Chapter III

LEARNING AND LEARNING PROCESS

3.1 Evolution of Learning:
Education was the natural response of early civilizations to the struggle
of surviving and thriving as a culture. Adults trained the young of their society
in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on.
The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this
practice of transmitting knowledge. In preliterate societies this was achieved
orally and through imitation. When cultures began to extend their knowledge
beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious
practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling
in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC. In
ancient Egypt, China, and India, teaching was often the responsibility of priests
or prophets, who enjoyed prestige and privileges. The ancient Greeks saw
value in educating children, and wealthy Greeks often hired teachers for their
households. During the first five centuries AD in the Roman Empire, citizens
often had teacher-slaves.

By the Middles Ages in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church had taken
over the responsibility of teaching, which it allocated to monasteries and
specially designed learning centers. Many of these learning centers later
evolved into major universities. During the 17th and 18th centuries, interest in
children's education intensified. Throughout Europe, knowledge about teaching
methods increased, and many new schools were founded. Training other
teachers in new educational theories and teaching techniques significantly
advanced education. In North America, education was an important part of
colonial development. Laws were passed requiring elementary schools in towns
with more than 50 families, and many Latin grammar schools were established
for secondary education. Many prominent early Americans strongly argued for
a national education system as a means of harnessing the young talent of the

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nation. However, in North America it was not until the 20th century that
teachers received a professional status1.

India has a long history of organized education. The first millennium

and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at
Nalanda, Takshashila University, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art,
Architecture, Painting, Logic, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature,
Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and
Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a
particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while
Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled
all branches of knowledge, and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak. British
records show that education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school
for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The current
system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced &
founded by the British Govt. in the 20th century, following recommendations
by Macaulay. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British
government and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have
described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was
destroyed during the British rule.2

During the colonial era, the rulers consciously did not use education for
sustainable development. The first three universities were set up in the
presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras in 1857. It took them
another 30 years to set up the fourth university at Allahabad in 1887 and yet
another 29 years to establish the fifth and sixth universities at Mysore and
Banaras in 1916. These universities were established on the pattern of the
University of London, thus, they were basically affiliating, examining and
regulating bodies. The existing colleges engaged in teaching and learning were
affiliated to these universities. For several decades, only colleges continued to
offer the degree courses. It took a long time before post-graduate teaching and

57
research departments began to be established as the university level around
1920.3

Since independence, the number of colleges and universities has

registered a significant hike. From 1950-51 to 2005-06, while the number of
universities has increased from 28 to 367, the number of colleges has gone up
from 578 to 18,064. During this period, enrolment in higher education has
registered a steep hike, from around 0.174 million to 10.48 million. The
number of teachers has also gone up from around 24,000 in 1950-51 to
4,72,000 in 2004-05. It is evident from data that during this period, universities
and colleges in the country have grown at an average annual growth rate of
4.94 per cent and 6.66 per cent respectively.4

The growth in the number of universities and institutions was much

higher in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily because of the relatively small
number of such institutions existing, since planned expansion of higher
education began after independence. During 1970s and 1980s, growth of
institutions of higher learning was relatively slow, however, it picked up in the
1990s onwards. This has happened because of increased demand for 13 higher
education and participation of the private sector, particularly in technical and
professional education. This rapid expansion, however, hides the story of the
stark inequality that prevails in access to higher education across states and
union territories. While higher education institutions are nearly absent in Dadra
and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep, 14 states and union territories have much
higher levels of access to higher education compared to the national average
(12.17) in terms of the number of institutions available per lakh population in
the age group 18-23 in 2003-04. While Pondicherry has around 27, West
Bengal has the lowest level of access with only around five institutions per lakh
population in 2003-04 (GOI 2006).

