The Role of Learning in Life, and Its Factors

The process of learning is a continuous journey that lasts a lifetime. As Alvin Toffler once said, “learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back,” and this couldn’t be truer. Learning is a crucial aspect of life that allows us to grow and develop as individuals. It is not just limited to academic settings but extends to various aspects of life, such as personal experiences and professional endeavors. Scholars and educators have conducted extensive research to develop innovative approaches to enhance our understanding and retention of knowledge. Therefore, it is essential to write an essay about learning in life to acknowledge its importance and explore its impact on personal growth and development.

What is learning? (essay)

Learning is a broad term that is used to define the acquisition of obtaining, absorbing and understanding new or additional knowledge that modifies our behaviours, skills and our comprehension. We constantly learn throughout all stages of our life; from infancy where we learn to move, grasp and make sounds, to our childhood when we develop our vocabulary, begin to write and problem solve and in our adolescences and adulthood where we become capable of abstract thoughts and processing complex ideas. When we learn we are advancing biologically, psychologically and emotionally as a response to gaining new knowledge and information that impacts how we express and understand our emotions, interactions and moral values.

The term epistemology is used to describe the study of acquiring knowledge in consideration to the methods and categories in which it is processed and organised in our memory. In order to learn and process knowledge we need to be able to store and access information in our long term memory by understanding the information and the components of it. Our long term memory is broken into two parts; declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge, in which our declarative memory is general world knowledge, facts and personal experiences, while our procedural memory is our skills and abilities. In childhood education we are taught how to process information in a manner that can be stored and accessed in a logical manner by how we classify things in conjunctive concepts. Conjunctive concepts of interpreting knowledge are based on the structure of having consistent rules that apply to the information allowing for us to determine its class by the characteristics that it possesses. An example of a conjunctive concept is the term ‘sister’. In order for someone to be classified as a sister they need to have all of the attributes of this concept, being a female and being a sibling to the subject. The comparison to this is a disjunctive concept by which something is characterised by different attributes that may or may not share elements in common, for example a girl with blue eyes and a girl with brown eyes. In this example the concept of ‘girl’ is shared, however the attribute of their eye colour is different. Another example of a conjunctive concept is a shape with 4 sides and 4 corners. This shape, we know, is classified as a quadrilateral. Disjunctive information in this example would include information such as saying the quadrilateral is blue. If you said that the sides of the quadrilateral were all the same length, a student could then make the conjunctive decision that the quadrilateral is in fact a square. 
Throughout the process of learning, the pedagogy utilised by a teacher in the classroom may include many attributes that are considered to be either critical to learning and obtaining knowledge or non-critical in the sense that a concept might be present, however it does not determine the outcome of what is being taught. An example of a critical concept when determining an object is the students looking at what factors distinguish a bird, such as feathers, wings and a beak. In addition to these critical factors you might say that the bird has blue feathers and it can fly or swim. This secondary information is considered non-critical as it is not what constitutes a bird, it is just extra information that is not necessarily specific for all birds. Concept development is an important aspect of learning as it helps with understanding generalisations. By having these specific rules to follow and adhere to, students are able to categorise things into groups and comprehend the relationships that are present between them by what they share in common. Basic concepts such as numbers, shapes and characteristics of objects are stored in our long term memory and help with the retention and implementation of new knowledge.

Individual Learning Differences

As mentioned previously, when we learn we are advancing biologically, psychologically and emotionally. This development is orderly, consistent and is influenced by the external input of not only our teachers, parents and peers, however also the surrounding environment. Learning in its early stages begins in the home domain with parents and siblings, and not every home operates in the same way. In many instances children, especially in highly populated multicultural areas such as Sydney, do not have English as their first or only language and do not necessarily come from the same cultural background as all other students in their peer group. In the classroom, these children may find it more difficult to understand the content or to engage with the information being provided. It is important to ensure that the teaching strategy is beneficial to all students, with examples that are relatable to everyone and that support services are available to ensure that students are understanding all of the content and not falling behind.

Critical attributes that influence learning in a classroom are aspects that are necessary for the learning to take place. Such attributes include, but are not limited to having a responsive and knowledgable teacher who adapts ideas and strategies to provide the most beneficial learning experience to all students, having a sustainable working environment access to resources such as pencils, pens, paper and books, having access to help and support and a safe space where students are encouraged to learn and ask questions. Aspects of a classroom or learning space such as bright pictures and information decorating the walls are considered to be non-critical to learning and the overall outcome and in some cases may cause disruption to attention.

Conclusion

To conclude, learning is a complex process of obtaining and understanding new knowledge that changes what we already know. It is affected by many external factors that can impact an individuals attention, confidence and the overall outcome of their education.

Works Cited

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