Learning

LEARNING
 One of the most important characteristics of
human beings is their capacity to learn.
 An individual starts learning immediately after
his birth or in a strict sense even earlier in the
womb of the mother.
 Our personality-our habits, skills, knowledge,
attitudes, interests and character is largely the
result of learning. It is the key process in human
behavior.
 All our adaptive as well as maladaptive, our
cognitive as well as affective behavior are
formed by learning processes.
 These are of vital importance in helping the
Definition
Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge
and attitudes. It involves new ways of doing
things and it operates on an individual's
attempts to overcome obstacles or to adjust
to new situations. It represents progressive
changes in behavior. It enables him to satisfy
interests to attain a goal.
(Crow and Crow-1973)

The term learning covers every modification in

behavior to meet environmental
requirements.
Nature of Learning
 Learning is a process and not a [Link] involves all those
experiences and trainings of an individual (right from his
birth), which helps him to produce change in his behavior.
 Learning brings changes in the behavior but it does not
necessarily mean these changes always bring
improvement or development in the positive direction. One
has equal chances to drift to the debit side of human
personality.
 Learning prepares an individual for the necessary
adjustment and [Link] learning is purposeful and
goal-oriented. In case there is no purpose, there would
hardly be any learning.
 The scope of learning is too wide to explain in words. It is a
very comprehensive process, which covers nearly all the
domains-conative , cognitive and affective of human
behavior.
 Learning is universal and continuous. Every
creature that lives learns. In human beings it is not
limited to any age, sex, race or culture. It is a
continuous never-ending process that goes from
womb-to-tomb.
 Learning does not include the changes in behavior
on account of maturation, fatigue, illness or drugs,
etc. Learning is transferable from one situation to
another.
 Learning helps in the proper growth and
development.
 Learning helps in the balanced development of
personality.
Types of Learning
Stimulus Response Learning
Conditioning learning involves the conditioning of
- respondent behavior through a process of
stimulus - association and substitution. In this
learning estab- lishment of connections between
sensory systems and motor systems will occur.
 Classical conditioning: Association between two

stimuli viz. unconditioned stimulus (US), and

conditioned stimulus (CS).
 Instrumental conditioning: Association between

a response and a stimulus; allows an organism to

adjust its behavior according to the consequences
of that behavior. For example, reinforcement
(positive, negative) and punishment.
Perception Learning
 Sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are considered as

the five gateways of knowledge. All knowledge is based

on sense perception. The individual receives information
from sense organs and interprets them in the light of
previous experience. The attaching of meaning to
sensation is called perception. This perception is the
foundation of all higher forms of learning and since it
depends on sensations, the first physiological factor,
which is involved in the learning process is sensation.
Learning is dependent on the relative perception of the
senses. This learning is confined to the presentation of
the concrete object .
Verbal Learning
 All learning taking place in formal education is verbal

learning. Learning of this type helps in the acquisition of

verbal behavior. The language we speak, communication
devices we use are the result of such learning. Signs,
pictures, symbols, words, figures, sounds and voices
employed by individual are the essential instruments in
the process of verbal learning.
Motor Learning
 When learning involves primarily the use of muscles,

it is called motor learning. In this type the individual

acquires new muscular coordinations as a mode of
response to a similar situation. Learning to walk,
swim, play throw ball, piano are examples of motor
learning.
Concept Learning
 A concept is the form of a mental image that denotes

a generalized idea about things, persons or events. In

learning a concept, an individual tries to find out some
common property in a group of objects. This learning
implies that the individual starts thinking in abstract
terms. He understands about the object without its
concrete form. These abstract concepts gradually
multiply and become a part of the mental makeup.
Problem Solving Learning
 Problem solving learning is a higher type of learning.

This learning requires the use of cognitive abilities like

Attitude Learning
 Much of our learning is based on attitudes. Because of

formation of attitudes we show favorable or

unfavorable responses to various objects, persons or
situations. The individual learns a subject based on his
attitude towards the subject.
Paired-associate Learning
 In paired-associate learning, learning tasks are

presented in such a way that they may be learned by

reason of their associations. Krishna, a boy's name
may become easy to remember in a paired
association with Lord Krishna. Much of the verbal or
motor learning may be acquired by means of the
technique of paired or multiple association.
Other Types of Learning
 Visual learning, auditory learning , kinesthetic and

tactile learning .These types do not always occur

independently. Two or more of the above types of
learning are involved in many situations, for example,
Factors Influencing Learning
Learning is a process of bringing relatively
permanent change in behavior of the
learner through experience or practice.
The learning process is centered on three
elements:
 The learner, whose behavior is to be

changed or modified.
 The type of experience or training required

for modification in the learner's behavior.

