Learning

Dictionaries typically define learning as the act of acquiring knowledge and skills through observation, study, or instruction, but this definition needs to be clarified to be of use to school psychologists. The process of learning is complex and many factors influence its occurrence. This article will more clearly define the concept of learning, examine the historical development of current theories, consider instructional practices that enhance learning, and describe the importance of understanding learning to school psychology.

It is easy to think of learning as a product or an out-come. When a parent asks Elizabeth what she learned [Page 284]in school that day, the parent is viewing learning as a product. The parent expects Elizabeth to list some specific facts or skills that she acquired. Some theories emphasize observable products. Learning can also be understood as an internal process, not easily observed. Thinking through a problem or figuring out how to follow a procedure also illustrates the learning process.

What we learn is organized according to a network of associations and concepts (often called schema) stored throughout the brain. Much of this information may never be demonstrated, but it has been learned just the same. Elizabeth may have learned all sorts of things in school that day such as how to borrow in two-digit-subtraction problems, that Mrs. Caldwell puts her lipstick on crooked, how to get to Room 113, and that Billy Jones likes her.

The process of learning is continuous, but its products are observable only when directly assessed. Psychologists use the term performance to refer to the products of learning that the learner demonstrates.

Performance is the change in behavior that we can observe and from which we infer that learning has occurred. It may be the appearance of a new behavior, or an increase or reduction in a behavior previously learned. For example, as we practice the addition of single-digit numbers, our scores on tests of addition should progressively increase. A teacher would infer that we are learning to add. Here is Ramon's math test scores over five weeks: Week 1 = 13, Week 2 = 17, Week 3 = 16, Week 4 = 19, and Week 5 = 22. Note that the scores did not increase uniformly; they actually decreased on one week's test. Unevenness of performance is common in the learning of most skills. Because we infer learning from performance, it is helpful to have a predetermined standard or criterion in mind when we judge if learning has occurred. Should Ramon's teacher cease providing instruction in adding numbers on the assumption that learning is complete?

To be classified as learning, changes in behavior must occur in relation to practice or experience. Changes in behavior that accompany growth are considered to be products of maturation or development. My six-year-old son once proudly directed me to, “Look at what I learned to do,” whereupon he chinned himself on a tree branch. Noting that he had grown three inches in the past few months, I declared “I think you’ve grown bigger and stronger, too.” While this distinction was probably ignored by my son, the incident reminds us that the process of human growth also produces changes in behavior.

...