What is learning and what are the factors in hence of learning?
Answers
Answer:
We all know that the human brain is immensely complex and still somewhat of a mystery. It follows then, that learning—a primary function of the brain—is understood in many different ways. Here are ten ways that learning can be described.
The Definitions
“A change in human disposition or capability that persists over a period of time and is not simply ascribable to processes of growth.”
— From The Conditions of Learning by Robert Gagne
“Learning is the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behavior due to experience. This definition has three components: 1) the duration of the change is long-term rather than short-term; 2) the locus of the change is the content and structure of knowledge in memory or the behavior of the learner; 3) the cause of the change is the learner’s experience in the environment rather than fatigue, motivation, drugs, physical condition or physiologic intervention.”
–From Learning in Encyclopedia of Educational Research, Richard E. Mayer
“It has been suggested that the term learning defies precise definition because it is put to multiple uses. Learning is used to refer to (1) the acquisition and mastery of what is already known about something, (2) the extension and clarification of meaning of one’s experience, or (3) an organized, intentional process of testing ideas relevant to problems. In other words, it is used to describe a product, a process, or a function.”
–From Learning How to Learn: Applied Theory for Adults by R.M. Smith
“Acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so you can make sense of future problems and opportunities.” (Listen to an interview with one of the authors.)
From Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel
“A persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world.”
From Psychology of Learning for Instruction by M. Driscoll
“Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.”
From Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age by George Seimens
What are Gagne's Conditions of Learning?
Robert Gagne puts forward the notion of conditions of learning, as opposed to a theory about learning per se (Quinn, 2000). He defines learning as an alteration in an individual's capabilities or disposition which continues over a period of time that cannot be put down to the natural process of maturation (Gagne, 1985). In addition, he regards learning as the means through which individuals and groups of people acquire the skills that are necessary for them to be accepted members of society. Furthermore, Gagne believes that learning is a direct result of different human capabilities (behaviors) which are required as a result of stimulation from both the environment and the thinking processes which happen within individual learners. Quinn (2000) comments that in this model, growth is regarded as being governed by genetics, whereas learning is shaped by the environment and how an individual interacts with it.
The foundations of Gagne's work lie in the concept of Behaviorism, based on the notion that through analyzing observed behaviors, the necessary components to acquire a specific skill could be identified. From his observations of individuals' learning, he concluded that the process of learning a specific skill was dependent upon previous learning which led to his assertion that instruction should comprise of logical, sequenced steps which build upon prior learning. It is through this sequence of 'building knowledge' and the mastery of each component that learning can occur.