L
e a r n i n g 
Learning,
acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is
common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of
human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn
throughout their lives.
Even
before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use
their hands to manipulate toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their
senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their
environments. They learn how to interact with their parents, siblings, friends,
and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children
learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They
also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which
behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They
learn social skills for interacting with other children. After they finish
school, people must learn to adapt to the many major changes that affect their
lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because
learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the
study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to
understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers,
criminologists, and other human-service workers need to understand how certain
experiences change people’s behaviors. Employers, politicians, and advertisers
make use of the principles of learning to influence the behavior of workers,
voters, and consumers.
Learning
is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain.
Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge,
where this storage takes place, and how the brain later retrieves knowledge when
we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in
behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person’s experiences.
There
are many forms of learning, ranging from simple to complex. Simple forms of
learning involve a single stimulus. A stimulus is anything perceptible to the
senses, such as a sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste. In a form of learning
known as classical conditioning, people learn to associate two stimuli that
occur in sequence, such as lightning followed by thunder. In operant
conditioning, people learn by forming an association between a behavior and its
consequences (reward or punishment). People and animals can also learn by
observation—that is, by watching others perform behaviors. More complex forms
of learning include learning languages, concepts, and motor skills.
IMPACT
ON EDUCATION:
The
United States and other countries have begun to take advantage of the ability of
audiovisual devices to transcend geographical barriers. Audiovisual devices can
expose students to experiences beyond the classroom, and they can disseminate
instruction across large areas, making education accessible to more people. In
the U.S., communication satellites distribute educational programming to all
public television stations; some programs are broadcast and others may be viewed
on closed-circuit systems. India has also experimented with satellites to
broadcast educational materials. In England, the Open University provides a
college education by using radio, television, and regional learning centers.
Other nations that have used audiovisual devices to transmit educational
materials over large distances are France, Canada, and Brazil.
Education,
planning, preparation, and use of devices and materials that involve sight,
sound, or both for educational purposes. Among the devices used are still and
motion pictures, filmstrips, television, transparencies, audiotapes, records,
teaching machines, computers, and videodiscs. The growth of audiovisual
education has reflected developments in both technology and learning theory.
Children and Multimedia
The multimedia computer, which combines sound, graphics,
animation, and video, has become a valuable educational tool. It allows students
to learn about a particular topic in a variety of ways: consulting an electronic
encyclopedia, looking at pictures, viewing a film, or listening to a discussion.
These students are using multimedia to learn about the Solar System.
Taken from MS Encarta 2002. Update your Knowledge thru Microsoft Encarta.
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