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WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF LEARNING AND

HOW PEOPLE LEARN
According to.G.D. Boaz, learning is the process by which the individual
acquires various habits, knowledge, attitude that are necessary to meet
the demands of life. Learning is a process of drawing a connection
between what is already known or understood and new information.
There are four concepts of learning by klausmeier (1974) suggests four
level of learning, these are:
I. Concrete i.e., recall of critical attribute.
II. Identity i.e., recall of examples
III. Classification i.e., generalizing to new examples
IV. Formalization i.e., discriminating new instances.
The work of cognitive psychologists, neuroscientists and educational
researchers as well as expert practitioners has provided us with a set of
understanding about how people learn.
1.) People learn by making sense of the environment and of the stimuli around
them.
2.) People learn by drawing connections between what is already known or
understood and new information thus, prior to knowledge is important to the
learning process.
3.) People learn in different ways, i.e., through musical, kinesthetic and spatial abilities.
We also know that individual learners have possess differences that influence how they
handle visual, aural, or kinesthetic information.
4.) People learn through tests and assessments to try to get at how people
have started thinking differently based on reading, observations and
conversations.

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WHAT DOES MEMORY PLAY IN THE LEARNING PROCESS.
Memory is basically nothing more than the record left by learning processes.
Memory is essential to all learning. But learning also depends on memory, but
let’s see how our memory is organized, according to different experts.
A common model used to organize memory is:
Sensory: An ultrashort memory that lasts a few milliseconds.
Short term: Information is retained from seconds to minutes.
Long term: Information is retained for hours, months, and years.
But this one is more interesting, ‘’working memory model’’:
Central executive: A kind of attention controller for other lower – level
memories.
Phonological loop: Process the information obtained by sounds or spoken
language.
Visuospatial: Visual, spatial, and kinesthetic information.
Episodic buffer: It combines the information obtained from the two previous
elements, achieving coherence between long term memory and own
experiences.
But to simplify things, lets classify memory according to how the
information is stored and remembered:
1 Explicit Memory
2 Implicit Memory
3 Working Memory

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY IN THE LEARNING

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 PROCESS
Memory is a dynamic process. Our brain is continually changing, recognizing,
and integrating the long-term information we already have, with new data,
interpretations and experiences. So, without this process, we couldn’t talk
about learning, and vice versa. We can see this in the relationship between the
student and the teacher.
The different strategies the teacher uses in the teaching learning process play
an important role in the development of the educational process, ensuring
better coding, storage and retrieval of what was thought. This directly affects
the memory and attention of the student.
THEN, WHATS THE ROLE OF IMPLICIT, EXPLICIT, AND WORKING MEMORY IN
THIS PROCESS.
Explicit memory refers to the storage of information about general facts and
specific events in our life. These are conscious memories that we can describe
in words, and it’s the type of memory we usually speak about in our day to
day.
Implicit memory refers to unconscious memories and takes the form of habits,
perceptual, or associative conditioning. Its expresses automatically and is
difficult to verbalize. You can see this in the case when you learn a foreign
language; you need implicit memory because learning occurs through habits.
Finally, working memory enters the scene. Its basically a kind of short-term
memory that serves to retain small amounts of information for short periods of
time while were reading, talking, or even thinking. In practice, both explicit and
implicit memory should be used to optimize learning.