Access to engineering and technical colleges is relatively high in Andhra

Pradesh (2.59 institutions per lakh population in the age group 18-23) followed
by Goa (2.34), Karnataka (1.86), Kerala (1.81), Chandigarh (1.59),
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Maharashtra (1.56), Sikkim (1.41) and Tamil Nadu (1.27) (GOI 2006). These
states and union territories also have high concentration of medical colleges per
lakh population. It may be pertinent to mention that such an indicator is crude
one, for access to higher and professional education is largely determined by
household demand and the learning ability of individual students. Nevertheless,
looking from the supply side, this indicator provides a fair understanding of the
spatial distribution of opportunities. The Indian higher education system is the
largest in the world in terms of the number of institutions. India has 17,973
institutions of higher learning as compared to around 2,500 in China. The
number of institutions in India is more than four times the total number of
institutions both in the US and Europe. The Chinese higher education system is
the largest in the world in terms of enrolment, which caters to 14 nearly 23
million students followed by the US and India. However, the aveage size of an
Indian higher education institution in terms of enrolment is much smaller (500-
600) compared to that of Europe and US (3,000- 4,000) and China (8,000-
9,000). It is estimated that even after having the largest number of higher
education institutions, India needs at least 3,000 more universities each having
the capacity to enroll not less than 10,000 students to meet the increasing
demand for higher learning (Bhargava 2006).5

India spends around 4% of its GNP on education. Not a small amount if

taken in isolation. However, a glance at the population figures serves to place it
in perspective. India supports 16% of the World‘s total population in an area,
which is 2.42% of the World‘s total land area. Over the last five decades, the
literacy of population in percentage terms has increased from around 17% in
1951 to 65.38% in 2001. The Indian definition of the term ―Literate‖ includes
all those persons who can read as well as write his or her name. The ratio of
literates is quite high among males as compared to females. Surprisingly,
despite the low literacy rate, its growth is commendable. In the last decade,
according to the Ministry of Human Resources Development, the literacy
growth rate was 4-5% as compared to a growth of 1-2% in the previous decade.

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In 2005, only 57% of the population was literate in the 15+ age group, referred
to as adults.6

The improvement in the literacy rate over recent years notwithstanding,

these figures in isolation give us a very incorrect picture about the status of
education in India. Most literate Indians know just to read and write their
names. Many of them can hardly read the newspaper or even write a few
sentences. Further analysis reveals that in 2001, 14.9 per cent of the student
population has received Secondary Education and only 3.5% of the population
has reached a graduation level or the 18+ years of schooling. The dropout rate
at every stage of education is more than 50% in most of the cases. The high
dropout rate at the early stages can be attributed to the pressure of earning a
livelihood. In the later stages, one of the factors for discontinuing education is
the non-availability of seats in institutions for higher education. The interesting
fact here is that even if only 50% of the people armed with 12 years of
schooling seek admission in the graduation courses, there will be a huge
shortage of appropriate capacities in colleges and universities in India. Even
today only 27% of those clearing the secondary examination, i.e. 10 years of
schooling are finally able to complete college education. To cater to this huge
requirement, the government outlays on education need to be stepped up
considerably. But surprisingly, the educational expenditure as percentage of
GDP has nearly remained stagnant since 1990-91. In the year 1999-2000 the
expenditure on education as percentage of GDP was 4.25% compared to 3.95%
in 2002-03 and 4% in 2005-06.7

However, in absolute terms, the total educational expenditure has

actually increased from Rs. 38178 cr. in 1995-96 to Rs. 95620 cr. in 2004- 05.
In fact, the total educational expenditure has doubled during 1996-97 and 2004-
05. More importantly, the demand for education has gone up due to increase in
population. The amount spent on education is significantly inadequate and the
huge gap between demand and supply 16 needs to be bridged, essentially by
the corporate sector. If the distribution of the budgeted expenditure by the

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stages of education is analyzed, it is apparent that the government has spent
more than 80% of the total budgeted expenditure in 2005-06 up to the
secondary education level. This implies that the state is concentrating more on
elementary and secondary education and thus, in a way, giving lower priority to
higher education. As the demand for higher education increases, the
government will naturally have to spend more on it or provide leeway for
private players to step in with investments and create facilities to meet this
demand.
3.2 Definition and Meaning of Learning:
Learning situations are most natural and common in life and every one
of us is learning one thing or the other although he may not necessarily be
aware of it. An individual starts learning immediately after his birth. While
approaching a burning matchstick, child is burnt and he withdraws himself
always. He learns to avoid not only the burning but also all burning things.
When this happens we say that the child has learned that if he touches a flame
he will burnt. In this way the behaviour of an individual is changed through
direct or indirect experiences. This change in behaviour brought about by
experience is commonly known as learning. This is very simple explanation of
learning, but a complete understanding of term needs more clarification and
exact definitions. Some well known definitions are as follows.
1. ―The term learning covers every modification in behavior to meet
environmental requirements.
By Gardner Murphy: - (1968,p.205)
2. ―Learning is the acquisition of new behavior or the strengthening or
weakening of old behavior as the result of experience.‖
By Henry P. Smith (1962,p.260)
3. ―Any activity can be called learning so far as it develops the individual
(in any respect, good or bad) and makes him alter behavior and
experience different from what that would otherwise have been.‖
By Woodworth (1945, p. 288)

