NATURE OF LEARNING

The definition of learning covers the following elements:

a. It is a long-term change (though it does not necessarily last forever).

b. The change is brought about by experience.

c. It does not include changes that are physiolagical like maturation, mental illness, fatigue, hunger or the like.

d. It involves mental representation or association, presumably, it has its basis in the brain. 

Learning is also defined as "any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of practice and experience. From the definitions, learning has three important elements: 

a) a change in behavior, better or worse; 

b) change takes place through practice or experience, (not changes due to growth or maturation); and, 

c) behavior change must be relatively permanent and last for a fairly long time. All learning involve activities learned by the individual refer to types of learning.

TYPES OF LEARNING

There are types of learning resulting from engagement or participation in classroom activities.

a. Motor Learning - It is a form of learning for one to maintain and go through daily life activities.

b. Verbal Learning - It involves the use of spoken language as well as the communication devices used. 

c. Concept Learning - A form of learning which requires the use of higher-order mental processes like thinking, reasoning, and analyzing. It involves two processes: abstraction and generalization.

d. Discrimination Learning - It is learning to differentiate between stimuli and responding appropriately to these stimuli.

e. Learning of Principles - It is learning principles related to science. mathematics, grammar and the like. Principles show the relationship between two or more concepts.

f. Problem Solving - This is a higher-order thinking process. This learning requires the use of cognitive abilities.

g. Attitude Learning -  Attitude is a predisposition which determines and predicts behavior. Learned attitudes influence one's behavior towards people, objects, things or ideas. 

NATURE OF THEORIES OF LEARNING

The nature of learning or the changes occurring within an individual is difficult to visualize and understand because it is an internal process. Hence it is not easy to present, or explain in concrete terms what this complex process is all about. Thus, there is a need to look at theories of learning to enable one to better conceptualize and operationalize what learning is all about. 

LEARNING THEORY 

is an organized set of principles explaining how individuals acquire, retain, and recall knowledge. Learning theories try to explain how people learn and why they learn. They also try to explain the phenomenon of learning - its nature, and the conditions under which learning best occurs. The explanations are, however, considered as tentative. These theories especially guide teachers to have better understanding of how learning occurs and how learners learn. 

DEFINING "LEARNER-CENTERED" 

Learner-centered is the perspective that focuses on individual learners - their heredity, experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, talents, interests, capacities and needs, with a focus on learning - the best available knowledge about learning and how it occurs, and about teaching practices that are most effective in promoting the highest levels of motivation, learning and achievement for all learners. 

These are main ideas of these principles:

a. They pertain to the learner and the learning process.

b. They focus on psychological factors primarily internal and under the control of the learner.

c. They deal with external or contextual factors that interact with the internal factors.

d.They are seen as an organized set of principles; no principle to be viewed in isolation.

e. The principles are classified under cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, affective, developmental, social and individual difference factors related to learning.

f. These principles apply not only to all learners but to everybody involved in the educational system.