Module 4

Principles of Learning
“ The ability to learn is the most significant activity of
man.”

Welcome to Module 4! The learning of our students is our foremost concern. How do
we define learning? Learning is the acquisition of a knowledge-base used with fluency to
make sense of the world, solve problems and make decisions.

Let us break the long definition for analysis. The key words are: 1) acquisition of a
knowledge-base, 2) fluency, and 3) make sense of the world, 4) solve problems and 5) make
decisions. The definition implies that learning begins with knowledge acquisition. This
knowledge learned must be used with ease or fluency because it has been mastered. This
knowledge is applied in problem solving, in decision-making and in making meaning of this
world. Knowledge that is just acquired without being utilized is what American philosopher
North Whitehead referred to as inert ideas" These are ideas that are merely received into the
mind without being utilised, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations.

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Learning Outcomes:

1. Discuss the principles of learning.

2. Draw the implications of these principles to the teaching-learning process.

A C T I V I T Y

What is your learning principle? What is meant by learning?

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Is memorizing without understanding considered learning? Is memorizing for the

test and forgetting what you memorized after the test considered learning?

A B S T R A C T I O N
Principles of Learning

By knowing some principles on how learning takes place, we will be guided on how to teach.
Below are some principles of learning from Home and Pine (1990):

1. Learning is an experience which occurs inside the learner and is activated by the
learner. The process of learning is primarily controlled by the learner and not by the
teacher (group leader). Learning is not only a function of what a teacher does to, or
says to, or provides for a learner More significantly, learning has to do with
something which happens in the unique world of the learner. It flourishes in a
situation in which teaching is seen as a facilitating process that assists people to
explore and discover the personal meaning of events for them.
No one directly teaches anyone anything of significance… People learn what they
want to learn, they see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear When
we create an atmosphere in which people are free to explore ideas in dialogue and
through interaction with other people, we educate them. Very little learning takes
place without personal involvement and meaning on the part of the learner. Unless
what is being taught has personal meaning for the individual, he will shut it out from
his field of perception. People forget most of the content "taught" to them and retain
only the content which they use in their work or content which is relevant to them
personally. Then it must be wise to engage the learners in an activity that is connected
to their life experiences. It is unwise to impose learning on our students. No amount
of imposition can cause student learning

2. Learning is the discovery of the personal meaning and relevance of Ideas. Students
more readily internalize and implement concepts and ideas which are relevant to their needs
and problems. Learning is a process which requires the exploration of ideas in relation to
self and community so that people can determine what their needs are, what goals they would
like to formulate, what issues they would like to discuss and what content they would like to
learn. Within broad programmatic boundaries, what is relevant and meaningful is decided by
the learner, and must be discovered by the learner

It is necessary that teacher relates lessons to the needs, interests and problems of the learners.
3. Learning (behavioral change) is a consequence of experience. People become
responsible when they really assumed responsibility; they become independent when they
have experienced independent behavior. They become able when they have experienced
Success; they begin to feel important when they are important to somebody: they feel liked
when someone likes them. People do not change their behavior merely because someone tells
them to do so or tells them how to change For effective learning, giving information is not
enough, e.g., people become responsible and independent not from having other people tell
them that they should be responsible and independent but from having experienced authentic
Responsibility and independence.

If experience is the best teacher, then a teacher should make use of experiential learning.
Experiential learning makes use of direct as well as vicarious experiences. We don't have to
experience everything in order to learn. We learn from other people's experiences, too, good
as well as not so good experiences.

4. Learning is a cooperative and collaborative process. Cooperation fosters learning. ‘’

Two heads are better than one.’’ People enjoy functioning independently but they also enjoy
functioning interdependently. The interactive process appears to "scratch and kick people’s
curiosity, potential, and creativity. Many times you are reminded of something because of
what you hear from the group.

Cooperative approaches are enabling. Through such approaches people learn to define
goals, to plan to interact and to try group arrangements in problem solving. Paradoxically, as
people invest themselves in collaborative group approaches they develop a firmer sense of
their own identification. They begin to realize that they count, that they have something to
give and to learn. Problems which are identified and delineated through cooperative
interaction appear to challenge and to stretch people to produce creative solutions and to
become more creative individuals.

Teacher should make use more of cooperative and collaborative approaches. This way,
students are taught to live together and learn interdependently

5. Learning is an evolutionary process. Behavioral change requires time and patience.

Implicit in all the principles and conditions for learning is an evolutionary model of learning.
Learning situations characterized by free and open communication, confrontation,
acceptance, respect, the right to make mistakes, self-revelation, cooperation and
collaboration, ambiguity shared evaluation, active and personal involvement, freedom from
threat, and trust in the self are evolutionary in nature.

Change takes time. Let us not expect results overnight Rome was not built in one day. Then
as teachers and learners, let us learn to be patient. Things that are worthwhile in life take
time.

