Learning is the acquiring of new knowledge or skills or modification of existing ones. It can be aural, visual, verbal, physical, logical, social or solitary. Learning keeps changing depending on the way of life of a people, expectations and priorities of the learners, methods of teaching, available resources, right to professional initiative and what the educator deems important.
Evolution of Learning
Progress in education implies that learning keeps rebuilding itself and will continue to do so. Learning began from a basic form and evolved to what exists today. To understand this, I give an outline of the development of learning in order of occurrence:
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The Pre-historic Stage
For thousands of years, humans lived as hunter-gatherers (Baciu, 2014). During this age, children learned through exploration and autonomous play. People acquired knowledge and skill by observing and testing. They had to know the plants, animals, land, and climate that largely influenced their livelihood. In this age, adults gave the children unlimited freedom, which I view as a means to give them a form of education on their way of life through children’s natural instinct to be curious.
Early Agriculture Stage
Ownership of land and domestication of animals brought change in the way of learning. Children were no longer as free. They had to help with chores. Compared to the stage I explained first, this stage, in my opinion, was more labor-oriented than skill and knowledge-intensive. People wanted to produce more food. The pressure was on everyone to support the growing population. This stage brought social status differences. Those who were able to feed their families were rich and those who did not were poor. People no longer depended on self-exploration to learn (Peter Gray Ph.D., 2008). They depended on skills and knowledge passed down from generations.
Industrialization Stage
A boom of innovations that were meant to create wealth and make work easier characterized this stage. Learning was achieved through experience and knowledge passed down.
Early Modern Age
Schools were built with the belief that childhood was a time to learn. The idea of universal education to all was gradually embraced by many (Peter Gray Ph.D., 2008).
Modern Age
People became more open to acquiring knowledge and skill at any point in life.
Learning Theories
Behaviorism
This theory is confined to objectively measurable and observable behavior based on stimulus like environmental conditions. The theory explains conditioning as a process of learning that is universal. It can be classic conditioning where a natural response to a presented stimulus occurs, or operant conditioning, where the feedback from the response is reinforced(Santiniescolini, 2014). Based on this theory, I would be solely responsible for the outcome of a teaching session. However, this theory suggests that I give the same treatment to each learner and the results will be similar. This is pointless because each person is different.
Cognitivism
Learning dictates that one understands mental processes such as thinking, remembering and knowing. It lays emphasis on how information is received, processed, organized, stored and later retrieved (Ertmer & Newby, 2010). It is a process that connects environmental conditions and one’s thoughts resulting in changes in behavior. This theory dictates that any person can achieve anything as long as they put their mind to it. However, just like behaviorism, I think the theory does not put into consideration the differences between people. Furthermore, I cannot guarantee that the effect of environmental factors are negligible.
Social Learning Theory
This suggests that people can gain values, knowledge, and skills by observing others. People will change their behavior to imitate those they think are role models. It can be a useful tool in the promotion of behavior change. The learner identifies a behavior, assess it and imitate it. As much as learning is an interactive process, I cannot dismiss the importance of a learner’s individuality or feelings.
Social Constructivism
This theory suggests that learning is a build-up process that depends on the learner’s culture and understanding of what goes on around them. It explains learning as a creation arising from experience (Ertmer & Newby, 2010). The theory also suggests that knowledge cannot be given nor will it ever be archaic.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Learner
Engage in the learning process by interacting actively with the teacher.
Show their understanding of the taught values, knowledge or skills.
Readily embrace assessment to determine their progress in the learning activity.
Self-evaluation of their behavior after the learning process.
Social and Cultural Connections to Learning
Learning is influenced by the norms of people. I may explain a new technique, which is beneficial but it will not be embraced because of the beliefs that the learners have. These norms are sometimes detrimental to development because they prevent progress in the name of fear of the unknown. The knowledge imparted is effective if the learners feel a connection to it. They will be ready to embrace what I teach and even implement it in their day-to-day lives.
Environmental Influences
The environment can be the physical, emotional and social environment. The physical environment should be comfortable enough and have minimum distractions. The emotional state determines how well a learner receives the instructions. The social environment will determine the learner’s beliefs and attitude towards the material taught.
Background and Experience Influences on Learning
Opinions resulting from previous experiences or knowledge affect the outcome of a learning process. Misinformation will shape the attitude a learner has towards the material taught. Similarly, previous experiences will either encourage the learner to embrace the new knowledge or skill or reject it. Making connections to a learner’s background is important to ensure material is delivered effectively.
Conclusion
Effective learning will only occur if the learner perceives the material taught to be of importance. In addition, the surrounding conditions and the learner’s state of mind must be that which encourages learning. A teacher must be conscious of the background, attitudes and educational needs of the learner before imparting any knowledge.
References
A. Ertmer, P., & J. Newby, T. (2013). Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructional Design Perspective. International Society for Performance Improvement Wiley Online Library , 26 (2), 43–71.
Ciprian Baciu. (2014). The evolution of educational means. A histioric perspective. Elsevier The 6th International Conference Edu World 2014 “Education Facing Contemporary World Issues” Www.Sciencedirect.Com , 180 (2015), 280–285.
Peter Gray Ph.D. (2008). A Brief History of Education. In Psychology Today Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com .
Santiniescolini. (2014). Theories of Learning. In SlideShare .
