Here is your free sample essay on Learning

Learning according to Crow and Crow is acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes. ‘The process of acquiring new knowledge and new responses is the process of learning’, says Woodworth.

Such formal definitions of learning are at best, incomplete attempts to explain briefly an exceedingly complex affair. Learning is not only getting knowledge of subject-matter or skill in art by study, by experience or by being taught, it is also an acquisition of habits, attitudes, perceptions, preferences, interests, social adjustments, values and ideals.

Psychologists’ Views

The Psychologists’ ‘Views on learning’ are as under:

1. Munn:

Munn defined learning as to process of being modified more or less permanently, by what happens in the world around us by what we do, or by what we observe.

2. Hunder and Hilgard:

According to Hunder and Hilgard, ‘learning’ is the process by which behaviour (in the broader sense) is originated or changed through training procedures (whether in the natural environment or in the laboratory.)

3. Boaz:

To Boaz learning is a process by which the individual that are necessary to meet the demand of life in general.

4. Geoch:

According to Geoch, ‘learning as we measure it is more or less a permanent change in behaviour which occurs under the motivational conditions of practice.’

5. Commins and Fagin:

Commins and Fagin have described ‘learning as a sequence of mental events or conditions leading to changes in the learner’.

Sequence of Mental Events

They have elaborated the sequence of mental event as follows:

1. The learner has needs and is therefore in a state of readiness to respond.

2. The learner meets a problem (or learning situations) by solving which his need(s) is (are) likely to be satisfied. But for solving it a new interpretations required because previously learned responses are inadequate for reaching the goal (or solution) and satisfying his need(s).

3. So he interprets the situation with reference to his goals, and tries response(s) which seems to satisfy his need(s).

4. If his response leads to the achievement of his goal, he will tend to interpret and respond to similar situations in future in the same way. Otherwise he keeps on trying and re-interpreting the problem until satisfying consequences or results are achieved.

Analysis:

On analysis the above and similar other explanations and definitions of learning we can easily infer that:

1. There are certain general characteristics of learning and

2. There are factors which influence learning.

These are the characteristics of learning

1. Learning is goal directed or purposive:

Learning becomes meaningful and purposive when we want to achieve some goals from it. Every human being wants to achieve some goals in his life.

Always, learning is found goal directed of purposive. There cannot be found goalless learning.

2. Learning is an active process:

Learning is an activity. The greater the activeness or effort in the part of the learner the better will he/she learn. A passive learner cannot learn anything.

3. Learning is individual:

The rate of learning differs from person to person. In a class every student is a unique person and he has his own problems, needs, purpose, aspirations, interests, likes and dislikes. So their learning process also are differ from other. So learning is individual process.

4. Learning is the outcome of the interaction of the individual with the total situation:

A student learns by responding to the total learning situation and not in the context of some single stimulus. So a good teacher should set the environment carefully for framing a learning situation.

5. Learning is creative:

Learning is a creative process which combines the knowledge and experiences of the teacher. According to Crow and Crow, critical thinking involves direction, interpretation, selection, insight, creation and criticism.

6. Learning is transferable:

As we know that we can use learnt material in other situation to solve problems. We can apply our rules, theories in other situation so learning is transferable also.