Learning theories

Learning Theories

What I knew before

To be honest, I never knew much about learning theories while at the lower level schools. This particular topic became much known to me at the University level of education. As much as learning, there are different meanings towards learning that I know about.

Definitions of learning

1.      “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential . . . (brought) about     as a result of the learner’s interaction with the environment” 

2.      “the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behaviour due to experience” 

3.      “an enduring change in behaviours, or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of         experience”

What I know now

With this assignment I was able to push myself much deeper into this topic to find more about it. Also getting to understand the different ways of learning, which are;

Behaviourism

·         Learning is defined by the outward expression of new behaviours

·         Focuses solely on observable behaviours

Cognitivist

·         Grew in response to Behaviourism

·         Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols

·         Learning is the process of connecting symbols in a meaningful & memorable way

·         Studies focused on the mental processes that facilitate symbol connection

Social Learning Theory

·         Grew out of Cognitivist

·         Learning takes place through observation and sensorial experiences

·         Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Those are just some of the examples of Learning Theories.

Learning styles encompass a series of theories suggesting systematic differences in individuals' natural or habitual pattern of acquiring and processing information in learning situations. A core concept is that individuals differ in how they learn. The idea of individualized learning styles originated in the 1970s, and has greatly influenced education.

Proponents of the use of learning styles in education recommend that teachers assess the learning styles of their students and adapt their classroom methods to best fit each student's learning style. Although there is ample evidence that individuals express preferences for how they prefer to receive information, few studies have found any validity in using learning styles in education. Critics say there is no evidence that identifying an individual student's learning style produces better outcomes. There is evidence of empirical and pedagogical problems related to the use of learning tasks to “correspond to differences in a one-to-one fashion.” Well-designed studies contradict the widespread “meshing hypothesis”, that a student will learn best if taught in a method deemed appropriate for the student's learning style.

How it will affect my Teaching

Thanks to this topic again, it has open my choices on how to teach my students, ways to let them learn fast or even grasp more towards a particular topic. With the young fresh brains that they have now, it shouldn’t be a problem to analyse and execute from certain ways of learning. Although some ways of learning are harder than others, I will still be able to reach the full potential of being able to teach much better, thanks to this topic.