What is Learning?

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, behaviours, or values through experience, study, or exposure to new ideas. It is an essential part of human development and is a lifelong process that continues throughout a person’s life.

There are many different ways to learn, including through formal education, self-study, and practical experience. Learning can be structured or unstructured, and it can involve a wide range of activities, such as reading, listening to lectures, participating in discussions, and practising new skills.

Learning is an active process that requires engagement and effort. It involves the acquisition of new information, the integration of that information with what we already know, and the application of that knowledge to new situations. The ability to learn is a fundamental human capacity and is essential for personal and professional development.

Learning is defined by psychologists as generally persistent behavioural changes that occur as a result of experience. This definition of learning emphasises three critical aspects of learning:

• Learning involves a behavioural change that might be positive or negative.
• This behavioural modification should occur as a result of practice and experience. Changes brought about by maturity, or growth cannot be termed learning.
• This behavioural change must be reasonably persistent and last for an extended period of time.

Learning is adaptive in the sense that we acquire new knowledge and skills on top of what we already know. In addition, research has demonstrated that when learning experiences are not active, the brain changes that underpin learning do not occur. We learn best by doing, thinking about, and participating in the world.