"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
- Benjamin Franklin
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What is Learning?
Learning is the process in which people acquire new information. There are various ways in which learning happens, and various ways in which learning can be best for different learners. I believe that the acquisition of knowledge can be achieved through different ways, including, but not limited to, observation learning, social learning, learning styles, and learning through building schema. We also can learn better when we are learning content that is culturally relevant to ourselves. When considering learning styles, we can include the following: visual learning, auditory learning, verbal learning and physical learning. When I speak on visual learning, I am discussing learning through pictures, drawings and words, whereas auditory learning is learning from listening. Verbal learning is learning from talking, and physical learning is learning through touch. It is important to note that these styles are simply preferences for people, but should be considered when speaking about the ways in which we learn. For example, I prefer to learn through physical learning, although there is not sufficient evidence that suggests that this is anything more than simply a preference. According to Kirschner and van Merrienboer (2013), there is no evidence that proves a learning style to be more or less effective than other learning styles for an individual (Kirschner & van Merrienboer (2013). With research that suggests no correlation between learning and learning styles, it is crucial to address other factors that should be taken into consideration when discussing how we learn. These factors include observational learning, social learning, building schema, and learning through culturally relevant pedagogy.
Learning Beyond Learning Styles
Beyond learning styles, there are various types of learning that provide different levels of understanding. When discuss learning theories, it is important to discuss the Observational Learning Theory. Observational Learning describes a way that people can learn in which learning takes places through observing somebody doing a task. The Observational Learning Theory was coined by Albert Bandura and describes the process of learning by watching others, retaining information, and then later replicating the behaviors that were observed (Cherry, 2021). Although observational learning takes place in every part of life, it is most common during childhood, as it plays an important role in the socialization process (Cherry, 2021). Children learn to behave in social situations based on how the people around them behave and interact with others. This can include a model lesson from a teacher of how to behave in a classroom or watching a friend behave in a social situation.
Learning In and Out of School
When we learn, we learn both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. According to Lauren B. Resnick (1987), the majority of learning in school is done through individual cognition (Resnick, 1987). I largely disagree with this statement. I believe that learning is highly group motivated, and that most learning, and the best learning, happens through project based learning in which we learn through working with peers. Project based learning is an approach in which learning is designed to engage students in the investigation of authentic and real-word problems (Blumenfled et al., 1991). Due to the fact that project based learning is so realistic, students are highly motivated and engaged in the learning process. Learning in school is highly connected to Vygotsky’s theory of Sociocultural learning. Vygostky believed that social interaction “plays a critical role in children’s learning - a continuous process that is profoundly influenced by culture” (Cherry, 2022). One of the most important pieces of Vygotsky’s theory is the Zone of Proximal Development, in which a child has distance between what they know and what they don’t know (Cherry, 2022). To fill this gap of learning, Vygotsky argues that this can not be done independently, but instead, can be done with the help of a peer that is knowledgeable in this context. For example, if a student did not know much about finding the main idea of a text, the largest viable option for helping to fill that gap would be to have that student work with another student with more knowledge about main idea. This learning is evident in many classrooms, as we know, according to Vygotsky, that one of the best ways to learn is through a peer.
Learning is also largely present outside of the classroom. According to Medrich (1997), “85% of the time children are awake is spent outside of the classroom (Esbach, 2007). The main way that we learn outside of school is through informal learning. Esbach argues that informal learning includes situations in life in which learning comes spontaneously (Esbach, 2007). An example of this type of learning would be the acquisition of sight words through informal reading at night to a child. The child will slowly pick up on the common sight words in the text and learn how to say them, as well as the meaning of them, through simply reading to a child at home. According to Esbach, students also learn through non-formal learning, in which learning was planned but is adaptable to the situation (Esbach, 2007). For example, a student may be working on adding fractions at school, so at home, a parent might introduce adding fractions while cooking. This is a planned opportunity for learning, but is adjustable to the situation that is at front. Overall, learning happens both inside and outside of the school setting, and can happen in various ways, but specifically through social interactions as well as planned and unplanned learning opportunities.
Learning Through Building Schema
Another way that students will learn is through building their schema during real-world interactions. “Schemas are something that all people possess and continue to form and change throughout life” (Cherry, 2019, p. #). As we learn new things about the world around us, we add to our schema, or background knowledge, about different concepts and ideas. There are four different types of schema. First, is person schema, or the knowledge that we have on individuals (Cherry, 2019). For example, as a teacher, we understand our students as people, with individualized behaviors, personalities and interests. Next, there are social schemas. Social schemas include the “general knowledge about how people behave in certain social situations” (Cherry, 2019). For example, we have general knowledge about how our 5th grade students may react to one another in social situations. Next, there are self schemas, or knowledge about ourselves (Cherry, 2019). This is what I would define as our self-image. What are our likes and dislikes? What are our beliefs? Our morals? Lastly, there is the event schema, or the “knowledge of patterns of behaviors of certain events” (Cherry, 2019). For example, in a staff meeting, it would be considered inappropriate behavior to be grading papers during the meeting, and we know this because we know what behaviors are appropriate for different situations and events.
Aside from having different types of schema, we also know that our schema is constantly changing. Cherry argues that we change our schema in two key ways, through accommodation and through assimilation. In accommodation, we change our schemas and add new information to our ideas about the world around us (Cherry, 2019). For example, a student may have a schema that dogs are white because their dog and their uncle’s dog are both white. Then, they come across a dog out in public and their schema changes; they learn that dogs can be different colors. In assimilation, we make new information fit in with existing understandings of the world around us (Cherry, 2020). For example, a child may have schema about the Civil War, but then learns about World War II, and they would add new schema to their existing information about wars.
Learning Through Cultural Relevance
According to Ladson-Billings (1995), for “more than a decade, anthropologists have examined ways that teaching can better match the home and community cultures of students of color who have previously not had academic success in schools” (Ladson-Billings, 1995). One of the ways that anthropologists have found that can lead to more successful academics for children is teaching through “culturally appropriate” pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995). This means that we learn best when we feel our cultures are being related to while someone is teaching us. For example, a student whose cultural background includes Mexican Catholic culture might learn a concept in reading best when the topic of the text is about DÍa de los Muertos. For another student whose cultural background includes Swedish culture, Swedish history may be more interesting and easier to learn than another topic. Learning through culturally relevant teaching can help each individual learner feel special, respected, and important, which can, in turn, lead to more sufficient and successful learning.
In conclusion, learning happens in various ways that all lead to different, but similar outcomes. We all may have different learning styles, but despite a change in the process of learning, the product is always the same; acquisition of knowledge. According to many of the most famous learning theorists, we learn in different ways, including learning in and out of school, learning through observation, learning through building schema, and learning through content that is culturally relevant. I believe that with a combination of these learning theories, we learn best.
References
Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project-based learning: sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4), 369-398.
Cherry, K. (2019, September 23). The role of a schema in psychology. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873
Cherry, K. (2020, April 16). Biography of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, One of the most influential psychologists. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/lev-vygotsky-biography-2795533
Cherry, K. (2020, April 11). The importance of assimilation in adaptation. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-assimilation-2794821
Cherry, K. (2021, April 28). How observational learning affects behavior. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402
Eshach, H. (2007). Bridging in-school and out-of-school learning: Formal, non-formal, and informal education. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(2), 171-190.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Education Research Journal, 32, 465-491.
Paul A. Kirschner & Jeroen J.G. van Merriënboer (2013) Do Learners Really Know Best? Urban Legends in Education, Educational Psychologist, 48:3, 169-183, DOI: 10.1080/00461520.2013.804395
Resnick, L. B. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13-20.
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