Concept of Learning - Essay Example

While individuals often group learning and performance together as they share similar elements, researchers argue that performance is achieved through the act of learning. Singer and Edmonson (2006, pg. 4) indicate that, “learning, whether for individuals or groups, is an active process of gaining information, understanding, or capabilities.” This is contrasted with notions of performance that indicate it is understood as the achievement of goals. As one might assume, within these categorical distinctions there exists a wide variety of articulations of the concepts.

In further investigating learning research demonstrates that there are a number of further notable elements. The psychology of learning is a recognized theoretical science with a broad array of investigative research. While there exists an array of competing conceptual approaches to learning, learning itself is broadly understood as experience based and leading to long and short-term changes in behavior or performance. Learning is also distinguished as being an element of potential behavior, but not actual behavior.

In these regards, the things the individual learns can potentially alter their behavior, but do not do so necessarily. Within the psychology of learning there are a number of competing conceptual articulations of the theoretical science. From an overarching perspective, these notions are informed by behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist psychological modes of understanding. It should be no surprise that these categories also correspond to major conceptual understandings of behavior and motivation.

The behavioral learning perspective is informed by the psychological theories of B.F. Skinner. Skinner demonstrated that learning and behavior are altered by both classical and operant conditioning methods; the distinction being that in classical conditioning behavior is altered by stimuli and in operant conditioning it is altered by reinforcement mechanisms (Davis 1999). While behavioral models of learning have a number of adherents, a growing body of scientific research has attested to the efficacy of cognitive theories of learning.

In large part cognitive concepts of learning are distinguished from behavioral concepts as behavioral concepts plus much stronger emphasis on the explanation of learning through overt behavior; conversely, cognitive theories contend that learning is rooted in mental functioning. The main tenant of cognitive learning theory is that memory plays a crucial role in terms of future learning and that human memory is an organized process information system. This is differentiated from behavioral understandings that consider learning as more instinctual.

Another major conceptual theory of learning is the constructivist approach. The constructivist approach to learning is heavily influenced by psychologist Jean-Piaget and contains within it notions of both behavioral and cognitive understanding. In these regards, constructivist notions of learning incorporate the cognitive emphasis on memory and experience in indicating that learning is “a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas of concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience” (2004, pg. 10). However, while cognitive learnin