What Is Learning?
The question of what constitutes learning has intrigued scholars for centuries, and today there are many, and varied, opinions about just what learning is. Scholars also have different ideas about the catalysts for learning, the conditions that must be met in order for learning to occur, and the criteria by which we may judge that learning has happened. Despite the variability in opinion, most scholars agree that learning involves acquiring new (or modifying existing) knowledge, behavior, skills, attitudes, or values. At its most fundamental level, then, learning is change. Theories of learning, for the most part put forth by educational psychologists, offer us simple, succinct descriptions of what learning is, what the change actually entails, and how it happens. In this section, we describe four common learning theories, and we offer a perspective on learning from neuroscience.
Behaviorism
Behaviorists view learning as an outward and demonstrable change in behavior that occurs as a result of the positive and negative reinforcement we receive from our actions and experiences. Behaviorists believe that all behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Following a behaviorist approach, teachers help students learn by reinforcing the desired learning behavior (such as attentiveness in class, careful and thorough work on assignments, thoughtful and frequent contributions to discussion, and so forth), thereby encouraging students to continue these behaviors. If students are not able to engage in these behaviors immediately, behaviorists believe that students will gradually improve if the correct behaviors are reinforced and less effective behaviors are extinguished through nonreinforcement or, if necessary, suppressed through disincentives or even punishment. For behaviorists, learning activities should be organized to leverage acquisition of content knowledge and skills. Behaviorists tend to believe that:
Learning is an observable change in behavior.
Effective teaching strategies include providing students with reinforcement, whether positive (grade bonuses) or negative (point penalties), to encourage or discourage behaviors.
Repetition reinforces learning, and hence students benefit from multiple opportunities to practice new skills and demonstrate understanding.
The student's key responsibility is to learn to make the best responses to the learning activities and assignments.
Learning has happened when students can generalize and apply their newly acquired skills, knowledge, and understanding to new situations.
Our entire educational system reflects the influence of behaviorism through reward systems, such as grades, bonus points, praise, recognition strategies for outstanding work, and so forth.
Cognitivism
The learning theory cognitivism grew out of the behaviorist tradition. Cognitivists believe that the “black box” of the mind can and should be opened, studied, and understood. They see learning as a relatively permanent change in a learner's mental representations. Thus, new information results in meaningful learning only when it connects with what already exists in the mind of the learner, resulting in change in the networks that represent our understandings. Cognitivists are interested in understanding the series of steps involved in the mind receiving, processing, and storing information, including how inputs initially managed in short-term memory are committed to long-term memory. For cognitivists, learning is content driven, and the process of learning is linear and sequenced. Cognitivists tend to believe that:
Learning is a change to mental representations.
Learning results from the encoding of information into memory in an organized manner for later retrieval.
The teacher should try to enable students to move information from short-term to long-term memory.
Scaffolding student learning is important.
The teacher can help students learn by teaching them appropriate and effective mental strategies.
The teacher should help students organize information in a meaningful way.
It is important to understand the student's stage of development and to target instruction to that stage.
The learner's role is to be prepared and to process information.
Constructivism
Constructivism suggests that individuals construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world. They learn through experience and their reflections on these experiences. Constructivism suggests that knowledge is not an absolute but rather is constructed by learners as they seek to understand their experiences (Driscoll, 2000). The learner is not a blank slate (tabula rasa) but instead brings experiences and cultural context to a situation. Learning is a personal endeavor in which internalized concepts, rules, and general principles are applied in a practical, real-world context. Constructivists, then, believe that knowledge resides in the mind and that learning is a change in an individual's internal reality as they interact with others in their environments, gathering information and filtering it so that it makes sense within their own, personal reality. Constructivists suggest that teachers facilitate learning by structuring and sequencing activities that emulate real-life experiences and that require the learner to take an active role in selecting, interpreting, and owning information from the learning environment. Constructivists tend to believe that:
Learning is the creation of meaning from experience.
Learning is an accumulation of experience, which changes with new experiences and new situations.
Learning has happened when a student completes an authentic task that has significance for the learner.
The teacher's main job is to facilitate learning rather than deliver information.
Students should be encouraged to discover principles for themselves.
Students should solve realistic problems.
Students should apply classroom knowledge in new contexts.
Students should be allowed—even encouraged—to engage in free exploration within a given framework or structure.
Humanism
Humanists believe that learning is a personal act in which individuals seek knowledge and understanding in order to fulfill their own potential as well as expand their awareness of the human condition. They suggest that learning occurs through watching the behavior of others or studying significant works of the human intellect and imagination and then considering the results of those actions as they also cultivate an appreciation of human values and achievement. Humanists believe the purpose of learning is to enable learners to participate in social and cultural communities, understand and empathize with others, and appreciate the variety of perspectives and responses to the human condition.
From the humanist perspective, effective teachers design opportunities for learners to increase their self-awareness and to practice thinking critically, especially the ability to make reasoned judgments that reflect ethical and esthetic human values. Humanist theories of learning tend to be value-driven, and several instructional approaches have been developed that reflect those values, including approaches such as critical pedagogy (Freire),