Learning Definition Comments

Learning Definition Comments


Hey everyone- I will be glad to lead this one if that is okay with everyone. Just post your thoughts on learning and we will see if we can come up with a condensed yet conclusive definition. Melanie- good thoughts.

I believe learning occurs when connections are made relating newly acquired information to prior experience and knowledge, thus creating a new understanding.

I think Melanie's and Karen's examples are good ones b/c that is what children are doing when they first learn objects, colors and natural consequences.


Hey Karen- I think that for assessment purposes we as educators truly want our students to learn and not just quickly learn some facts to pass the test. I remember from all of my psych. classes I took for one of my concentrations, ... when something is rehearsed and put into short term memory it can stay there for a while... when it is retrieved and used over and over ( and it then becomes stored in our long term memories if it is retrieved enough). Now, that would not be information just to pull out for a test, but information that has been stored, retrieved over and over again and used in meaning ways. I kind of lean to think that while memorizing is not the learning we desire of our students, it may be a basic form of learning because we are acquiring the information evenif for a short while..it is then our choice to decide to make it meaningful and if it has value to us.
Thank you for your contributions. We are going figure this out :)
Jill


Hey girls! Here are a couple of things to think about.
We all agree that learning is a process and there are different reasons why we learn things. There are also different degrees- name, recite, describe, compare, analyze, evaluate... If we learn something and it is rehearsed ( practiced and stored away) then it becomes a memory- like memorizing facts, numbers...you can actually learn something and it may not have a lot of meaning to you then, but as you use the "memory" it will become meaningful and can even be built upon. Mult. facts are good examples to think about. Many students had to just memorize them and later became to understand what was actually happening to those numbers.( Now, I know that is not the way many of us teach today, b/c we want to teach the process first)
Here are some def. I found to think about:

An exercise of constructing personal knowledge that requires the learner to be mentally active rather than passively interpreting when recording information.
www.maine.gov/education/higher ed.Glossary/Glossary.htm
( I like the words actively interpreting...)

Learning is the acquisition and developing of memories and behaviors, including skills, knowledge, understanding values and wisdom. It is the goal of education and the product of experience.
Wikipedia

Maybe these will help. Let me know your thoughts!
Thanks-Jill

Thanks for reminding me about wikepedia. I had forgotten that anyone can contribute. In this case it might be okay to look at and compare what we believe. Thanks!


Don't apologize for what you believe. I think this has been good to really search the definition out. It is good to see all sides and see if we see things differently. I know what you mean about memorization getting more of a negative feeling. It should go against what we believe in our goals in teaching. I will try to compile "our definition" and see if you feel like it is reasonable.

*These are our definitions. Please read through and see if the last one is agreeable for all of our views.I am
trying to focus on what we do agree on.*


Learning is....

if a student remembers what is taught...if he remembers his current perspective and is challenged. Melanie


occurs when connections are made relating newly acquired information to prior experience and knowledge, thus creating a new understanding. Jill

when you take previous knowledge and extend it by applying to new situations. Daily

as aquiring a skill, process, or knowledge. Learning can be also building upon prior knowledge. When you learn, it is a memory that lasts. Stephanie

Candance commented through-out and said she agrees that learning is acquiring a skill, process, or knowledge,but does not agree with learning is a memory that lasts. She believes that there are different levels of learning and when you really learn something it can become a memory but they are two different things.

Here it is :)***************************************

Learning consists of acquiring a new skill, process, or knowledge and can be acquired by making new connections with prior experience and knowledge, thus creating new understanding and ability to apply newly acquired information.