What is Learning?

Learning is “a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result

of experience and increases the potential for improved performance and future
learning” Learning is not something done to students, but rather something
students themselves do. It is the direct result of how students interpret and respond
to their experiences.
Educational researchers agree that learning is much deeper than memorization and
information recall. Deep and long-lasting learning involves understanding, relating
ideas and making connections between prior and new knowledge, independent and
critical thinking and ability to transfer knowledge to new and different contexts.
The three major types of learning described by behavioral psychology are classical
conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning
Learning can be defined in many ways, but most psychologists would agree that it
is a relatively permanent change in behavior that results from experience.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a learning process in which an association is made
between a previously neutral stimulus and a stimulus that naturally evokes a
response.
For example, in Pavlov's classic experiment, the smell of food was the naturally
occurring stimulus that was paired with the previously neutral ringing of the bell.
Once an association had been made between the two, the sound of the bell alone
could lead to a response.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is a learning process in which the probability of a response
occurring is increased or decreased due to reinforcement or punishment
Skinner described how reinforcement could lead to increases in behaviors where
punishment would result in decreases. He also found that the timing of when
reinforcements were delivered influenced how quickly a behavior was learned and
how strong the response would be. The timing and rate of reinforcement are known
as schedules of reinforcement.
Observational Learning
Observational learning is a process in which learning occurs through observing and
imitating others. Albert Bandura's social learning theory suggests that in addition
to learning through conditioning, people also learn through observing and imitating
the actions of others.
7 Important Factors that May Affect the Learning Process
Some of the important factors which may affect the learning process are as
follows:
It has been found out that the pupil’s difficulty in learning may be due to many
factors within the child himself.
Intellectual factor:
The term refers to the individual mental level.Sucesses in school is generally
closely related to level of intellect. Pupils with low intelligence often encounter
serious difficulty in mastering school work. Sometimes pupils do not learn because
of special intellectual disabilities.
2. Learning factors:
Factors owing to lack of mastery of what has been taught, faulty methods of work
or study, and narrowness of experimental background may affect the learning
process of any pupil. If the school proceeds too rapidly and does not constantly
check up on the extent to which the pupil is mastering what is being taught, the
pupil accumulates a number of deficiencies that interfere with successful progress.
In arithmetic, for instance, knowledge of basic addition is essential to successful
work in multiplication. Weakness in addition will contribute directly to the
deficiency in multiplication. Likewise, failure in history may be due to low reading
ability or weakness in English.
Similarly, because of faulty instruction, the pupil may have learned inefficient
methods of study. Many other kinds of difficulty which are directly related to
learning factors may interfere with progress.
3. Physical factors:
Under this group are included such factors as health, physical development,
nutrition, visual and physical defects, and glandular abnormality. It is generally
recognized that ill health retards physical and motor development, and malnutrition
interferes with learning and physical growth.
Children suffering from visual, auditory, and other physical defects are seriously
handicapped in developing skills such as reading and spelling. It has been
demonstrated that various glands of internal secretion, such as the thyroid and
pituitary glands, affect behavior. The health of the learner will likely affect his
ability to learn and his power to concentrate.
4. Mental factors:
Attitude falls under mental factors attitudes are made up of organic and kinesthetic
elements. They are not to be confused with emotions that are characterized by
internal visceral disturbances. Attitudes are more or less of definite sort. They play
a large part in the mental organization and general behavior of the individual.
Attitudes are also important in the development of personality. Among these
attitudes interest, cheerfulness, affection, prejudice, -open mindedness, and
loyalty. Attitudes exercise a stimulating effect upon the rate of learning and
teaching and upon the progress in school.
The efficiency of the work from day to day and the rapidity with which it is
achieved are influenced by the attitude of the learner. A favorable mental attitude
facilitates learning. The factor of interest is very closely related in nature to that of
symbolic drive and reward.
5. Emotional and social factors:
Personal factors such as instincts and emotions and social factors, such as
cooperation and rivalry, are directly related to a complex psychology of
motivation. It is recognized fact that the various responses of the individual to
various kinds of stimuli are determined by a side variety of tendencies.
Some pupils are in a continuing state of unhappiness because of their fear of being
victims of the disapproval of their teachers and classmates. This is an
unwholesome attitude and affects the learning process to a considerable degree.
This is oftentimes the result of bad training.
6. Teacher’s Personality:
The teacher as an individual personality is an important element in the learning
environment or in the failures and success of the learner. The way in which his
personality interacts with the personalities of the pupils being taught helps to
determine the kind of behavior which emerges from the learning situation.
The supreme value of a teacher is not in the regular performance of routine duties,
but in his power to lead and to inspire his pupils through the influence of his moral
personality and example. Strictly speaking, personality is made up of all the factors
that make the individual what he is, the complex pattern of characteristics that
distinguishes him from the others of his kind. Personality is the product of many
integrating forces. Generally speaking , pupils do –not like a grouchy teacher who
cannot control his temper before the class. It is impossible for a teacher with
temper to create enthusiasm. Pupils love a happy, sympathetic, enthusiastic and a
cheerful teacher. Effective teaching and learning are the results of love for pupils ,
sympathy for their interests, tolerance and a definite capacity for understanding.

