Principles of learning

Educational psychology & Educational psychologists and have identified several principles of learning, also referred to as laws of learning which seem generally applicable to the learning process. These principles have been discovered, tested, and used in practical situations. They provide additional insight into what makes people learn most effectively.Edward Thorndike developed the first three "Laws of learning:" Readiness,Exercise and effect.

Readiness

Since learning is an active process, students must have adequate rest, health, and physical ability. Basic needs of students must be satisfied before they are ready or capable of learning. Students who are exhausted or in ill health cannot learn much. If they are distracted by outside responsibilities, interests, or worries, have overcrowded schedules, or other unresolved issues, students may have little interest in learning. For example, we may identify the situation of an academic examination of a school, in which the cause of securing good marks in various subjects leads to mental and emotional readiness of students to do more hard labour in acquiring knowledge.

Exercise

Every time practice occurs, learning continues. These include student recall, review and summary, and manual drill and physical applications. All of these serve to create learning habits. The instructor must repeat important items of subject matter at reasonable intervals, and provide opportunities for students to practice while making sure that this process is directed toward a goal. But in some or many cases, there is no need for regular practice if the skill is acquired once. For instance if we have learnt cycling once, we will not forget the knowledge or skill even if we aren't exercising it for a long time.

Effect

Usually it is better to tell students that a problem or task, although difficult, is within their capability to understand or perform. Every learning experience does not have to be entirely successful, nor does the student have to master each lesson completely. However, every learning experience should contain elements that leave the student with some good feelings. A student’s chance of success is definitely increased if the learning experience is a pleasant one.

Primacy

Primacy, The instructor must present subject matter in a logical order, step by step, making sure the students have already learned the preceding step. If the task is learned in isolation, if it is not initially applied to the overall performance, or if it must be relearned, the process can be confusing and time consuming. Preparing and following a lesson plan facilitates delivery of the subject matter correctly the very first time.

Recency

The principle of recency states that things most recently learned are best remembered. Conversely, the further a student is removed time-wise from a new fact or understanding, the more difficult it is to remember.

Intensity

The more intense the material taught, the more likely it will be retained. A sharp, clear, vivid, dramatic, or exciting learning experience teaches more than a routine or boring experience. The principle of intensity implies that a student will learn more from the real thing than from a substitute. Examples, analogies, and personal experiences also make learning come to life. Instructors should make full use of the senses (hearing, sight, touch, taste, smell, balance, rhythm, depth perception, and others).

Freedom

The principle of freedom states that things freely learned are best learned. Conversely, the further a student is coerced, the more difficult is for him to learn, assimilate and implement what is learned. Compulsion and coercion are antithetical to personal growth. The greater the freedom enjoyed by individuals within a society, the greater the intellectual and moral advancement enjoyed by society as a whole.

Since learning is an active process, students must have freedom: freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom to bear the results of action—these are the three great freedoms that constitute personal responsibility. If no freedom is granted, students may have little interest in learning.

Requirements

The law of requirement states that "we must have something to obtain or do something." It can be an ability, skill, instrument or anything that may help us to learn or gain something. A starting point or root is needed; for example, if you want to draw a person, you need to have the materials with which to draw, and you must know how to draw a point, a line, a figure and so on until you reach your goal, which is to draw a person.

Laws of Learning Applied to Learning Games

The principles of learning have been presented as an explanation for why learning games (the use of games to introduce material, improve understanding, or increase retention) can show such incredible results.^[1] In particular, the principles of learning present conditions which are very similar to a number of the design techniques used in games. Games use the technique of Flow, which is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it." (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)^[2] The primary aim of flow in games is to create intrinsically motivating experiences, which is a part of the principle of readiness.

Games use many other techniques which tie to the principles of learning.^[1] They use practice to prolong game play, which is part of the principle of exercise. Game designers also place heavy emphasis on feedback, which goes with practice as part of exercise. Games use the technique of simplicity to reduce distractions, balance difficulty versus skill, and accurately correlate actions to corrective feedback. This impacts flow and motivation and increases the positive feelings toward the activity, which links back to the principles of exercise, readiness, and effect. Games use immersion and engagement as ways to create riveting experiences for players, which is part of the principle of intensity. Finally, part of the primary appeal of games is that they are fun. Although fun is hard to define, it is clear that it involves feelings such as engagement, satisfaction, pleasure, and enjoyment which are part of the principle of effect.

References

^ ^a ^b Murphy, Curtiss (2011). "Why Games Work and the Science of Learning". Retrieved 2011-07-25.
^ Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1990), Flow - The Psychology of Optimal Experience, New York: Harper Perennial

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Aviation Instructor’s Handbook, 1999. Federal Aviation Administration
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Downlink Site Guide: A Step-by-Step Primer for Participating in Training and Informational Broadcasts, September 1996. Bureau of Land Management
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Navy Instructor Manual, August 1992. NAVEDTRA 134, United States Navy
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: F B I Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 2004, Della, Brian C., "Nontraditional Training Systems", 73 (6). Federal Bureau of Investigation
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Train The Trainer Guide United States Air Force, Training Systems Division
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Scenario Based Training, Course Developers Guide, July 8, 2005. Federal Aviation Administration

External links

Contemporary Educational Psychology/Chapter 2: The Learning Process on Wikibooks