The Theory of “Learning”

Learning. Teaching. Teaching and Learning!

What is learning? I could quote the definition from a dictionary and connect all the reasons why it is defined that way. Instead, I will purpose this concept as I would to my students. What do you think learning is? After a discussion, I would share my understanding of learning. Learning is the growth and change of one’s knowledge that is continuous throughout life. Learning is based on perceptions, environment, exposure, interpretations, and personal interest. I do not think that learning can be defined as one particular thing. It is more likely a combination of everything. Regardless of desire, we learn constantly. Some learning simply has more relevance than other learning. Perhaps as we look at the theories about learning, your personal thoughts about learning will become clear.

A Glimpse into Learning Theories

 I was an ideal student in school. I was likely a behaviorist’s dream subject! I could recall and memorize information quickly. I could process information and apply it almost instantaneously. Consequences kept me from stepping too far over the line. I conformed in school as I was expected to do. The adults were in charge. The adults imparted their wisdom upon me, and I absorbed it. I regurgitated information on standardized tests with high scores. I was praised which prompted me to continue doing well. I was an easy student. I was an easy child. It’s true! You are welcome to ask my Mom! Overall, I basically learned that if the adults felt like they were in charge, everyone was happy. It mattered little whether I retained the information they “taught” beyond the test. I mattered little if I could apply the knowledge in some way other than an assessment. Does that mean I did not learn? Goodness, no! I learned an extraordinary amount and went on to become a successful college graduate and now a graduate student pursuing an advanced degree. The question is, could I have mastered concepts earlier if they learning theory of the time were different or if the educators had adjusted their instruction to align more with John Dewey’s notion of humanism?

I would identify myself as quite logical and practical. Scientists such as Dewey, Maslow, and Kolb suggested that in order to truly understand the meaning of anything, one needs to find relevance in the information. The relevance is substantiated by one’s life experiences, whatever those may be. I can see that. I can agree that finding connections in life would certainly make concepts easier to understand and retain. For instance, I have never gone hungry. I have felt hunger. I have been delayed in eating and had a rumbling stomach and even felt fatigued from lack of food for a few hours, but I have never been in a situation where I was starving or even had the threat of starvation. Because I have not experienced that, my understanding when someone says, “I’m starving,” is quite different from that of a homeless person that has not eaten in a week. My experience creates meaning for me. If this theory is correct, learning is anything but standard! Each human has a unique set of experiences that pave the road to comprehension of any given concept. Furthermore, humanists found that relationships also impacted learning. Where behaviorism was very cut and dry with the teacher is the expert and the student will simply learn because society agrees that the teacher is right, humanists favor the rapport between adult and student as a piece of the puzzle. Introducing the idea that a relationship must exist points out that students begin to play an active role in their own education by interacting with the teacher for learning to occur. That relationship likely had a very large impact on a student’s capacity for learning. As I have read about humanism, I am reminded of Rita Pierson who said, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” She was absolutely correct, and Dewey and Maslow knew it.

As time progressed, scientists begin to combine learning theories somewhat. We began to see a shift from the standardized education practices to a more individualized approach. Cognitivism seems largely based on the brain’s ability to retain simple things through memorization and commit them to long term memory for regular recall without effort. The short-term memory or working memory is then free to dive into concepts on a deeper level and begin to interpret information and draw conclusions but insists that the quantity of given information largely impacts the ability to process and comprehend. Coupled with the focus on the brain is the contention that the ability to connect learning in a relevant way sped up the process of committing information to long term memory. Then scientists began to see a new emergence. The change from behaviorism to humanism highlights the need and desire for relationships. Cognitivism focuses on the brain’s need for relevance and being an active part of learning. If you put those ideas together in a pot and stir it, you begin to see the constructivist theory take shape.

Constructivism requires the learner to take an active role in learning while being guided by the instructor. Instead of answering or solving every problem for the student, the teacher takes the role of questioner to force the student to interpret based on prior knowledge and application of what one already knows. Brilliant, RIGHT??? Piaget realized that if we are to really learn anything, we must be able to begin with small pieces that we put together, make connections with new learning, build to a deeper understanding, and repeat! This is where the process of learning takes a greater priority than simply memorizing information. In this approach, we can see how important it is to learn to learn! Add on to that the desire for relationships and we can jump straight into social constructivism. Sounds like this theory just combines the best parts of the theories before it and adds in a social aspect. Sounds much like how I define learning. As we learn more, we adapt. How novel.

