CONCEPT OF LEARNING

Meaning and Definitions of learning

Learning, in psychology, the process by which a relatively
lasting change in potential behaviour occurs because of practice or
experience. Learning is also a process of acquiring modifications in
existing knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies through
experience, practice, or exercise.
Gates and others “Learning is the modification of behaviour
through experience”
Henry, P smith “Learning is the acquisition of new behaviour or
strengthening or weakening of old behaviour as a result of
experience”.
Crow and Crow “Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge
and attitudes. It involves new ways of doing things, and it operates
in an individual’s attempt to overcome obstacles or to adjust to new
situations.”
Skinner “Learning is the process of progressive behaviour
adaptation.”
Munn“To learn is to modify behaviour and experience.”
M. L. Bigge “Learning may be considered as change in insights,
behaviour, perception, motivation or a combination of these.”
The above definitions emphasize four attributes of
learning...
• As Process: the first is that learning is permanent change in
behaviour.
• It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation
and use of intoxicant.
• The learning is not directly observable but manifests in the
activities of the individual.
• Learning depends on practice and experience.

Characteristics of Learning
Yoakum & Simpson have stated the following general
characteristics of learning: Learning is growth, adjustment,
organisation of experience, purposeful, both individual and
social, product of the environment.

Learning has the following characteristics.

1. Learning is a continuous modification of behaviour continues
throughout life
2. Learning is pervasive. It reaches into all aspects of human life.
3. Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally &
intellectually.
4. Learning is often a change in the organisation of behaviour.
5. Learning is developmental. Time is one of its dimensions.
6. Learning is responsive to incentives. In most cases positive
incentives such as rewards are most effective than negative
incentives such as punishments.
7. Learning is always concerned with goals. These goals can be
expressed in terms of observable behaviour.
8. Interest & learning are positively related. The individual learns
bet those things, which he is interested in learning. Most bys
find learning to play football easier than learning to add
fractions.
9. Learning depends on maturation and motivation.

Types of Learning
Learning has been classified in many ways.
I. Informal, formal and non-formal learning: Depending on the way
of acquiring it learning may be informal, formal or non-formal.
• Informal learning is incidental. It takes place throughout life.
It is not planned.
• Formal learning is intentional and organized. It takes place in
formal educational institution.
• Non-formal is also intentional & organized. It is flexible.
II. Individual or Group learning: Learning is called either individual
or group learning depending upon the number of individuals
involved in the learning process.
III. Another classification involves the types of activity involved
(a) Motor learning: - when learning involves primarily the use of
muscles it is called as motor learning. e.g.: learning to walk, to
operate a typewriter
(b) Discrimination learning: - Learning which involves the act of
discrimination is called discrimination learning. e.g. infant
discriminates between mother and aunt, milk and water.
(c) Verbal learning: - when learning involves the use of words it
is called as verbal learning.
(d) Concept learning: - when learning involves the formation of
concept it is called as concept learning.
(e) Sensory learning: - when learning is concerned with
perception and sense it is sensory learning.

NATURE OF LEARNING
a. Learning is adaptation or adjustment: Friends, we all
continuously interact with our environment. We often make
adjustment and adapt to our social environment. Through a process
of continuous learning, the individual prepares himself for necessary
adjustment or adaptation. That is why learning is also
described as a process of progressive adjustment to ever changing
conditions, which one encounters.
b. Learning is improvement: Learning is often considered as a
process of improvement with practice or training. We learn many
things, which help us to improve our performance.
c. Learning is organizing experience: Learning is not mere
addition of knowledge. It is the reorganization of experience.
d. Learning brings behavioural changes: Whatever the direction
of the changes may be, learning brings progressive changes in the
behaviour of an individual. That is why he is able to adjust to
changing situations.
e. Learning is active: Learning does not take place without a
purpose and self-activity. In any teaching learning process, the
activity of the learner counts more than the activity of a teacher.
f. Learning is goal directed: when the aim and purpose of
learning is clear, an individual learns immediately. It is the purpose
or goal, which determines what, the learner sees in the learning
situations and how he acts. If there is no purpose or goal learning
can hardly be seen.
g. Learning is universal and continuous: All living creatures
learn. Every moment the individual engages himself to learn more
and more. Right from the birth of a child till the death learning
continues.

PROCESS OF LEARNING
Learning is a process. It is carried out through steps. Learning
process involves –
(a) A motive or a drive.
(b) An attractive goal.
(c) A block to the attainment of the goal.