 The men and material resources needed for

providing desired experiences and training.

Factors Associated with Learn
 Learner's physical health: Physical health of the learner is an
important factor. Fever, sensory defects particularly of the eyes
or the ears, malnutrition, loss of sleep and fatigue are some of
the physical handicaps that hinder effective learning. The
learner should have sound health for learning.
 Learner's mental health: Experiments have shown that

worries, fears, persistent day dreams; feelings of loneliness and

inferiority affect learning. If the learner has no self-confidence,
self-reliance or self- respect due to the attitudes of teachers or
others, it is very difficult for him or her to learn well.
-Basic potential of the learner.
 Learner's innate abilities and capacities for learning.
 Learner's general intelligence, knowledge, understanding skills,

etc.
 Learner's basic interest, aptitudes and attitudes related to the

learning of a particular thing or area.

 The level of motivation: The stronger and clearer the motive

in learning anything, the greater is the effort and interest shown

by the learner in learning it. The result is greater and more
permanent learning.
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 Goals of life: The philosophy of immediate as well as
ultimate goals of one's life affects the process and product
of learning.
 Readiness and willpower: A learner's readiness and
willpower to learn is a great deciding factor of his results in
learning. If the learner has a will to learn a thing, he finds a
way for effective learning.
 Maturation: Maturation helps in the process of learning.
We learn things, when we are mature to learn or them. For
example, the child has to be physically mature before he
can learn to walk or run.
 Age: Age is also an important factor in learning. There are
certain limitations that old people face in learning new
things. They are physically weak and their ability to learn is
slow. They have a poor recent memory and their reasoning
speed decreases. al Learning ability for verbal material
increases till age twenty. After that there is a slow decline
till the age of fifty followed by a sharp drop in the later
years.
 Emotions: Tension or anxiety is a double-edged emotion. It
has a positive as well as a negative effect on learning.
Factors Associated with Type of Learning
Experience
 Nature of learning experience: Learning is influenced by
the nature of the subject matter and the learning -
experiences presented to a learner, such as formal or
informal, incidental or well planned, direct or indirect.
 Methodology of learning: Learning depends upon the
methods, techniques and approaches employed for the
teaching and learning of the selected contents. Some of
these techniques are:
 Linking the recent learning with those of the past
 Correlating learning in one area with that of another.
 Utilization of maximum number of senses.
 Revision and practice.
 Provision of proper feedback and reinforcement.
 Meaningfulness of material: The more meaningful the
material, the faster it is learned.
 Amount or length of material: Learning is influenced
considerably by the amount and length of the material to
be learned. In general, more the amount of material to be
learned, more the time the person will take to learn it.
Factors Associated with Men
and Material
 A learner is helped by the available resources for
bringing desirable changes in his behavior.
Certain factors which affect learning are:
 Quality of teaching.
 Availability of appropriate learning material and

facilities like teaching-learning aids, textbooks,

library and laboratory facilities, project works,
etc.
 Availability of conducive environment like, proper

seating arrangement, calm and peaceful

environment, absence of distractions,
cooperative and competitive group situations,
congenial learning environment at home,
provision of opportunity for creativity and self-
expression.
Learning Process
 Learning is a sequence of mental events
leading to a change in the learner.
Steps in Learning Process
 Learning process has continuity and is

carried over through various steps.

According to HP Smith the learning process
involves:
 A motive or drive
 An attractive goal
 A block to the attainment of the goal
 Motive: These are the dynamic forces that energize
behavior and compel the individual to act. The direction
of learning will depend upon the relative strength of
motives. Unsatisfied motives or needs compel the
individual to satisfy them, which initiates a learner to
learn something.
 Goal: For satisfaction of needs the individual sets

definite goals for achievement. The setting of goal helps

in making the learning purposeful and interesting. The
goal attracts the individual to learn.
 Block to the attainment of the goal: If the individual

faces no difficulty in attaining the goal, he will not

change his present behavior; this means there is no
necessity to learn. If a block or barrier obstructs the
individual to reach a goal then the individual will try to
change or modify his behavior. This means he learns
something to change his behavior or to reach a goal.
Along with the above steps individual readiness is
important for learning, i.e. physical and mental
maturity. Some other steps involved in learning
are reinforcement and integration.
 Reinforcement: If the response is
successful in action in satisfying the need,
that response is reinforced and on
subsequent occasions the individual will
tend to repeat it.
 Integration: In this process the individual

