what is learning?

Since my students are writing about this I thought I should do it too. So what is learning? It is the age old question. If you ask B.F. Skinner he would say that it is response strengthening. If you were to ask Lev Vygotsky he would say something entirely different, probably the construction of knowledge about the world through social interaction. So is one wrong and the other right? No. There is an element of truth in what each of them said. Theories are all about explaining and predicting phenomena. For a phenomenon as complicated as learning, there are bound to be different theories. While theorist now tend to not look at the mind as a black box as did behaviorists like Skinner, there still is no interpretation of what learning is that can be considered the only correct interpretation. The brain is a complex organ...the most complex in the human body. There is some research now into the physiological changes in brains when learning occurs. However it is not clear that knowing this will really help us understand more about learning and be better able to explain and predict learning. Of course I am biased as an instructional technologist, but to me the most important thing to think about when discussing learning theories is the extent to which they can provide guidance on instructional strategies that will lead to learning. If they don't do that they are not much good to me.
I think a good definition of learning is a change in the ability to use information to solve problems. Problems are where there is a difference between the current state and desired state. There are obviously different types of problems. Some may just be a difference between one's current knowledge and desired knowledge, or others may be roofs that leak. If you don't already know how to solve the problem you have to learn. I noticed a slight leak in my house and to fix it I needed to learn about flashing...no not the raincoat kind but the metal stuff that covers transitions in roofs. I learned about what it is and how it should be attached to the roof and how to fix it if it is not working right. Luckily a lot of information to help people learn about that is online. But it takes good information literacy to use it appropriately. Anyone can publish online and so I wanted to make sure any information I found was from a reliable source. So I looked for information from reliable sources and made sure that at least two sites said the same thing, and went to work and fixed the problem.

in Georgia

Since we are talking about learning theories you all might find it interesting that I am in Georgia to work on a grant proposal with collaborators at the University of Georgia. What we plan to do is to embed motivational strategies into computer-based scaffolds, which you will be learning about later this semester. Well, you will be learning about scaffolds. But remember, just because I research about scaffolds does not mean that I think that social constructivism is the only learning theory worth knowing about. You can draw strategies from all sorts of learning theories. Learning theories are not like theories in some fields, for example physics, where you have a theory that hold sway for several years and then gets supplanted by something that describes reality better. Different people learn different content differently. Behaviorism, which we will be covering next week, is still relevant, especially in the context of physical and special education (and pet training) and in providing extrinsic motivation (which some people do not like but still is a common form of motivational support). It really provided the foundation for disciplined inquiry into learning and for the field of instructional technology.
To understand learning theories you have to keep an open mind when reading about them. You may not fully agree with all their assumptions about learning and about learners, and that's okay, just think that it could contain an element of truth and continue to read. Even though my research is all social constructivist I still admire and use learning theories like behaviorism and the people who formulated such theories.