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4. ―Learning is the process by which behavior (in the broader sense) is the
process by which behavior (in the broader sense) is organized or
changes through practice or training.‖ .
By Kingsley and Garry (1957, p.12)
5. ―Learning is an episode in which a motivated individual attempts to
adapt his behavior so as to succeed in a situation which he perceives as
requiring action to attain a goal.‖
By-Robinson and Horrocks (1967, p.232)
6. ―Learning is the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes. It
involves dew ways of doing things and it operates on an individual‘s
attempts to overcome obstacles or to adjust to new situation. It
represents progressive changes in behavior. It enables him to satisfy
interests to attain a goal.‖ By- Crow and Crow (1973,p.225)
7. ―Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed
through reacting to an encountered situation, or temporary states of the
organism (e.g. fatigue or drugs, etc.)‖
By- Hilgard (1958, p.3)
8. ―Learning is a process by which an organism in satisfying his
motivation adapts or adjusts to a situation in which it must modify its
behavior in order to overcome obstacles or barriers.‖
By- Kingsley and Garry.
9. ―Learning is to modify behavior and experience‖
By- Munn.
10. ―Learning without thought is labour lost thought without learning is
perilous‖
By -Comenius
11. ―Learning is modification of behaviour through experience and
training.‖
By - Gatel-at-al.
12. ―Learning is a process of progressive behaviour through experience and
training.‖

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 By- Skinner.
13. ―Learning involves acquisition of knowledge, habits and attitude.‖
By- Crow and Crow
14. ―Any change of behaviour which is the result of experience and which
causes people to face later situations differently may be called learning‖.
By- Blair, Jones and Simon
―Learning is a process which can be inferred from the behavioral change of
organism.‖
―The behaviour change implied by learning may be overt or covert or partly
overt and partly covert.‖
―Learning is the permanent change in behaviour or performance.‖
―Learning involves a modification of behaviour but this modification need not
be always for the better. In other words learning does not necessarily indicate
indicate improvement.‖
Learning is to be differentiated from instinctive behaviour and imprinting in
terms of the mount of variability involved.
The formal definition of learning describes the process as ―A relatively
permanent change in behaviour based on an individual‘s interactional
experience with its environment‖.
3.3 Modes Of Learning:
1) Transmission- It is the process by which information; knowledge, ideas
and skills are tough to theirs through purposeful, conscious telling,
demonstration and guidance. Over the course of life time, this method
accounts only about 10% of learning.
2) Acquisition- It is conscious choice to learn. Material in this category is
relevant to the learner. This method includes exploring, experimenting,
self instruction, inquiry and general curiosity. Current acquisition
accounts for about 20% of what we learn.
3) Accretion - Is the gradual, often subconscious or subliminal, process by
which we learn things like language culture, habits, prejudices and

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 social rules and behaviour. This method accounts 70% of what we
know.
4) Emergence- It is the result of patterning, structuring and the
construction of new ideas and meaning that did not exist before. This
form of learning accounts for the intuition, wisdom and problem
solving. This method is greatly dependent on the allocation of time, and
opportunities to reflect and construct new knowledge. This method plays
an important role in inspiration and originally. In the context of current
educational practices we learn only1-2%by this method.8
Learning is a process where a human absorb information, memorizes and
process it for further use. There many things and skills that we learn
unconsciously or without further thinking for example riding a bike. But there
also lot of things that we learn consciously and use different strategies to learn
it. (Verkkotuter 2005). These strategies we usually used by doing what feels
good and right and how we learn best. There is no right way to learn in a
specific situation. Everyone has his own style on learning which can also vary
from one situation to another. Learning pervades our life from cradle to grave.
It is the phenomenon with which we come across in almost every walk of our
life. It will not be too much to say that we cannot survive in our struggle for
existence without learning. However, it is in our own self interest that we learn
what we learn. Thus, learning is a highly personalized act of an individual. All
educational processes appearing in formal, non formal and informal contexts
aim at development of learning. Learning influences our lives at every turn,
accounting in part for the best and worst of human beings and worst in each of
us. As parents in the family, as a teacher in school, as a friend or a partner in a
family or in society, as fellow traveler in journey, as a boss in an office, as an
executive in a firm or organization, or as a leader in a group, we all deal with
learning of some kind. We all know from experience that both as small children
and as grown as mature adults we pickup new information, acquire new skills
and habits, from attitudes and cultural values, develop character traits and
appropriate sex roles, a learn to love and hate and to fear and be self-confident.

