Definition of Learning

Definition of Learning

I started by asking people what they thought learning was. I asked adults in my household and children in my neighborhood. (My next door neighbor is a great source – she has 5 kids ranging in age from seven to seventeen!) Here are their answers

Learning is:

Memorizing a lot of junk you might never use E.J. – age 13

Paying attention and never making the same mistake twice.

When my dad got in trouble for buying my mom a vacuum cleaner

for Valentines Day, he never did it again. This year he got her roses. Thomas – age 9

Reading books and listening to people who know. And using it, but

only if it really applies to you. You have to be smart enough to know

the difference. Sarah – age 15

Going to school and listening to the teacher. Reading and doing

hard math. Getting all S’s on my Report card. Daniel – age 7

Learning is paying attention and using what you know. It is when you

read and talk to people and increase your knowledge. It is when you

know how and when to use what you have learned and apply it in your

everyday life. Trey – age 17

Learning is what people do everyday if they keep their eyes and

Ears open. Learning is assimilating facts and utilizing knowledge. It

Is the never ending acquisition of new material. Jeff – age 57

What – learning? Mom, is this a trick? What did I do? Andrew – age 29

(some people never learn!)

The World Book Dictionary ( Barnhart, C., 2004, World Book, Chicago) defines learning as:

1. The gaining of knowledge or skill

2. The possession of knowledge gained by study; scholarship

3. Knowledge

4. The relatively permanent modification of responses as a result of experience

The Australian government’s definition, as obtained from

www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training/skills/policy/issues/reviews key/issues/nts/glo/ftol/html is as follows:

the process of acquiring knowledge, attitudes, or skills from study, instruction, or experience

It is interesting to me that all of these definitions (except my son’s!) all say about the same thing. I think the key element to remember when defining learning is that learning is not just the acquisition of facts, it is also using that knowledge in our daily lives. If I am able to state that fire will burn you but continue to put my hand into the fire, then I have not really learned the true meaning of that fact. There has been much written about the ways that children learn. The constructivist believes that knowledge is best acquired when a student discovers and constructs it himself. The behaviorist believes that learning occurs when knowledge is given or told to a student. I think that students can learn both ways, depending on the subject and depending on the student. I do feel, though, that only when a student assimilates that knowledge and makes it a part of them, true learning occurs.