitric oxide - soluble gas used as a messenger in various parts of the body

 produced by nitric oxide synthase in postsynaptic cell,

communicates with presynaptic terminal buttons - retrograde

effecto dendritic "spikes" - what are they? How do they happen? Why are they

significant?

AMPA receptors - control sodium channels - involved once long-term potentiation hasoccurred

Long-term depression - low-frequency stimulation of the synaptic inputs to a cell can

decrease their strength; opposite of Hebb rule - weak synapses not associated with strong

ones become weaker 

PERCEPTUAL LEARNING 

• Involves learning about things, not what to do when they are present

• Simple perceptual learning, recognizing stimuli, takes place in appropriate regions

of sensory association cortex

1) Visual Learning 

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• inferior temporal cortex - necessary for visual pattern discrimination, receives

info from visual cortex

• ventral/dorsal streams - what and where

• delayed matching-to-sample task - requires that stimulus be remembered for a

 period of time

o

"remembering" the stimulus involves a neuronal circuit; it is the circuits,not the individual neurons that recognize particular stimuli

o lesions of inferior temporal cortex disrupts an animal’s ability to

remember what it has just seeno electrical stimulation of the inferior temporal cortex during the delay

causes forgetting

• responses of single neurons in inferior temporal cortex recorded when pairs of stimuli shown

o found that when stimuli are paired, the neural circuits responsible for 

recognizing them become linked together 

o  perception of either stimulus activates both circuits

•

visual long-term memory involves the establishment of new circuits in the inferior temporal cortex by means of synaptic changes

2) Auditory Learning 

• auditory learning tasks modify response characteristics of neurons in various partsof the auditory system

o study pairing tones with shock 

 pretraining, neuron responds best to 9.5 Hz tone CS is 9-Hz tone, paired with shock 

after training, neuron now responds best to 9-Hz tone, and less to

9.5 Hz• medial division of the medial geniculate nucleus (MGm) - important for 

classically conditioned emotional responses

o receives info from auditory and somatosensory systems

o directly connected to the central nucleus of the amygdala

o which activates the nucleus basalis

o nucleus basalis contains acetylcholine neurons which innervate auditory

cortex, telling it to pay particular attention to the ventral division of the

medial geniculate nucleus (conveys auditory information)

S-R LEARNING 

1) Classical Conditioning 

• central nucleus of the amygdala involved in classically-conditioned emotionalresponses

• see figure 14.29 -MGm eceives auditory and somatosensory info

•  pairing of tone and footshock increases responses to CS

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• extinction - somehow, NMDA receptors again involved - most likely due to long-

term depression

2) Instrumental Conditioning and Motor Learning 

•

2 pathways exist between sensory association cortex and motor associationcortex:

1) direct trascortical connections - short-term memory, and with hippocampus

involved in episodic memory

2) via basal ganglia and thalamus - used once no longer "new" learning;Parkinson's example

• premotor cortex - monkeys raising arms for food; humans learning motor task 

• reinforcement:

•

reinforcing brain stimulation discovered by Olds and Milner in 1954• medial forebrain bundle - best place for self-stimulation; also involved in

natural reinforcers, such as food, water, or sex

• dopamine - likely serves as a neuromodulator, involved in reinforcement -

receptors in nucleus accumbens

o conditioned place preference - animals prefer to be where they have

encountered a reinforcing stimulus

o this process used to test influence of dopamine on reinforcement

o if given dopamine antagonist during place training, don’t develop

conditioned place preference

o also involved in negative reinforcement - dopamine antagonists prevent

avoidance learningo amphetamine is a dopamine agonist - animals will work to get injections

of it drug discrimination procedure - train animals to press a certain

lever to receive food after it has been given a drug and to press

another lever after it has been given saline found that rats would press drug lever only if amphetamine put

directly into nucleus accumbens, rather than other brain structure

they pushed the saline lever if they also had been given a dopaminereceptor blocker with the amphetamine into the nucleus accumbens

REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM 

• must be able to first detect and then respond to reinforcement opportunities

• ventral tegmentum area - reinforcing stimuli activate neurons here, which they

stimulate release of dopamine in other systemso neurons activated by both natural and conditioned reinforcers

o information received from 3 sites:

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1) amygdala - involved in detection of CS for 

reinforcement - if monkeys trained that food follows a

visual stimulus, then amygdala lesioned, the monkeyforgets the association

2) lateral hypothalamus - neurons become active whenmonkeys see food, but only when hungry - neurons show

sensory-specific satiety; activity related to presence of reinforcing stimuli

3) prefrontal cortex - secretes excitatory glutamate, which

triggers bursts of dopamine to be released from neurons in

the ventral tegmental area into the nucleus accumbens; mayserve as monitor for reinforcement-seeking activity

• a reinforcement system is required by instrumental conditioning

1) discriminative stimulus activates weak synapse

2) circumstance that causes animal to press lever activates a strong

synapse

3) if behavior is reinforced, then neurotransmitter/neuromodulator released

(dopamine), causing synaptic changes, strengthening weak synapses

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Types of Learning Styles Types of Learning Styles: The Three Main Types

There are three main types of learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Most

 people learn best through a combination of the three types of learning styles, but

everybody is different.

Auditory Learners: Hear

Auditory learners would rather listen to things being explained than read about them.

Reciting information out loud and having music in the background may be a commonstudy method. Other noises may become a distraction resulting in a need for a relatively

quiet place.

Visual Learners: See

Visual learners learn best by looking at graphics, watching a demonstration, or reading.

For them, it’s easy to look at charts and graphs, but they may have difficulty focusing

while listening to an explanation.

Kinesthetic Learners: Touch

Kinesthetic learners process information best through a “hands-on” experience. Actuallydoing an activity can be the easiest way for them to learn. Sitting still while studying may

 be difficult, but writing things down makes it easier to understand.

Types of Learning Styles: What Everybody Should Know

Although most people use a combination of the three learning styles, they usually have a

clear preference for one. Knowing and understanding the types of learning styles isimportant for students of any age. It is advantageous for students to understand their type

of learning style early on so that homework and learning may become easier and less

stressful in the future. Although it may be tempting to stick with what works, it’s

important to practice and train the other types of learning styles early on so that, as he

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grows, the child can utilize the other types just as effectively.

Types of Learning Styles: A Renaissance Child A well-balanced, intelligent child isable to develop all three types of learning styles. Just because a child has a dominant

learning style doesn’t mean that the other types can’t be improved. Having just one

dominant learning style, and relying on that style only, can debilitate a child’s true potential. There are many different ways to train the different types of learning styles, but

it ultimately comes down to training the cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are the

foundational building blocks of each learning style. Without properly trained cognitiveskills, a child isn’t able to use or take advantage of the other learning styles effectively.

At LearningRx, we offer a cognitive skills assessment to find the areas in which a child

needs improvement. We also offer training that goes to the root of the problem instead of 

working on the symptoms. If you would like more information on how we can help your child’s individual needs, contact a local LearningRx Center  near you.

Learning Styles - Learn More!

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Learning Process

Learning takes time and patience. It is a process — a journey. A self -directed learning

 process is arguably the most powerful model for facilitating and inspiring individual,group and organizational learning and development.

We provide a learning process to empower people to guide themselves through their 

 personal learning and development journey. This process is built upon three major 

 principles:

1. Identification of gaps between one’s IDEAL self and REAL self. These gapsrepresent a primary motivator to learn and improve.

2. Creation and implementation of a challenging and realistic action plan for 

development that follows the 70/20/10 formula.3. Ongoing development dialogue between learners and supervisors. Both have a

responsibility to ensure that the entire learning process happens.

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We can help you choose the learning opportunity that’s right for you or your department.

 Just  call or send us an e-mail . We’re here to help!