Learning Is...

Learning Is...

• hard.

• worthwhile.

• fulfilling.

• demanding.

• mispronouncing a word because you learned it through reading.

• taught and trained.

• a shift in behavior shaped by positive or negative reinforcement and punishment.

• constructed internally by drawing from prior knowledge, and influenced by interactions with others and the environment.

• rooted in past experiences and knowledge.

• actively engaged through the creation of something tangible.

• expressed through externalizing thoughts in concrete ways.

• enhanced by collaboration, with language and culture playing a crucial role.

• a collective process, developed through observation, modeling, and community interaction.

• more effective when practiced in the same context where the learner is expected to perform.

• culturally responsive, promoting inclusivity and improving learning outcomes.

• sometimes viewed as a "banking" process, where teachers deposit knowledge into passive students.

Learning is multifaceted. It’s everywhere, happening all at once. It can be both fascinating and tedious, yet it becomes whatever you allow it to be. Ultimately, in my opinion, learning is most effective when we draw from a blend of theories because we are all individuals with diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures—no single theory encompasses every aspect of knowledge. However, not every environment allows for a smooth blend and we can sometimes see that in a school setting.

Learning in schools is...

• hard.

• challenging.

• rigid.

• structured.

• time restrictive.

• often based on the "banking" model.

• both independent and collaborative.

• sometimes self-directed.

Over the past six weeks, I have had the chance to explore, revisit, and re-learn various learning theories. As I explored these theories, one thought kept recurring: these ideas are sound in theory, but in practice, especially in the classroom, they may not always work—not for lack of effort, but for lack of time. For example, in Georgia’s traditional K-12 system, students attend school for 180 days, with a minimum of five hours per day. Between holidays and breaks, students are in school from August to May, with summer months off. Fortunately, there are theories like Bandura’s social learning theory, which mitigate some of the time constraints by allowing learning through modeling and observation. According to Bandura, learning can be done through observation, imitation, and modeling (Cherry, 2023).

When we think about learning in school, starting from kindergarten, we can see elements of how his theory of learning can be applied to shape not only the factual knowledge but also students' social awareness as well. Bandura’s famous experiment with the Bobo doll, allowed psychologists to understand that learning can occur even without direct reinforcement and indirect reinforcement plays a crucial role (Cherry, 2024). A typical example of a public school in the United States has several elements of social learning theory. From learning to play an instrument, to team sports, to learning the quadratic formula, to doing experiments in science, or even learning to line up in the hallways, Bandura’s principles have been applied and implemented to the way one can learn in school. 

Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do (Bandura, 1977).

Fortunately, schools offer a great space to learn observationally through modeling. Think back to how you learned to be quiet in the hallways when transitioning from class to class. Yes, your teacher instructed you to do so, but you also probably saw the rewards that other students received after they followed instructions. In middle school, imagine all the detentions you could have received had you not learned from the “mistakes of others”. Even in high school, teachers put into their syllabus line items telling students to ‘email them their favorite type of candy once they’ve read the entire syllabus’ and in class they are rewarded for their efforts. From observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions, this coded information serves as a guide for action. However, observational learning is only one theory of learning and it might not produce a change in behavior. You will still have students who can’t keep quiet in the hallways, get detention over and over again for the same reason, and will never read the syllabus no matter how many pounds of chocolate you promise them. This I feel is where Bandura’s theory falls short and the combination of more theories can be beneficial.

Learning is complicated, so the theories we follow should not be one dimensional. Imagine a school that included elements from multiple theories at once. I would be curious to see what would happen if changes could be made to the traditional school schedule to make room for a more holistic belief of what learning is. How can we take from what we already know about how learning occurs in schools and create a smooth blend of theories? 

That curiosity has led me to ponder a few things:

1. What if we considered learning in school from a Culturally Responsive perspective?

   • Would different regions (rural/urban, etc.) have specific guidelines they would need to follow? What about states?

   • What if you lengthened the school day? Or shortened it? How will these changes affect working parents' schedules? 

2. How could the implementation of self-directed learning contribute to the time left in school to be used for more social discussions?

   • What if students learned the material on their own time and class time was primarily used for project-based learning and class discussions?

   • What would we need to do to ensure equity?

3. If we used situative theories of learning and apprenticeship models, how would that inform our design decisions?

   • Would it support year round school?

   • How could this support marginalized learners?

These ponderings are just a starting point; they illustrate the variability that time can have in the different theoretical approaches to learning and learning in schools. While I only focused on one theory that has helped to reduce the time spent learning, imagine if we incorporated the best parts of each theory to create the basis for how students learn in a school setting.

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References:

Cherry, K. (2024, July 15). How social learning theory works. verywell mind.

Cherry, K. (2023, March 20). Albert Bandura's Biography (1925-2021). verywell mind.

Bandura A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall