Comparing learning definitions
1. Select two definitions of learning. You can use some that were included in your lectures or tutorials, or you can present your own definition. Present the definitions, where they are from (please note, if it is your definition, you need to make this clear), and what kind of learning were they initially designed to explain. 2. Identify and compare the critical attributes in the two definitions. Every definition has at least one critical attribute. 3. Compare and contrast the definitions. Assess the usefulness of the definitions to you as a future teacher and how they fit with what you consider learning to be. You may also consider issues such as how well each definition accounts for learning of exceptional students, learning in different content areas, individual differences in learning, different cultural expectations of learning etc
Sample Solution
Comparing learning definitions
We all know that the human brain is immensely complex and still somewhat of a mystery. It follows then, that learning, a primary function of the brain, is understood in many different ways. Learning can be described in different ways. It can be defined as a change in human disposition or capability that persists over a period of time and is not simply ascribable to processes of growth (The Conditions of Learning by Robert Gagne). It can also be defined as the transformative process of taking in information that, when internalized and mixed with what we have experienced, changes what we know and builds on what we do. It is based on input, process, and reflection. It is what changes us (The New Social Learning by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner).
