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Learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, gardening, or picking up a new language, takes a lot of time and practice, whether that means scale training, learning about native plants, or using flashcards to memorize new words. To improve through practice, you have to perform the task repeatedly and receive feedback so you know whether you’re doing it correctly. Is my pitch correct? Did my geraniums bloom? Is my pronunciation. Learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, gardening, or picking up a new language, takes a lot of time and practice, whether that means scale training, learning about native plants, or using flashcards to memorize new words…….Continue reading….
By: Tod Perry
Source: Upworthy
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Critics:
Research in evolutionary biology has examined the conditions under which learning is favored over innate behavior. The predictability and timescale of environmental change are considered key determinants of when learning should evolve, with learning favored in environments that are neither completely stable nor entirely unpredictable.
Recent syntheses have also noted that models of learning evolution often use inconsistent definitions of ecological change, and that standardizing these measures may improve links between theory and empirical systems. Non-associative learning refers to “a relatively permanent change in the strength of response to a single stimulus due to repeated exposure to that stimulus.” This definition exempts the changes caused by sensory adaptation, fatigue, or injury.
Non-associative learning can be divided into habituation and sensitization. Habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which one or more components of an innate response (e.g., response probability, response duration) to a stimulus diminishes when the stimulus is repeated. Thus, habituation must be distinguished from extinction, which is an associative process. In operant extinction, for example, a response declines because it is no longer followed by a reward.
An example of habituation can be seen in small song birds—if a stuffed owl (or similar predator) is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were a real predator. Soon the birds react less, showing habituation. If another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one removed and re-introduced), the birds react to it again as though it were a predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is habituated to (namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place).
The habituation process is faster for stimuli that occur at a high rate rather than for stimuli that occur at a low rate as well as for the weak and strong stimuli, respectively. Habituation has been shown in essentially every species of animal, as well as the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica and the large protozoan Stentor coeruleus. Habituation is conceptually opposite to sensitization.
Active learning occurs when a person takes control of their own learning experience. Since understanding information is a key aspect of learning, it is important for learners to recognize what they understand and what they do not. By doing so, they can monitor their mastery of different subjects. Active learning encourages learners to engage in an internal dialogue in which they verbalize their understanding.
This and other meta-cognitive strategies can be taught to a child over time. Studies in metacognition have demonstrated the value of active learning, showing that learning is often stronger as a result. In addition, learners have more incentive to learn when they have control over not only how they learn but also what they learn. Active learning is a key characteristic of student-centered learning. Conversely, passive learning and direct instruction are characteristics of teacher-centered learning (or traditional education).
Associative learning is the process by which a person or animal learns an association between two stimuli or events. In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a reflex-eliciting stimulus until eventually the neutral stimulus elicits a response on its own. In operant conditioning, a behavior that is reinforced or punished in the presence of a stimulus becomes more or less likely to occur in the presence of that stimulus.
Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others. It is a form of social learning that can take various forms, depending on different processes. In humans, this type of learning does not require reinforcement to occur; instead, it relies on a social model such as a parent, sibling, friend, teacher, or others in the surrounding environment.
Imprinting is a kind of learning occurring at a particular life stage that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. In filial imprinting, young animals, particularly birds, form an association with another individual or in some cases, an object, that they respond to as they would to a parent. In 1935, the Austrian Zoologist Konrad Lorenz discovered that certain birds follow and form a bond if the object makes sounds.
Electronic learning or e-learning is computer-enhanced learning. A specific and always more diffused e-learning is mobile learning (m-learning), which uses different mobile telecommunication equipment, such as cellular phones. When a learner interacts with the e-learning environment, it is called augmented learning. By adapting to the needs of individuals, the context-driven instruction can be dynamically tailored to the learner’s natural environment.
Augmented digital content may include text, images, video, audio (music and voice). By personalizing instruction, augmented learning has been shown to improve learning performance for a lifetime. See also minimally invasive education. Moore (1989) purported that three core types of interaction are necessary for quality, effective online learning:
- Learner–learner (i.e. communication between and among peers with or without the teacher present),
- Learner–instructor (i.e. student-teacher communication), and
- Learner–content (i.e. intellectually interacting with content that results in changes in learners’ understanding, perceptions, and cognitive structures).
In his theory of transactional distance, Moore (1993) contented that structure and interaction or dialogue bridge the gap in understanding and communication that is created by geographical distances (known as transactional distance).
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