Let us see the steps one by one –

(a) A motive or a drive: Motive is the dynamic force that energizes
behaviour and compels an individual to act. We do any activity
because of our motives or our needs. When our need is strong,
enough we are compelled to strive for its satisfaction. Learning
takes place because of response to some stimulation. As long as
our present behaviour, knowledge, skill and performance are
adequate to satisfy all our needs, use do not feel any necessity to
change our behaviour or acquire new knowledge and skills. It is this
requirement, which initiates a learner to learn something.
(b) Goal: Every individual has to set a definite goal for
achievement. We should always have a definite goal for achieving
anything. If a definite goal is set then learning becomes purposeful
and interesting.
(c) Obstacle /block /barrier: The obstacle or block or the barrier is
equally important in the process of learning. The obstacle or the
barriers keep us away from attaining the goal.
Now, you will think how the obstacle can be important in the
process of learning. So let me tell you, if you face no difficulty of
any kind in attaining the goal, you will not bring any change in your
present behaviour or stock of knowledge or skills. Thus, the block
or the barrier is an essential step in the learning process.
Let us clear the above views by taking an example. Suppose
you wish to be included in your college hockey team. You want to
have the esteem of your colleagues, your teachers. You are also
motivated try the interesting experiences that you many enjoy. But
you are blocked by your lack of skill in dodging, tackling and
handling the ball. The obstacles in the path of goal achievement will
set you make up your deficiency and acquire essential skill through
sufficient practice and coaching.
LEARNING CURVE
Learning curve is a graphic representation of how learning
takes place in a particular situation. In all type of learning situations,
the course of learning can be depicted and described graphically by
drawing learning curves against x and y axis

The above figure shows a typical learning curve of many

types of learning. The curve consists of a number of irregularities,
as the progress is not constant.
For the convenience, the curve is divided into 5 stages – a,
b, c, d and e.
(a) Period of slow progress: Generally, when a person has to
start a learning of a given activity from a scratch, his early progress
will be slow. E.g., an infant’s progress in learning to walk is very
negligible in the beginning.
(b) Period of rapid progress: In this stage, the learner’s output
raises rapidly. e.g. In typing once the learner has developed co
ordination of the movement of fingers he shows rapid progress.
(c) Period of no apparent progress: Learning curves frequently
display a period of no apparent progress. It is also known as
plateau. A period of no visible learning progress, preceded and
followed by improvement is called as plateaus. E.g. In typing, a
person may after having made rather consistent progress for some
time, reach a point where perhaps for weeks no further progress is
made.
Causes of plateau
(i) The learner may be reorganizing the previous learning into
a new pattern before further progress is possible.
(ii) The learner may have hit upon bad habits
(iii) Lack of progress may be due to decrease in motivation.
(iv) The task may not be of uniform difficulty.
(v) Loss of interest.
(vi) The onset of fatigue is also one of the causes of a plateau.

(d) Period of sudden rise: At the end of a plateau, there is

generally a spurt in achievement. While on the plateau, the learner
acquires better techniques, which help him later on to show rapid
progress.
(e) Levelling: All learning will finally slow down to such an extent
that it will ultimately reach a period of no improvement. No one can
continue to improve indefinitely in any given situation. The learning
curve will eventually reach a limit, where no further improvement is
possible. This limit is known as physiological limit.
Characteristics of Learning Curve.
(i) Slow initial progress.
(ii) Spurt-like learning after some time.
(iii) Declination in the rate of learning.
(iv) Plateaus of learning.
(v) Sudden increase in learning.
(vi) Gradual levelling at the end.

Types of Learning Curve.

We get different types of learning curves depending upon –
(a) The nature of the learner
(b) The nature of the task/learning material
(c) Time available.
(d) Conditions under which the learning takes place.
It is difficult to classify these learning curves. However, three
common types of curves are there,
(i) Negatively accelerated or the convex curve.
(ii) Positively accelerated learning curve or the concave curve.
(iii) Combination of convex-concave curve.
Convex curve
It depicts rapid initial improvement in learning that slows
down with time. When the task is simple and the learner has
previous practice on a similar task, we get this type of learning
curve.
Concave curve
There is slow initial improvement and learning increases with
time. When the task is difficult we get such type of learning curve.

Combination of convex concave curve

It looks like the capital letter ‘S’. The curve takes concave or
convex shape in the beginning depending upon the nature of the
task.
In actual practical situations, such smooth curves are rarely
found. Usually there are ups and downs (fluctuation).

Educational importance of learning curve

1. In acquiring the basic skills in various subjects, the learner at
times appears to show no progress. At such moments, the teacher
can diagnose the reasons for the lack of progress.
2. A student’s progress may be arrested because the work is too
complex for him. The teacher can observe the student’s work and
detect the part that gives him trouble. The teacher should see if the
student has developed any faulty study habits, which impede his
progress.
3. The plateau may be due to the lack of motivation. The teacher
should provide encouragement in order to maintain motivation at a
high level.
4. The learning curves give a graphic evidence of one’s progress,
which is an effective motivational device for the learner.
5. Occurrence of plateaus can be minimized by using superior
teaching methods.