1.3 Approaches to Learning
One of the key approaches to learning is what it can do to change behaviour. On the one hand, learning refers to a relatively permanent change in behaviour as a result of practice or experience. However, learning may not include a change in behaviour. It is important not to confuse the natural approach of learning with the product of obtaining tangible learning. What is suggested here is that ‘permanent’ may be a strong word, and that practice is necessary for learning in the course of repetition. One of the most common phrases this relates to is a reinforcement of learning in order to achieve learning objectives or outcomes.
There are three issues that are common within the approaches to learning:
- Educators seek a middle-level description of mental organization
- Matters of the heart are the influence of school learning
- Teachers use differentiation teaching practices matched to the strengths of each student
What these issues suggest is that educators seek to find the middle ground between biological constraints and intellectual achievements in the natural environment. Furthermore, the discipline of psychology focuses on the motivation and uniting forces of cognition in the child to ensure learning is taking place effectively.
Approaches to learning can take on a topical approach to understanding its role inside of a school system. Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds outline the nine principles of a topical perspective of learning[8]:
- Learning is change
- Learning is inevitable, essential, and ubiquitous
- Learning can be resisted
- Learning may be disadvantageous
- Learning can be tacit and incidental as well as conscious and intentional
- Learning is framed by our humanness
- Learning refers to both a process and a product
- Learning is different at different points in time
- Learning is interactional
What is reflected here through this approach is the who, where, what, and when of learning. The who is related to the biophysical characteristics and motives of the learner in relation to psychological traits. The what pertains to acquired and spontaneous conditions of learning in which scientific concepts are generalized from human interactions. The where relates to an ecological concept, whereas the when refers to the sociological and developmental, psychological characteristics of changes through maturation and experience[8].
Specific elements can be found when discussing learning in a modern framework. Illeris described a comprehensive and contemporary theory through an external interaction process and an internal psychological process that outlines three different dimensions of learning through[17]:
- Cognition
- Psychodynamic
- Social
In the activities below, feel free to use the slide show and the drag and drop activity to help you remember, analyze, and interpret the different approaches to learning. Use these to develop your own theories on how these different approaches can be applied in the classroom, workplace, or any other area learning might be applicable.