6. Learning is sometimes a painful process. Behavioral change often calls for giving up the
old and comfortable ways of believing, thinking, and valuing. It is not easy to discard
familiar ways of doing things and incorporate new behavior it is often "downright"
uncomfortable to share one’s self openly, to put one's ideas under the microscope of a group,
and to genuinely confront other people. If growth is to occur, pain is often necessary
However, the pain of breaking away from the old and the comfortable is usually followed by
appreciation and pleasure in the discovery of an evolving idea of a changing self.

It may be good to make our students realize that learning is a difficult task. It is accompanied
by sacrifice, inconvenience and discomfort. But it leads to inner joy.

7. One of the richest resources for learning is the learner himself. In a day and age when so
much emphasis is being placed upon instructional media, books and speakers as resources
for learning, we tend to overlook perhaps the richest source of all - the learner himself. Each
individual has an accumulation of experiences, ideas, feelings and attitudes which comprise
a rich vein of material for problem solving and learning. All too often this vein is barely
tapped. Situations which enable people to become open to themselves, to draw upon their
personal collection of data, and to share their data in cooperative interaction with others
maximize learning.

As a teacher, you must draw these learners' ideas, feelings and experiences. You midwife the
birth of ideas.

8. The process of learning is emotional as well as intellectual. Learning is affected by the

total state of the individual. People are feeling beings as well as thinking beings and when
their feelings and thoughts are in harmony, learning is maximized. To create the optimal
conditions in a group for learning to occur, people must come before purpose. Regardless of
the purpose of things a group, it cannot be effectively accomplished when other things get in
the way. If the purpose of the group is to discuss current issues and problems in a given field
with reason and honesty. Then it will not be achieved if people are afraid to communicate
openly. Barriers to communication exist in people and before we conduct ‘’ official
business,’’ we need to work with the people problems that may exist in a group. It might be
said that in any group, regardless of the people problems which exist, enough group
intellectual capacity remains intact for members of the group to acquire information and
skills. However, to maximize the acquisition and internalization of ideas it seems reasonable
that the people problems would have to be dealt with first.

As teachers, let us appeal to our student’s intellect as well as to their emotions.

9. The process of problem solving and learning is highly unique and individual. Each
person has his own unique styles of learning and solving problems. Some personal styles of
learning and problem solving are highly effective, other styles are not as effective, and still
others may be ineffective. We need to assist people to define and to make explicit to
themselves the approaches they ordinarily use so that they can become more effective in
problem solving and learning. As people become more aware of how they learn and solve
problems and become exposed to alternative models used by other people, they can refine
and modify their personal styles so that these can be employed more effectively, (Source:
Gerald J. Pine and Peter J. Horne. (1990).
 It pays to allow students to learn in accordance with their unique learning styles and
multiple intelligences.

Laws of Learning

It is worth including other principles/laws of learning by Thorndike (1932). Give the teaching
implications of the following laws of Thorndike:

Law of Effect

 Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling.

 Learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling.
 Learning takes places properly when it results in satisfaction and the learner derives
pleasure out of it.

Law of Exercise

 Things most often repeated are best remembered.

 Students do not learn complex tasks in a single session.

Law of Readiness

Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to
learn, and they do not learn well if they see no reason for learning.

Additional Laws (Principles)

Law of Primacy

 Things learned first create a strong impression.

 What is taught must be right the first time.

Law of Recency

Things most recently learned are best remembered.

Law of Intensity

The more intense the material taught, the more it is likely learned.

Law of Freedom

 Things freely learned are best learned.

 The greater the freedom enjoyed by the students in the class, the greater is the
intellectual and moral advancement enjoyed by them

We teach effectively when we consider how learning takes place as stated in the
following principles of learning.
  Only the leaner can learn for himself. It is wise to be him her do the learning
activity himself/herself.
 Learning is discovering the meaning and relevance of ideas. Let's relate what
We teach to the life experiences and needs of the learners.
 Learning (behavioral change) comes as result of experience. Let us make
learners go through the experience of learning it feasible. If not, learning from
other people s experiences as recorded in history will suffice.
 Cooperative and collaborative learning are enabling. Let us use more
collaborative and cooperative approaches in the classroom
 Learning does not take place overnight. Like the process of evolution, it is
gradual. Let us be patient. Learning takes time.
 Learning poses inconvenience, discomfort, giving up our old ways of thinking
and doing things because something new is far better.
 Very much forgotten is the fact that the learner is one of the richest resources
of learning. Consult him/her
 Learning is not only a cerebral process. It is not only thinking but also feeling.
It involves the heart. In fact, learning takes place best when our hearts are
stricken.
 No two individuals learn in the same way. Each person has unique way of
learning, let us not impose our way of learning on others. Let us give
considerations to multiple intelligence and varied learning styles.

Thorndike's laws/ principles of learning are still relevant. The primary laws
include 1) the law of exercise, 2) the law of effect and 3) the law of readiness. Other
laws are the: 1) law of primacy, 2) law of recency,3) law of intensity and 4) law of
freedom.

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Based on the nine principles of learning, do metaphorical thinking by completing this

statement: Learning is like _______.

There are other principles of learning. Research on them.