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All these and many such evidences are the examples of learning. The question
which naturally arises then is what the term learning is. In the arrangement of
educational activity in the school or classroom or outside it what does it
actually signify as a concept?

It may worthwhile to remember that learning is not a thing that exists

somewhere outside the individual. It is a process or product which results in to
some overt or covert or potential behavioral capacities or an activity which
causes some change in the behaviour or performance or performance capability
of an individual. Such a process or change to take place we have to think of the
individual (the learner) in an interactive relationship with his environment-the
learning situation this interaction involves a simultaneous mutual interchange
(SMI) between the individual and his environment. The environment may be
identified as physical such as the class room ventilation or temperature, social
such as the relationship between one individual and the other and psychological
such as the inner private world which is accessible only to the individual. In
laboratory studies of learning and effort is made keep the stimulus environment
constant during the learning process. This is done to ensure that changes in
behavior can be identify as changes in the organism cannot and not in the
external stimulus. In many ordinary situation of life or class room in which
learning occurs, what and individual does changes in environment. Such a
change many in turn case a new mode of behaviour to appear and many be
described as changes in the stimulus situation. It will not be correct to call such
behaviour as learned-even though it might take place due to practice or
experience. ―Learning is relatively permanent change performance that occurs
as a result of experience and not attributable to maturation, fatigue, motivation,
changes in the stimulus situation, or to other identifiable non learning factors.‖
By- Edward L. Walkar (1967)

―Learning is a process by which an activity originates or is changed through

reading to an encountered situation, provided that characteristics of the change

65
in activity can be explained on the basis of native responses tendencies
maturation or temporary states of the organism‖

By- R. Hilgard and Gordon H. Bower .(1966)

―Learning is the process, by which an activity originates or is changed through

reading to an encountered situation, provided that the characteristics of the
change in activity cannot be explained on the basis of native response
tendencies, maturation, or temporary states of the organism.‖
―Any change of behaviour which is the result of experience and which causes
people to face later situation differently may be called learning‖
By- Blair, Jones and Simpson.

* Learning is process which can be inferred from the behavioral change of an

organism.
* The behaviour change implied by learning may be overt or covert or partly
overt and partly covert.
* Learning is the relatively permanent change in behaviour or performance.
* The change in behaviour attributable to learning is different quality and
quantity from change which appears due to maturation, fatigue, motivation, and
drugs etc.
* Learning involves a modification of behaviour but this modification need not
be always for the better. In other words learning does not necessarily indicate
an improvement.
* Learning is to be differentiated from instinctive behaviour and imprinting in
terms of the mount of variability involved. The instinctive behaviour is
characterized by stereotypy and rigidity.
The formal definition of learning describes the process as ''a relatively
permanent change in behavior based on an individual's interactional experience
with its environment.'' As such, learning is an important form of personal
adaptation. Let's consider each critical element in this definition. Behavioral
change occurs in all animals, both human and non-human, and is a process of
personal, or ontogenic, adaptation that occurs within the lifespan of each
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individual to make one's survival more likely. To say that learning is relatively
permanent is to emphasize that behavior is flexible and not genetically pre-
programmed in form or function. Learned behaviors may exist for a lifetime,
but they may also not appear throughout an individual's life. Experience of, or
interaction with, the environment that precedes and follows behavior presents
the adaptational requirement and consequence of each interaction. An
individual placed in a bubble and kept from any contact with variations in
stimuli from the day it is born does not learn many behaviors.
The actions of such an organism in this case would be very limited. A
living creature may barely survive such an existence. Let's expand on each of
the critical elements in the definition of learning a bit more. Because learning is
so intertwined with individual and environment, it is often emphasized as one
of the two major forms of biological aptation. Ontogenic adaptation, the basis
of learning creates behavioral change that is unique for each individual and the
process only occurs within the lifespan of that individual based on that
individual's experiences with its personal environmental interaction history.
This is in contrast to phylogenic adaptation, which creates the shared features
that define all members of each species and thus transfers from one generation
to the next via genetic transfer and genetic determination. Stressing individual-
environmental interaction points out that the environment brings about changes
in behavior just as behavior then brings about changes in the environment.
Many psychologists believe that organisms learn to adapt to environmental
challenges as well as learning to adapt (change) environments to better meet
individual survival and comfort requirements. We both create our environments
and are created by our environments. We can observe the process of learning
by noting changes in behavior or even the development of new responses
through these interactions or experiences with the environment. For example,
let's reflect on how you may have learned to ride a bicycle. You may have been
very young, and had surely already mastered the various ways of getting from
one place to another by first being carried, and then learning to crawl, then
walk, then even skip or run. You probably progressed to various other ways of