integrates the successful responses with the

individual's previous learning, so that it
becomes a part of a new functional whole.
 Learning situation: Learning situation

provides opportunity for learning. The

quality, speed and effectiveness of learning
depends much upon the kind s of learning
situation and environment available to the
learner. Healthy and favourable learning
environment brings satisfactory results in
 The process of learning does not end only
with the acquisition of certain knowledge,
skill and changes in behaviour in one
particular situation. Learning is a never
ending process, the change once acquired
or the learning once accomplished, gets its
e fixation in other like wise situations. It
stands for its modification and thus seems
always in a process of continuous change
and development.
Habit formation – habit
 Habits are routine, automatic behaviours
that are repeated regularly. They are a
learned experience and are part of an
individual's regular tendency or practice.
 They operate in the background, with some

studies suggesting that up to 40% of our

daily choices are made unconsciously.
Goals vs. Habits
Many people mistake goals and habits as
interchangeable entities. However, there are
significant differences:
 Goals are more likely to be driven by external

motivators, while habits are automatic

 Goals are usually big and important, while habits feel

insignificant and small

 Goals have an endpoint, and habits continue

throughout life
 Habits may be longer in duration than long-term goals

 When you focus on goals and achieve them, you may

not continue with the work it initially took to

accomplish the goal; conversely, small daily habits
compound over time, and you may end up proceeding
Habit Formation
 Habit formation is the process of new
behaviours becoming automatic.
 Behaviour is more likely to become habitual

(habit formation) when it is consistently and

frequently performed in the same context.
 Therefore, when an individual is in a context

that is associated with a specific behaviour,

this context will automatically prompt the
associated behaviour. This behaviour will be
effortless when the habit is formed.
Habit Classification
Habits can be classified into three categories:
 Motor habits: An individual's muscular

activities walking, running, sitting, standing,

particular postures
 Intellectual/cognitive habit :

Psychological process , logical thinking,

observation, reasoning
 Character habit: Various inner traits like

time management, hardworking, trusting

others also referred to as emotional habits,
as they express feelings and emotions
Habit Loop
We can use a process called the habit loop to
create new habits. This process has three
key steps:
 Reminder or cueing environment (place,

time, people, or behavioural)

 Routine (repetitive pattern of activities)
 Reward or harmony (an outcome of

activating the habit)

Reminder/Cueing
 Environment
 Habits are initiated by the cueing

environment or the reminder. The cueing

environment (place, people, time, etc.) can
serve as the trigger for automatic behaviour
or habit formation. "When a habit is
triggered, people have an automatic urge to
do the action"- this habit may be performed
unconsciously. A behaviour can be so
ingrained that you may forget you even did
it (e.g. brushing your teeth in the morning).
Five primary ways a new habit can be triggered:
Time : time based cues can help to keep individual
in routine & Stick to a habit .
Location: often habits are responses to our
environment or location
Preceding event: many habits are related to
something that happened previously in an
individual's life.
Emotional state: paying attention to your
emotional state helps build better habits.
Other people: surround yourself with people who
have the habits you want to have yourself
Two types of cueing can take place
 Direct cueing: Repeated association

between environment and routine•

providing a constant environment
E.G. Reading in the same room at the
same time.
 Motivated cueing: Rewarding experiences

that occurred in the past.

An individual who has had previous
successful experiences will be motivated to
perform the same behaviour.
Routine
 Routine refers to the set of actions we take as
part of building the habit.
 They are the actions that we most frequently
repeat. Because they are repeated so often,
these behavioural patterns become "etched"
into our neural pathways.
 New response mechanisms can be formed
through repetition and the practice of novel
behaviours.
 Forming a new habit is easier when the
behaviour is simple rather than complex.
 The more complex a task, the more repetitions
required to form a habit.
Harmony/Reward
 Harmony or reward is the third component
of the habit loop.
 Harmony represents an individual's inner

feeling of peace. As repetitive behaviour is

performed, people feel they receive inner
rewards and their needs are fulfilled.
 Activating this behaviour fills them with a

sense of peacefulness about the

surrounding environment.
 Consequently, this experience makes an

individual want to repeat the behaviour,

thus creating a positive feedback loop.
Thank you