There are many learning theories. These describe how learners absorb and retain knowledge during learning activities in an educational environment. Figure 2 shows the web of learning theories and these ideas will be addressed in this section of the chapter.

Experiential learning is a theory developed by John Dewey[11] and later built upon by David Kolb[12], that creates concepts of knowledge through real-world experiences and reflects on them. Experiential learning incorporates pragmatism through a constructive method of action and reflection. What this provides students with is the ability to develop an understanding of the systems that work in the real world. Experiential learning is an especially beneficial pedagogical technique in trade colleges and professional schools given their focus on hands-on and apprenticeship teaching.  It is also, however, widely used in university settings.

Genetic epistemology comes from psychologist Jean Piaget where learning is found in the young through actions and assimilations which shape learning throughout life[13]. With this framework, learning is built through life experiences, environmental interactions, and innate behaviours of the child which influences the actions of the adult. In a way, lifelong learning draws similarities to another theory, called mastery learning, which Benjamin Bloom developed in 1968. This incorporates an empirical scale through achieving knowledge by conditioning within a normal distribution[14]. Environmental, life-long learning, combined with a sense of mastery may sound contradictory, considering, if learning is lifelong, how can mastery be achieved? As educators, there has to be a sense of achievement towards knowledge, even though knowledge of 100% is unobtainable. To avoid this paradox of learning, the mastery model needs to be combined with genetic epistemology to ensure that clear objectives are being met in real-world and experiential lenses.

Teaching and learning theories, especially in the 20th century, also take on a postmodernist view. Critical pedagogy was developed by Paolo Freire who indicated a centrality-in-politics view of teaching and learning through the lenses of power, oppression, social justice, and democracy[15]. This concept follows a Marxist approach to teaching and learning by challenging class structures through a straight conceptualization of oppressor and oppressed. The continual critical accounting of education theory is a form of asking questions and questioning the control and power within learning. The attempt of critical pedagogy focuses on developing an understanding of learning with the goal of social justice and democracy.

Liberal and scientific epistemology relate to learning theories connected to Enlightenment-era thinkers, empiricism, and naturalism. Thinkers, like Francis Bacon, who suggested the advancement of learning is through a sense of actions to create merit, and through that merit creates more action[16]. John Locke connected learning to freedom and broad education to create rational thinking[6]. The liberal-scientific model accepts empirical and liberalized concepts that allow the freedom to pursue the merits of knowledge and obtain learning with no constraints. In many ways, that learning should be broad and expansive, while at the same time being meritorious with logic. Taken together, they can be united to develop a concept of how learning is conceived and viewed. Critical pedagogy can challenge the power structures inside a liberal-scientific epistemology, while a liberal-scientific epistemology can challenge contradictions in a critical pedagogy to develop a reasonable middle ground. Experiential learning is related to mastery and genetic epistemology and creates a clear web between environmental factors that influence learning.

Learning Theories Activity

Drag the learning theory to the corresponding definition. This will help you to understand the characteristics of each learning theory and its aims towards students.