Learning and Development Theories

“Learning is a process of active engagement with experience. It may involve an increase in skills, knowledge or understanding, a deepening of values or the capacity to reflect. Effective learning will lead to change, development, and a desire to learn more.”
– Understanding Barriers to Learning, www.tmag.co.uk/articles/Jull99-2.html

A process of active engagement with experience.

I instruct about 70 full and part-time freshmen and sophomores in the Graphics and Art Departments at a Community College in Wyoming. When I began teaching in 1999, about a quarter of my students attended class and completed assignments, but when tested were not able to synthesize and evaluate the lessons in either verbal or written forms. A majority performed at a normal level, but without passion. Thankfully, a quarter of my students seemed to “get it” and were genuinely interested in exploring the topic. They did extra reading, engaged in discussion, went beyond the minimum requirements of the assignments, and were excited about their learning.

I have puzzled over this range of student response and thought perhaps my instructional methods were at fault. I’ve read several books including “Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers,” by Wilbert J. McKeachie, which was particularly helpful. I’ve reflected upon my previous teaching experiences  with adults at the University of California and my current readings in the Graduate Program at University of Wyoming. Consequently, I completely overhauled my methods in order to provide lessons formats that cover the variety of learning styles: exercises for the kinesthetic learner, websites and slide presentations for the visual learner, handouts and reading assignments for the read/write learner, and traditional lectures for the aural learner. I provide the material in various formats and hope for the best. My students seem to accept and enjoy this variety. College freshmen and sophomores are developing into adult learners. Its a fascinating age group to work with: they seem to go through a growth spurt similiar to the one toddlers go through, when the world begins to make sense for the first time.

In Dr. Sun’s “Learning Theories for Educators” graduate course at University of Wyoming, I discovered that in addition to learning styles, there are domains of learning: the cognitive, psychomotor, affective, and conation. I now understand how the various domains can be barriers to learning. For example, cognitive domain is knowledge based and can be evaluated with objective tests – but many students “freeze up” during testing. Objective tests are not a full measure of learning.

Psychomotor domain is skill based and is learned through imitation and practice. The evaluation is a performance test – but older and disabled students may not be able to see, hear, or perform quickly. So performance tests are not a full measure of learning.

The affective domain is associated with behavior and belief: a student’s emotional life will affect learning. And the cognitive domain is associated with motivation. Freshmen and sophomore students have difficulty remaining motivated when they are tired of the educational system and are frequently experiencing the emotional roller-coaster of love, first job, first away-from-home independence, and the ensuing responsibility. Non-traditional students have difficulty remaining motivated because their home and work responsibilities dominate their lives. So learning is subject to barriers beyond the classroom.

How learning occurs.

It’s impossible to have a teaching philosophy that is not connected to theories of learning. In the first semesters of my graduate studies, I realized that even though I have been trying to provide a variety of learning styles, my approach was teacher-oriented. In other words I thought it necessary to be the “expert” and “impart” my knowledge of the subject in a variety of ways.

Over the last several semesters, I have been trying a learner-oriented approach in which I encourage students to share their previous experience with the subject, and to choose which exercises they need to perform in order to hone their skills. I continue to emphasize a carefully prepared lesson plan, logical sequence of skill-building lessons, and specific learning outcomes (which apparently is a behavioral approach). (Kolesnik, W. B. Humanism and/or behaviorism in education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1975).

The student-centered approach seems to work in my situation. My students are more motivated and are performing at a higher level.  Some still struggle with their personal hurdles, but I have seen marked improvement my students’ enthusiasm as well as in their evaluations of my courses. 

I have always believed that learning occurs as the result of hearing/reading/thinking/doing. I believe most people have a range of learning styles: rare is the purely visual learner – even in Art. Most of us are multi-modal. I believe it’s important to provide students with a set of planned steps including analytical reading and skill-building exercises at each step. This builds understanding through the stages of learning outlined in Bloom’s Taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.  Yet, I have to accept that – because of the many barriers to learning – students will not “get” every lesson.

However in a program like mine, where I see many of the same students in every class for four semesters, I can cover the same material in a multitude of settings and contexts. I think by the end of two years with me, they finally “get it”.  Perhaps its repetition. Perhaps its practice. Perhaps it’s my maturing effectiveness. Probably it’s all three.

Learn v. 1. To gain knowledge or understanding of, or skill in, by study, instruction, or investigation. 2. To find out about; to ascertain.

Learning n. 1. Acquisition of knowledge or skill. 2. Knowledge or skill received by instruction or study.

Development n. The act, process or result of developing

Develop v. 1. To lay open by degrees or in detail; to disclose; reveal. 2. To unfold more completely; to evolve the possibilities of; to make active; advance; further; to promote the growth of. 3. To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud. Syn. expand, mature, ripen.

Change v 1. To alter/convert by substituting something else for. 2. To give and take reciprocally (exchange). n. a substitution of one state in the place of another.