Human Learning

Learning takes place in many ways. Sometimes it is intentional, as when students acquire information presented in a classroom or when they look something up in the encyclopedia. Sometimes it is unintentional, as in the case of the child’s reaction to the needle. All sorts of learning are going on all the time. The problem faced by educators is not how to get students to learn; students are already engaged in learning every waking moment. Rather, it is to help them learn particular information, skill, and concepts that will be useful in future life.

´MEANING AND NATURE OF LEARNING

• Learning means bringing changes in the behaviour of the organism. It is very difficult to give a universally acceptable definition of learning because various theories developed by psychologists attempt to define the term from different angles.
• Learning in psychology has the status of a construct. Construct means an idea or image that cannot be directly observed, like electrons or genes, but which is inferred from the behaviour of the organism.

• According to Melvin H. Marx: "learning is a relatively enduring change in behaviour which is a function of prior behaviour" (usually called practice).
• According to Munn, "Learning is a more or less permanent incremental modification of behaviour which results from the activity, special, training or observation."
• According to Skinner, "Learning is both acquisition and retention."
• According to Gates, "Learning is a medication of behaviour through experience."
• Kimble , "Learning refers to more or less permanent change in behaviour, which occurs as a result or practice.
• Crow and Crow told: "Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, habits and attitudes. It involves new ways of doing things, and it operates in an individual’s attempt to overcome obstacles or to adjust to new situations.

General Characteristics of Learning

• Learning is Adjustment: Learning involves adjustment of the individual to his environment. The individual must learn to adjust himself to the changes that take place around him.
• Learning is Growth: Learning must result in the growth of the child. An immature child is developed into a mature person through the process of learning.
• Learning is Organizing Experience: Learning is not like adding one experience to the other it is rather, organizing the new experience with the old ones, thus giving rise to a new form of behaviour. Thus, learning involves the proper organizing of experiences in manner.
• Learning is Purposeful: The more intense the purpose of the individual, the more rapid the learning. Lack of purpose in learning will hamper learning. Thus, purposeful learning is always more rapid and permanent.
• Learning is Active. Better learning will take place only if the learner is actively engaged in the learning process. Thus, active participation of the pupils is essential in the learning process.
• Learning is intelligent and Creative: Learning involves an intelligent interpretation of the situation and some selectivity in the response. This necessarily involves intelligent and creative thinking.
• Learning Affects the Conduct of Learners: Learning affects individuals to adjust himself to the environment. This is brought about through some sort of change and modification of one’s behavior. Thus the behaviour or conduct of the individual undergoes change on account of learning.
• Learning is the Product of the Environment: Learning is essentially an adaptation and adjustment to the environment.