WHAT ARE THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FOUR MAJOR THEORIES OF
LEARNING.
The four major theories of learning are:
1) Behaviorism learning theory
2) Cognitive learning theory
3) Constructivism learning theory
4) Humanism learning theory.
BEHAVOURISM LEARNING THEORY
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Behaviorism utilize key ideas from the work of B.F. Skinner, who theorized that
learning occurs through a series of reward and punishments. While skinner
believed that all learning could occur this way, Behaviorist Theory is most
commonly utilized in classrooms today as a tool for behavior management.
However, educators still utilize rote practice and repetition: two practices that
are linked to behaviorist theory. According to skinner, rewards increase the
likelihood that behaviors will be repeated, while punishments decrease the
likelihood of repetition. He also theorized that rewards and punishments could
be either positive or negative in nature. This can confuse a lot of people! What
he meant was that when we give or add something to the environment, the
interaction is positive; when we take something away the interaction is
negative. So, for example, removing an undesirable activity from the agenda
might be a negative reward, adding an undesirable activity to it might be a
positive punishment.
COGNITIVE THEORY
Cognitive learning theory is largely based on the work of Jean Piaget, who
rejected the idea that learners are passive and simply react to stimuli in the
environment. Instead of focusing solely on observable behavior, Cognitive
Theory seems to explain how the mind works
during the learning process. Like a computer, the mind takes in information,
processes that information, then uses that information to produce learning
outcomes. Piaget’s 4 stages of development indicate the learner’s ability to
understand abstract, complex concepts.
CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
Constructivists see the learner as a constructor of knowledge. New learning is
shaped by schemas, which the learner brings to the learning process. Lev
Vygotsky is an important founder of Constructive Learning Theory. Vygotsky
believed that learning is a collaborative process, and that social interaction is
fundamental for cognitive development. According to Vygotsky, students learn
best when working collaboratively with those whose proficiency level is higher
than their own, allowing them to complete tasks they are not yet able to do
independently. Vygotsky identified these concepts as the more knowledgeable
other than the zone of proximal Development classrooms is student centered,
with the teacher acting as the facilitator.
HUMANISM THEORY

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Humanism learning theory approaches learning as a way to fulfill an
individual’s potential rather than meeting specific learning targets. Maslow’s
research on Hierarchy of Needs is a major concept within this theory, as it
focuses on the whole person, specifically the cognitive and affective needs of
the learner. The theory holds that self-actualization is the ultimate goal of each
individual. Learners are trusted to determine their own goals, set standards,
and evaluate their own work. Thus, students are at the center of the Humanist
classroom. Teachers are facilitators and coaches, recognizing the unique needs
of each student and supporting their academic and social development.

WHAT IS METACOGNITIVE AND WHY IS IT A PART OF LEARNING PROCESS.

Metacognitive is the process of thinking of one’s own thinking and learning.
Metacognitive is the ability to examine how you process thoughts and feelings.
This ability encourages students to understand how they learn best. It also
helps them to develop self-awareness skill that becomes important but as they
get older. There are three processes of metacognitive:
1 Self-monitoring
2 Self-evaluators
3 Self-reputations

Perkins 1992 defined the four levels of metacognitive known as: tacit, aware,
strategies and reflective. Moely and colleagues (1995); Schraw (1998) states
that metacognition is a teachable skill that is central other skill sets such as
problem solving, decision making, critical thinking and reflective thinking.

Metacognition refers to an individual’s ability to plan, monitor, evaluate and

make changes to their own learning behaviors in order to confront challenges
more effectively.

BENEFIT OF METACOGNITION IN STUDENT LEARNING.

1. Higher achievement levels for the students.

2. It increases their ability to learn independently.
3. Improved resilience
4. It aids disadvantages to their pairs.

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5. Transferable knowledge; it helps students to transmit their knowledge
and understanding across task and contexts, including reading
comprehension, writing, mathematics, morosity, reasoning and problem
following.

ACTIVITIES IN METACOGNITIVE CLASSROOM

KWL CHART: A KWL chart is a way of tracking. ‘’You plan, do review

progress, The idea is to create a chart for your students to use with
questions.

 Identify what they already know.

 Articulate what they have learnt
 Communicate their knowledge, skills and abilities to a specific
audience, such as hiring a community
 Set goals and monitor their progress
 Evaluate and revise their own work.
 Identify and implement effective learning strategies

REFERENCE

 Bransford, J. D. Brown A. L cocking R.R. [1990]. How people: Brain,

mind, experience, and school Washington, DC academy press.
 Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) mind in society the development of higher
psychological process Cambridge, MA Harvard university press
 Perkins, D (1992) smart school: better thinking and learning for
every child. Free press new York.

MARY OKOH

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