What is learning?

For real learning to occur, there must be change - change in what we know and understand, or in what we do.  There can be problems if attempts to learn or teach do not result in change.  Students' and our own ideas about learning can be unhelpful if they don't consider the need for change.

Gibbs (1992) identifies five different conceptions of learning that students may have and suggests that this is influenced by the context and the learning demands these contexts make.

• Learning as an increase in knowledge. Learning is something done to the student, rather than something they do for themselves. 'To gain some knowledge is learning ... We obviously want to learn more. I want to know as much as possible'.

• Learning as memorising. The student actively memorises but the information is not transformed in any way. 'Learning is about getting it into your head. You've just got to keep writing it out and eventually it will go in.'

• Learning as acquiring facts or procedures to be used. This includes skills, algorithms, formulae which you will need to do things at a later date. There is still no transformation of what is learnt by the learner. 'It's about learning the thing so you can do it again when you are asked to, like in an exam'.

• Learning as making sense. The student makes active attempts to abstract meaning in the process of learning. 'Learning is about trying to understand things so you can see what is going on. You've got to be able to explain things, not just remember them.'

• Learning as understanding reality. Learning enables you to perceive the world differently. It is 'personally meaningful'. 'When you have really learnt something you kind of see things you couldn’t see before. Everything changes'.

From Gibbs (1992, 5-6)