Essential aspects of the learning process(Mowley)

Motivation. An organism is constantly being bombarded by a lot of stimulus from the environment. One's response to any stimulus is directly proportional to the relative strength of one's motive.
 
Goal. Behavior, being purposive, is oriented towards a goal. What determines whether or not a person will strive towards a goal. What determines whether or not a person will strive towards a goal is the perceived probability of success.

Readiness - depends on training, experience and heredity. It is rated according to:

• Physiological factors - maturation of sense organs.
• Psychological factors - motives, emotional factors, self-concept.
• Experiential factors - previously learned skills, concepts.

Obstacle. The presence of obstacles in an occasion for learning new modes of adjustment; it is a hindrance, or deterrence that challenges the learner.

Responses are actions or behavioral tendencies according to one's interpretation of the situation. It may take the form of a direct attack or a form in a circumventing manner, what we call going around the bush.

Theory of learning

A source of information about learning is through theory. Briefly defined, a theory is a set of interrelated constructs, concepts, principles and hypotheses which attempt to explain, predict or control a set of phenomenon. A theory of learning involves the efficient methods of explaining the nature of the learning process. It describes, explains, or predicts conditions under which learning does or does not occur.

A theory of learning describes, explains, and controls the relationship between the teacher's behavior and the student's learning process. It explains how the teacher's behavior affects learning in the student. It considers the behavior of the teacher as the cause, and the learning of the student as affect. However, behavior of teachers is only one special category or environmental condition under which learning occurs. Learning can in fact occur even in the absence of a teacher.

Learning should be facilitated and accelerated rather than hindered by the behavior of the teacher. Learning occur because of rather than in spite of the teacher.

What is learning

Learning is the process by which experience or practice results in a relatively permanent change of behavior. Learning means the gaining of knowledge or skill; the relatively permanent modifications of response as a result of experience, which are useful in the attainment of the goals or ultimate needs of human beings.

Essential aspects of this definition are noteworthy. First, the term learning does not apply to temporary changes in behavior, such as those coming from drugs, illness, or fatigue. Second, it does not refer to changes resulting from maturation or biological influences. Thirdly, learning can result from vicarious as well as from direct experiences. You can be affected by observing events and behavior in your environment, as well as by participating in them. Finally, changes produced by learning are not always positive in nature. People can acquire bad habits as well as good ones. It covers changes that are opposite of improvement. Permanent changes in behavior brought about by maturational influences or biological changes are not considered as "learning."

Nature of learning

One of the most common question parents pose to their young children is "What did you learn in school today?" The most common replies are "I don't know" and "nothing." Does this indicate a general weakness of our educational system? The answer is no, it simply indicates, among other things, that much of learning takes place without our realizing that we are learning.

Life consists of continuous experiences. There are many activities that we recognize as learned skills, like throwing a ball, playing the piano, and programming a computer. There are also other things that we do not think of as being learned, like discriminating pizza from hamburgers, or Jollibee from McDonalds. However, these tastes are actually also learned.

The earliest theory of learning

Plato and Aristotle were called rationalists because the emphasized the role of the mind in acquiring knowledge. Plato (417-327 BC) believed in negativism, that knowledge is inherited and is therefore natural or an innate component of the human mind. Aristotle (384-322 BC) was called an empiricist, since he focused on sensory information as the basis of knowledge. He formulated his laws of association as the basis of knowledge. He formulated his law of association as follows:

• Law of Similarity - recall of the similar objects.
• Law of Contrast - recall of things that are opposite.
• Law of Contiguity - recall of an activity which is frequently related with a previous one.

Later notions on learning:

Rene Descartes (1596-1650), studied the relationship between the mind and body. He believed that the mind could initiate behavior.
John Locke (1632-1704), the infant's mind at birth is a tabularasa - "There is nothing in the mind that is not first in the senses, except the mind itself."
Franz Joseph Gall (1908-1882), examined the shape of the skull. He assumed that the faculties are located in specific parts of the brain. His study is called phrenology.
Charles Darwin (1908-1882), introduced the theory of evolution. He perceived human being as a combination of biological heritage and human experience.
Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909), learning and memory can be studied experimentally. He introduced the famous nonsense material.