Learning

Learning can be defined as the process by which any relatively permanent change in behaviour occurs as a result of practice and/or experience.

Example:
1.If a child avoids touching burning firewood after
being hurt, it can be understood that learning has taken place. Learning is a process by which a certain change or modification in behaviour occurs.

2.A puppy may initially respond to lots of different

people, but over time it learns to respond to only one or a few people's commands.

Characteristics of Learning: 1. Learning is a continuous process, which takes place at all

stages in one's life.

2. Learning is generally a gradual process, it is spread over

a period of time.

3. Learning brings about improvement in performance with

practice and experience.

How Learning differs from other concepts ??

Learning needs to be differentiated from other concepts, such as, maturation, reflex and instinctive behaviour.

Example:
A child cannot learn to walk unless his leg muscles are strong enough to support his/her weight. Certain level of maturity is required to acquire skills or knowledge.

Learning Curve :
Learning can be measured in the performance of an individual on a given task. The performance is seen through the rate of learning. The rate of learning as normally measured by performance which can be represented graphically by placing the 'units of practice' on the X-axis and 'degree of learning' on the Y-axis.

Curve -A- indicating slow learning initially, followed by rapid learning Curve -B- illustrating irregular learning Curve-C- indicating slow learning initially, followed by rapid learning

Factors Effecting Learning

There are certain factors that affect learning. Some of the important ones have been discussed below.The factors are related to the stimulus, task or the learner.

1.Reward and Punishment :

Modern psychologists, however, use a more general term to cover both cases : "reinforcement". A reinforcement is anything that strengthens a response-anything that promotes learning. A reward is a positive reinforcement; a punishment is a negative reinforcement.

Example: Social rewards:

Social rewards, which involve attention, praise, or thanks, are often more highly valued by children than a toy or food. Simple gestures like pats on the shoulder.

Verbal Praise :
Nods, or smiles can mean a lot. These types of social rewards affirm a child s worth as a person.

Rewards for a class:

y Extra recess. y Eating Lunch outdoors. y Extra art, music or readind time. y Dancing to music. y A book read aloud to the class. y A field trip. y Playing a game or doing a puzzle together. y Free choice to do at the end of the class. y When a teacher gives a child a candy for answering a question
correctly .

2.FeedBack or knowledge of result :

y If you are provided with knowledge of results or feedback, the efficiency of your learning is increased. It also helps you to eliminate errors and increase the precision in your performance in the next trial. Knowledge of results especially when favourable, reinforces learning and maintains interest and motivation.

y Feedback represents all the information received by the subject during or after performing a movement. Two types of feedback resulting from the produced action have been identified i.e intrinsic and extrinsic

Example:
while learning to type, knowledge of performance in each trial will help you to know where you made mistakes and to correct accordingly.

3.Whole and Part Learning:

It is easier to learn parts than whole. This factor is related to the method of learning the context. Whole learning is often considered an efficient method to learn the task particularly for fast learners. In part learning, continuity and meaning of the material often get lost, but if the content is very long it may first be learnt in parts and then as' a whole.

Example:
When we see a person coming towards us firstly, we perceive him as a whole than we go to isolated parts i.e hair, dress, shoes etc.

4.Meaningfulness:
Learning words like CAT, DOG, BAT, DOLL which have meaning, and NAD, BAB, COL, PEM which are nonsense syllables. The meaningfulness of the material to be learnt contributes to your learning efficiency. If the material to be learnt is meaningful, the rate of learning becomes rapid. The more meaningful the material, the fewer the trials or practice sessions necessary to learn it.

Example:
Trying to remember the digits 7434828321 can be difficult to remember, but, by grouping it as follows 7-434-828-321 it can be easier to remember.

5.Motivation:
Motivation refers to the state within a person that drives the learner towards some goal. A learner with a high motivation, tends to make more responses than a learner with a weak motivation. Reinforcement also acts as a motivation factor. There are two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic.

Example:
In the experiment with the pigeon in the Skinner box, a hungry pigeon will be more active in exploring and giving responses, which may lead to learning. y Motivation is intrinsic when the learner recognises an activity as self- rewarding and does it because he/she derives satisfaction from it. y In extrinsic motivation, the reward is external and lies outside the person and outside the activity.

Example:
A child who studies for gaining knowledge is intrinsically motivated while a child who studies for the sake of earning a scholarship is extrinsically motivated.  Certain factors affect learning and bring about improved

performance.
 These factors are Reward and Punishment, Feedback or 'Knowledge of results, Distribution of practice, Whole vs. part learning, Meaningfulness, Interest and Attitude and Motivation.  Reinforcement is the modem psychological term for reward and punishment. It is the key to learning.

 Feedback or knowledge of results particularly when favourable, reinforces learning and maintains interest.  The length of practice sessions and distribution of rest periods in between affect, the learning process.  The more meaningful the material, the better the learning.  An individual's interest and positive attitude towards learning material make learning more effective.  An individual's motivation or the urge to learn brings about better learning.

Major Factors that effect learning:  Relative Biological strength.  Novelty and Familarity.  Intensity of CS and US.