Education often centers around the “21^st-Century Skills” of collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. Without these skills, what chance does anyone have of becoming successful in today’s world? When you look at the ide of teaching versus learning, is there really a difference at all? I feel compelled to answer that with a resounding, NO! Learning is teaching and teaching is learning. As I previously mentioned, those titles are to enable society to understand our positions.

What Does it all Mean? What am I?

               I have no doubt that I was a behaviorist learner in K-12. Even though alternative learning theories had emerged by that time, teachers had not adopted the new theories just yet. Because that was the way my parents learned, they thought that was how I should learn. At the time, I had no idea what impact it would have on my own beliefs and type of learner I have become.

               Fast forward a few years and now I am in my ninth year of teaching. I am absolutely a constructivist learner and teacher. I guide and inspire my kids to push harder, dig deeper, and to love learning. I despise sit and get learning. I engage my students. I include my students. I ask for their feedback in making their learning experience meaningful. We have mutually respectful rapport. We build relationships that result in trust. My classroom is a “WE” environment. We support one another and we take risks. We have a safe place to learn. We focus on goals, not grades. Grades are of little importance in my classroom. We are always looking for progress. When creating goals for ourselves, they are never about a grade! This environment allows students to collaborate and be active in learning. We are not bound by conformity but rather encouraged to innovate. We apply the Inquiry Design Process to learning by asking questions and working on skills needed to answer questions or solve problems presented in a real-life context. My students rarely work in the comfortable range. We push for the uncomfortable, because that is where we will see growth. Everything I believe about learning is based on the constructivist model including the social aspect. For this reason, my innovation plan combines the need for collaboration and individual needs. Blended learning provides a balance of instruction that enables students to be active in learning, collaborate with other learners, work at an appropriate pace, exercise choice in how they learn new information, and authentic ways to show evidence of learning.

Teaching. Learning. Learning and Teaching

               Investigating early learning theories, I see the very growth I look for in my students. I see that we began with what we knew, what we understood and began to build on that as new learning came to light. We have certainly learned more and more about the brain and education as the years have progressed. I have no doubt we will see more theories emerge with new names and new variations. I do believe that one thing will never change. I believe that no matter how long I teach and not matter what group of students I guide; relationships will have the greatest impact on any student. The relationships I build with my learners will serve to remind them that learning never stops and there is never just one right answer. Having said that, I suppose I have a bit of humanism in me as well!

References

Bathurst-Hunt, R. and Mackenzie, T. (2018). Inquiry mindset: Nurturing the dreams, wonders, and curiosities of our youngest learners. ElevateBooksEdu.

-Combining curriculum with student interest and guiding students to find answers through research and questioning. Engaging in the world around you to learn.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.

-The impact of attitude on learning and abilities. Describes how we can help ourselves or others to transition to a mindset of “yet” instead of giving up the chance of achievement.

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

-Using technology to change instruction to include 21st century skills as well as adapt for differentiation within the same classroom. Allows students more autonomy in providing evidence of learning.

Learning Theory Project Team of HKU. (2018) Theories: History of learning theories. What teachers should know about learning theories. kb.edu.hku.hk/learning_theory_history/.

-Overview of the four major learning theories and the scientists that first purposed them.

TEDx Talks. (2014, May 6). Blended learning and the future of education: Monique Markoff at TEDxIthacaCollege. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb2d8E1dZjY&feature=youtu.be

-How blended learning can be done and how it provides students with their own teacher while you are able to reach every child on a more individual platform. Defines blended learning concepts and guides the view through the flexibility of it all. Allows students to learn from one another as well.

TedxTalks. (2013, May 3). Every kid needs a champion: Rita Pierson. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHhKdkw.

-The correlation between relationships and student progress and success in public school settings regardless of economic situations. Our purpose as educators and why we chose it.

Thomas, D., & Brown J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. (Vol 219) Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.

-Using technology effectively to broaden the scope of learning. Collaboration and communication on a much larger scale that will lead to better and more innovation.