7. Physical factor:
One of the factors that affect the learning efficiency is the condition in which the
learning occurs. This includes the classrooms, text books, equipments, school
supplies and other instructional materials. In the school and at the home, the
conditions for learning must be favorable and adequate if teaching is to produce the
desired results. It cannot be denied that the type and quality of instructional
materials and equipment play an important part in the instructional efficiency of
the school.
It is difficult to do a good job of teaching in a poor type of building and without
adequate equipment and instructional materials. A school building or a classroom
has no merit when built without due regard to its educational objectives and
functions.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) gives all students an equal opportunity to
succeed.
This approach to teaching and learning offers flexibility in the ways students
access material and show what they know.
UDL also looks for different ways to keep students motivated.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching and learning that
gives all students equal opportunity to succeed.
To understand what UDL is, it helps to understand what it’s not. The
word universal may throw you off. It may sound like UDL is about finding one
way to teach all students. But UDL actually takes the opposite approach.
The goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove any barriers to
learning. It’s about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every person’s
strengths and needs. That’s why UDL benefits all learners.
This approach to teaching or to workplace training doesn’t specifically target
people who learn and think differently. But it can be especially helpful for the 1 in
5 kids and adults with these challenges — including those who have not been
formally diagnosed. It can also be very helpful for English language learners.

It is an approach to teaching aimed at meeting the needs of every student in a

classroom. It can be helpful for all kids, including kids with learning and attention
issues. But UDL takes careful planning by teachers. Here are just a few examples
of how UDL can work in a classroom.
Posted lesson goals
Having goals helps students know what they’re working to achieve. That’s why
goals are always made apparent in a UDL classroom. One example of this is
posting goals for specific lessons in the classroom. Students might also write down
or insert lesson goals in their notebooks. The teacher refers to lesson goals during
the lesson itself.
Assignment options
In a traditional classroom, there may be only one way for a student to complete an
assignment. This might be an essay or a worksheet. With UDL, there are multiple
options. For instance, students may be able to create a podcast or a video to show
what they know. They may even be allowed to draw a comic strip. There are tons
of possibilities for completing assignments, as long as students meet the lesson
goals.
Flexible work spaces
UDL promotes flexibility in the learning environment. That’s why in a UDL
classroom, there are flexible work spaces for students. This includes spaces for
quiet individual work, small and large group work, and group instruction. If
students need to tune out noise, they can choose to wear earbuds or headphones
during independent work.
Regular feedback
With UDL, students get feedback — often every day — on how they’re doing. At
the end of a lesson, teachers may talk with individual students about lesson goals.
Students are encouraged to reflect on the choices they made in class and whether
they met the goals. If they didn’t meet the goals, they’re encouraged to think about
what might have helped them do so.
Digital and audio text
UDL recognizes that if students can’t access information, they can’t learn it. So in
a UDL classroom, materials are accessible for all types of learners. Students have
many options for reading, including print, digital, text-to-speech and audiobooks.
For digital text, there are also options for text enlargement, along with choices for
screen color and contrast. Videos have captions, and there are transcripts for audio.

3 main principles of UDL

UDL is a framework for how to develop lesson plans and assessments. It’s based
on three main principles:
1. Engagement
Look for ways to motivate learners and sustain their interest. Here are some
examples: Let people make choices
Give assignments that feel relevant to their lives
Make skill building feel like a game
Create opportunities for learners to get up and move around
2. Representation
Offer information in more than one format. For example, the instructor could
provide a worksheet along with:
Audio, which could be as simple as saying the written directions out loud
Video showing how to solve one of the problems
Hands-on learning
3. Action and expression
Give learners more than one way to interact with the material and to show what
they know. For example, they might get to choose between:
Taking a pencil-and-paper test
Giving an oral report
Making a video.