The learning process can be defined as an intellectual activity aimed to deepen and improve existing knowledge and skills. “Learning is the creation of connections and the strengthening of connections between nodes” (Pressley and McCirmick, 2006, p. 120). The process of learning is complex and lifelong. Following Bee, “To understand children’s development, we must understand both change and consistency, both universality and individuality” (Bee, 2000, p. 14). The individual is affected by the structure of defined events and contexts. There is little recognition of individually initiated processes, although behavior that might appear purposive on the part of an individual is explained as being a product of certain stimuli which might have been received in a more powerful way by certain individuals.
Taking into account the nature of learning, it is possible to say that learning is a partially observable process. It is possible to observe the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills. For instance, playing the piano, it is possible to observe that “I play this passage better, and better, and I play this passage very well.” This process involves not only technical skills but emotional response and feel of the music. Critics recognize a more holistic rather than atomistic pathway to learning by describing the effects of combinations of stimuli (stimulus situations) rather than individual stimuli, which are still grounded in the assumption that complex learning is controlled by the combination of stimuli given. Similarly, within the objectives model, individual differences accorded little attention. Following Bee (2000), all children are expected to demonstrate the objectives identified. They have no scope to shape, negotiate or deviate from these objectives. Bee (2000) states that each stage of child development is observable. “The child is a new stage approaches tasks differently, sees the world differently, is preoccupied with different issues” (Bee, 2002, p. 19).
Learning is characterized by a change in behavior from new skills, knowledge, or attitude. Pressley and McCirmick (2006) underline that the second experience is emotional, relevant, and active. This emotion, relevance, and activity occur when the learner has a desire to learn. The distinctive feature of this view of learning is the further process of accommodation. Learning does not just accumulate as knowledge, but the new material of learning itself can influence change in what is already known or understood, or it can change itself under the influence of what is already known. The Cognitive-Development Theory underlines that learning is supported by life experience and self-knowledge (Bee 2000). The process of learning is not about the accumulation of material but about the process of changing conceptions. Given that learning usually implies that a person becomes progressively wiser and better at learning and understanding, it is possible to say that it is characterized by s change in behavior. This term seems to accord with the material on the development of the conceptions of knowledge (Pressley and McCirmick, 2006). For instance, a highly motivated learner on a short course that is interesting to her, where she trusts the teacher and knows that the new material of learning can improve the way she operates in the workplace, is likely to allow considerable accommodation in her cognitive structure. In this context, ‘expecting’ something means that it is relatively in accordance with our cognitive structure as it is at that time and with changes that can be anticipated (Pressley and McCirmick, 2006). The process will be controlled by the learner’s effort to balance the relationship between the new material of learning and the existing cognitive structure. However, external factors, including the influence of any teacher, can influence this process.
I share this perspective and suppose that learning is characterized by a change in behavior. For instance, a change in cultural and social beliefs may imply the development of different understandings of why people share some sculptural ideas. This, in turn, may suggest that various areas of personal behavior should change in order to maintain consistency of attitude and behavior. For the individual, this might imply involvement with a different social group, and so on. Learning challenges personal beliefs and self-concepts that have become embedded in a personal orientation to the world. Accommodation, then, may lead to considerable change in attitude and behavior. With each change may come new learning that, in turn, will have an impact on the state of the cognitive structure, perhaps challenging the initial major change (Pressley and McCirmick 2006) again. The processes of assimilation do not, therefore, involve great change. Changes in behavior occur when new skills and knowledge contradicts existing rules or improves that knowledge.
References
- Bee, H. (2000). Child and Adolescent Development. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
- Pressley, M., McCirmick, Ch.B. (2006). Child and Adolescent Development for Educators. The Guilford Press; 1 edition.