Personal Theory of Learning

Nicole Anderson

Michigan State University

CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings

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What is Learning?

I believe learning is a social process involving some kind of interaction with humans or

an environment that forms an outcome or reaction. Learning can happen when there is a new

understanding of knowledge or transferring previous knowledge into a new context. Learning

happens throughout the developmental stages of growing, through observation and modeling,

habit-forming, and building schemas. I think learning is forever changing and can be developed

throughout your life. Your environment, beliefs, and motivation can shape your learning process.

The definition of learning can be hard to be defined because it depends on the audience

for what learning means to them. Learning from a scientist’s perspective may speak about the

physical reactions your body goes through while learning such as the function of the neurons or

hippocampus. From a psychologist’s perspective, one may identify learning from research and

experimentation from different social psychology approaches such as behaviorism and

constructivism while trying to understand what and why humans do what they do as learners.

From an educator’s point of view, one may talk about how students learn from different teaching

strategies, concepts being taught, and retained, as well as engagement levels that are shown from

the students. For me, as an educator, learning is highly encouraged by a strong passion about

what I teach and model in the classroom.

Different Types of Learning

Learning can happen in a variety of ways and in different environments such as at school,

home, a park or a museum. Learning can happen from a provider such as a teacher, a book, a

peer, a past experience, a location or setting, or from emotions. Learning can occur through

interactions with the environment based on the psychologist, Ivan Pavlov, who studied ideas on
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behaviorism. The environment shapes a specific behavior and habits can form based on a

response (Cherry, 2019). This type of learning was demonstrated through classical conditioning

with a dog that salivated every time a bell would ring.

One kind of learning is happening when you have the ability to transfer one context to a

new context (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). It is then important to be “educated” on a

topic than to be “trained” for quality learning experiences. Any type of new learning involves

transfer because it supports previous learning. This type of learning could differentiate a novice

versus an expert because of the way one understands the information in depth.

Another kind of learning is through observational learning. This type of learning can

happen throughout your life. It is very apparent in children because of their need to understand

how the world works because of their novice or limited knowledge. Children will watch and

observe their environment and can mimic what they observe. This was evident in Bandura’s

experiment with a child interacting with a Bobo Doll based on what they observed an adult do to

the doll.

Another kind of learning according to Cherry (2019) is when a person creates a schema

which is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. A

student in my class might look at a painting and assume that it is created with the same materials

we use in class based on their current knowledge. However, once I tell them that it is used with a

different paint such as oil and using a different technique they can modify their existing schema

of painting and create a new one based on their previous and current knowledge.
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Types of Learning Important for School

Understanding the different ways our students learn can help educators meet students

where they are at based on their needs. Learning in the educational setting is student-centered

and allows us to assess any progress that the individual student has made. Knowing that learning

can happen from our students’ thoughts, behaviors, and situated learning experiences can help us

use that information for ultimate learning opportunities. Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (2000)

suggest that early learning begins at a young age with the process of making sense of the world.

Therefore, it is crucial to help a child develop skills that help them process, use, retain, build, and

transfer knowledge. From an art teacher standpoint, learning happens in my classroom when I

can model, present, or facilitate new information and students can solve or work on that

information. Students should be given choices in their learning opportunities as well as different

ways to create with hands-on, authentic experiences. Students should be building on their art

skills throughout the year and through different grade levels by using prior knowledge to further

their artistic journey.

Students need a variety of teaching methods and choices in their learning. To help

students learn in school, there should be student ownership, connection making, and

collaboration with peers and teachers. Allowing students to have more ownership and flexibility

in their ways of solving assignments will cause intrinsic motivation in completing work. ​Patall,

Cooper, & Robinson (2008) did a study on giving choice to children and adults and concluded

that providing choice enhanced intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived

competence, among other outcomes. ​ Students will also be more motivated to learn, if the teacher

provides a safe environment that encourages and fosters learning for all students.
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The schema theory can be beneficial to us educators on how our students learn. Teachers

build schemas to make connections with students (Cherry, 2019). Students should be making

connections and building from new material taught based on previous knowledge to help them

better understand the world around them. Teachers can help students move beyond the “Fish is

Fish” theory from Erlwanger (1973) and give students the opportunities to form new concepts.

Habits can help facilitate learning. Students might benefit from habits by creating

routines in the classroom. Students will be able to follow the norms of the class and therefore

have more instructional time. A student will not be thinking about what they need to do when

they enter the classroom or what to do when their pencil breaks because this knowledge will be

like second nature to them. Students then will have more time to learn and practice their skills

instead of pondering about what to do in those routines. Students should receive positive

reinforcement and feedback if a teacher would like students to be more motivated academically

and behaviorally.

Differences in Individuals

Bransford, Brown, & Cocking (2000), mentions that students come with preconceptions

of how the world works. Since learning is formed from developmental stages, opportunities, and

experiences, then one can say everyone learns and has been taught differently. A student that was

given more resources and exposed and promoted to healthy habits could possibly have had more

learning opportunities. It is important then to close that gap in education by offering a safe and

supportive classroom environment based on individual learners.

Effective teaching can occur through a better understanding of how individual students

learn.​ By understanding students’ learning background, educators can individualize their learning
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and help a student reach their full potential. Some students might not see the value in learning

about subjects taught and therefore lack motivation to try on those assignments. Other students

might not have a supportive home life to allow for more growth at school. Also, other students

might have differing abilities that could affect how they learn. All students come with different

circumstances that might affect how they learn and view learning. Teachers should understand

how their students learn so they can help them reach their full potential by creating lessons that

are individualized for their students. This could mean that I am helping students that might have

a harder time learning based on trauma or anxiety, but I can apply classical conditioning to my

classroom by providing a pleasant environment (Cherry, 2019). As a teacher, I can provide

coping techniques to relax and calm them to inhibit any tenseness or anxiety. My new knowledge

of how humans learn could have a positive effect on my students’ learning which could even

result in healthier lives and well-being.

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References

Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). ​How people learn: Brain, mind,

experience, and school​ (Expanded Edition). National Academy Press.

Cherry, K. (2019). The role of a schema in psychology.​ Very Well Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873

Cherry, K. (2019, September 5). ​Classical conditioning: How it works with examples​. Verywell

Mind. ​https://www.verywellmind.com/classical-conditioning-2794859

Erlwanger, S. H. (1973). Benny’s conception of rules and answers in IPI mathematics.

Journal of Children’s Mathematical Behavior,​ ​1(​ 2), 7–26.

Patall, E. A., Cooper, H., & Robinson, J. C. (2008). The effects of choice on intrinsic motivation

and related outcomes: A meta-analysis of research findings. ​Psychological Bulletin,

134​(2), 270–300.