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getting around, such as pedaling a tricycle and later perhaps even a bicycle with
two added training wheels to help you learn the balancing difference of
pedaling from more of a standing position rather than the lowered seating of
your tricycle. On these machines there wasn't much to master other than
steering and pedaling correctly. Then one day you were faced with riding a
bicycle without training wheels. Suddenly you found balancing was far more
challenging than you ever imagined. But a few repeated efforts and possibly
some other-person support to get you moving quickly showed you that
balancing on two wheels was more a matter of having the bike moving than
anything else. So you soon learned to pedal and mount simultaneously
something you had never had to do with your tricycle or with your training
wheels. So you now discover that you have a new and relatively permanent
skill. You'll probably always be able to ride a bike so long as you have the
physical bodily and balancing requisites. But you may find that as you began
driving cars, riding a bike (like riding tricycles) isn't something you have
actually done for a very long time. It has been abandoned in favor of an even
more adaptive and less strenuous mode of longer distance transportation. But
then one day you discover riding as a sport or exercise. Suddenly it isn't
transportation anymore and, in serving quite a different purpose, riding a
bicycle may reappear or disappear as life style and recreational opportunities
constantly change. So as environments change, so does the use and purpose of
the learned behavior of riding a bike. That's the relativity of the persistence or
permanence of use of the behavior.

But not all behavior is as obvious as riding a bicycle. Suppose you

decide to take a shortcut when biking to school one day and a very large and
intimidating dog suddenly barks and chases your bike as you ride by. You
become more than a bit aroused and feel the rush of adrenaline immediately as
this happens. If you decide not to take this route the next day, one behavioral
change is obvious. You altered your path of riding. However if you continue to
take the shortcut the next day that behavior has not changed. But you may feel
quite anxious and cautiously look for the dog to appear again when you reach
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the critical point on your path where he appeared yesterday. That is an
alternative form of your adaptation, and it is more emotional behavior vs. skill
in riding. These emotional changes are also only relatively permanent because
if the dog doesn't appear again over several days, you suddenly find you no
longer fear that part of your ride. But don't be surprised if you may one day
suddenly find yourself looking for a dog again when you reach that point in the
path where you suddenly remember having the initial fearful experience. It may
be more permanent than you once thought even though you haven't
experienced it for some time, as any veteran soldier is likely to tell you
concerning the trauma of experienced war events.

In the process of education learning occupies a quite central place. What

ever exits in our educational setup is meant for the learning of the learners that
is students. Therefore it is quite essential for you as u would be teacher to be
acquainted with the concept of the term learning.
3.4 Formal, Informal and Non-Formal Learning:
There are essentially three forms of learning.
 Formal learning: learning typically provided by an education or
training institution, structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning
time or learning support) and leading to certification. Formal learning is
intentional from the learner‘s perspective.

 Informal learning: learning resulting from daily life activities related to

work, family or leisure. It is not structured (in terms of learning
objectives, learning time or learning support) and typically does not lead
to certification. Informal learning may be intentional but in most cases it
is non-intentional (or ―incidental‖/ random).

 Non-formal learning: learning that is not provided by an education or

training institution and typically does not lead to certification. It is,
however, structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning time or
learning support). Non-formal learning is intentional from the learner‘s
perspective.
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 The use of the terms informal and formal learning have a fairly long
history. At the centre of these debates lie conflicting claims about the inherent
superiority of one or the other. According to Scribner and Cole (1973). much of
the research and theorizing about learning in advanced industrial societies,
focused primarily upon the formal. It opened up the accumulated wisdom of
humankind, held in the universities. This sort of accumulated, recorded and
propositional knowledge allowed each generation to know more and better than
their predecessors, as science (or art) advanced.9

Finally, as Bernstein (1971) makes clear, formal learning opened up

high status knowledge. Formal learning was equated with education in schools
and universities, non-institutional formal learning was overlooked or dismissed,
and Scribner and Cole point out that structured and planned apprenticeship
were normally included in the informal category.10

The Scribner and Cole (1973) paper was a key early moment in
establishing a counter view, from socio-cultural or situated perspectives on
learning. This literature is too vast to be summarized here. The central
argument countered most of the claims for the superiority of formal learning,
by asserting the superiority of the informal, in its place. Thus, it is claimed,
many things are learned more effectively through informal processes. We
cannot learn without belonging (to something) and we cannot belong without
learning the practices, norms, values and understandings of the community that
we belong to.11

Such debates about the nature of informal, formal and non-formal

learning have acquired a new impetus in recent years. In the UK, changes to the
funding regulations for education, and for adult education in particular, have
imposed increasing degrees of formality on areas of informal learning. The
European Union has developed policies for lifelong learning which focus
strongly on the need to identify, assess and certificate informal learning,
particularly in the workplace (Bjornavold, 2000; EC, 2001). While policy-
makers clearly see this as holding out great promise for widening participation
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in learning, it may also be interpreted by some as threatening to alter the nature
of informal learning so substantially as to undermine many of its perceived
benefits. Once again, Scribner and Cole (1973) predicted three decades ago
with some foresight the dangers as well as the benefits of trying to bring formal
and informal learning closer together. Learners used to informal learning might
be pathologised within more formal educational processes, and at the same
time their resistance to more formal aspects of learning might be evoked. Yet
there was much to be gained if a ‗two-way movement‘ could succeed in
bringing formal schooling and informal learning closer together. One of the
problems inherent in all these debates is the implication that formal and
informal learning are quite distinct from each other – that they have the
character of different paradigms, each with its own inherent logic, theoretical
foundations and modes of practice.

3.5 What Do We Learn?

It is obvious that the range is very wide. It extends from simple

memorizing, recognizing and continuing to understanding, problem solving and
complex and subtle arguing and inferring. We acquire new knowledge, attitude
and values and skill. These are known as products of learning. As humans we
excel in our capacity to learn. if we accept the taxonomic scheme of classifying
human behaviour in to cognitive, affective, co -native and perceptual domains,
the list comprising the various types of learned capabilities will be as follows.

Learning in cognitive domain

Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

Knowledge involves the recall of specifies and universals, the recall of

methods and processes or the recall of a pattern, structure, or setting.

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Comprehension refers to a type of understanding or apprehension such that
the individual knows what is being communicated and can make use of the
material or idea being communicated without necessarily relating it to other
material or seeing its fullest implications.

Application implies the abstraction in particular and concrete situations. The

abstraction may be in the form of general ideas, rules of procedures, or
generalized methods.
Analysis refers to the breakdown of a communication in to its constituent
elements or parts such that the relative hierarchy of ideas is made clear and the
relations between the ideas expressed are made explicit.
Synthesis stands for the putting together of elements and parts so to form a
whole. It involve the process of working with piece, parts, elements etc. and
arranging and combining them in such a way as to continue a pattern or
structure not clearly there before.
Evaluation implies judgments about the value of material and methods for
given purposes. These include quantitative and qualitative judgments about the
extent to which material and methods satisfy criteria.
3.6 General Aspects of Learning:
Learning is a process where a human absorbs information, memorizes
and processes it for further use. There are many things and skills that we learn
unconsciously or without further thinking for example riding a bike. But there
are also lots of things that we learn consciously and use different strategies to
learn it. (Verkkotutor 2005) These strategies we usually use by doing what
feels good and right and how we learn best. One can write notes about
European history and then memorize them when others prefer to watch a
documentary about it memorizing the same learned things. There is no right
way to learn in a specific situation. Everyone has his/her own style on learning
which can also vary from one situation to another. Because of the variety of
learning theories and styles, one can choose flexibly different strategies and
styles in situations so as to use the most efficient one. The better one is aware

72
of his own learning style, the better he can use them to his advantage in
learning. (Verkkotutor 2005) People learn differently and there is said to be
dissimilar learners. This dissimilarity is due to the fact that learners prefer
different learning styles, have different learning motivation and differ from
each other in self-confidence. (Vainionp, 2006) Learning styles are dealt with
in this thesis in Chapter 3. Motives and motivation originate from targets that
are set by the learner. Motivation activates the learner to target-oriented actions
which lead to achieving some learning objective. (Salovaara 2005) Self-
confidence has an important role in studying and learning. Without a realistic
view of oneself and sufficient self-confidence learning is very hard or
impossible. (Aho & Laine 2002) The learners can be also dissimilar in their
studying pace. Some are comfortable with the existing pace in the university
studies but others find it difficult to keep up. Learning has been very teacher
centered in the past centuries. Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000)
emphasize the meaning of learner-centered instruction. Student centered
learning doesn‘t mean giving up teaching all together, but using preconception
as a basis when students are consciously and systematically guided towards
profound knowing. Bransford considered learner-centered instruction in respect
of three essential principals with whom learning environments should be
developed. The first principal was information-centricity which means
emphasizing students‘ thoughts and ideas and the substance – what is taught
and why. The second principal was evaluation-centricity where 4 formative
evaluations is used to utilize the feedback during the learning process.
Students‘ self-evaluations have a very important role in this principal. The last
principal community centricity guides to break the boundaries of the learning
environment and make connections with other communities and specialists.
(Bransford et al. 2000.)
3.7 The Process of Learning:
Learning is a process not a product. This process has continuity and carried
over through various steps.

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―In short the learning process involves a motive or drive on attractive goal and
a block to the attainment of the goal. All these are essential.‖

The first step in the process of learning is motive or derive. Motives are
the dynamic force that energize behaviour and compel the child to act.Every
individual has to take care of the satisfaction of his basic motives and needs. As
long as our present behaviour, knowledge, skill and performance are adequate
to change our behaviour or acquire skills. It is this requirement which initiates a
learner to learn something.

Motives and needs of the learner is strong enough, he is compelled to

strive for its satisfaction. For this purpose, he has to set definite goals and aims
for achievement. Definiteness of the aim and setting of the goal helps in
making the learning purposeful and interesting. The goal attracts us to learn. In
the third step in the process of learning, it is in terms of some obstacle or block
or barrier that keeps us from attaining that goal. If we face no difficulty of any
kind in attaining our goal, we need not bring any change in our present
behavior, stock of knowledge and skills. This means that we have no necessity
to learn. In this way the block or problem is an essential step in the learning
process. We try to change or modify our behaviour only when there is a need to
do so to reach the goals that our unsatisfied motives create.
By these steps, smith has tried to consider the problem, why we learn,
and has emphasized the role of motivation, needs and goals in the process of
learning. But the process of leaning remains incomplete with these three
elements motives, goals and blocks. It is rather, a preparatory stage for learning
them being the stage for actual learning. With these three steps strong desire
and essential readiness his produced in the child for learning something. It is
very essential for any scheme of learning readiness. The worth mentioning
among them are his ability in goal setting. With the help of all these factors,
teachers or the parents should try to fix an appropriate level of aspiration for
the child so that he may proceed properly on the path or learning.

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 The next step in the process of learning, after the preparatory stages are
concern with the task of actual learning by the learner. One of such important
step is learning situation. The learning situation provides opportunity for
learning. The quality, speed and effectiveness of learning depend much upon
the kind of learning situation and environment available to the learner. Healthy
and favorable learning environment brings satisfactory results in learning while
the poor and unfavorable learning environment proves an obstacle in the path
of learning. In a particular learning environment, when the learner strives to
learn something, process of learning involves constant interaction. According
to Uday Parkek. ―Interaction is the process of responding to a situation and
getting feed - back – from it satisfaction or thwarting of needs. Learning results
from such interactions. (kuppuswamy, B, 1964). In fact when the child strives
to learn something in order to achieve his desired goal, he is very curious to
know the results of his striving on this path. When he requires some new
knowledge and skills or brings changes in his behaviour, he is desirous to
know, whether or not, with these changes he is able to cherish the desired end.
If he finds that all that which is learned so far is useful and feels satisfied with
his progress, he is sure to gain speed in the path of learning. Moreover, the
learning process has continuity in its flow what has been learned so far in the
part of learning, works as a running capital and base for further learning.
Learning at a particular moment in a learning environment brings the essential
changes the behaviour of an individual these changes latter on become part and
parcel of the learning process and used in similar situation when the need and
opportunity arises. Therefore the process of learning does not, only with the
acquisition of certain knowledge, skill and changes in behaviour in one
particular situation. It is a never ending process. The change one‘s acquired or
the learning ones accomplished, get its fixation in other likewise situations. It
stands for its modification and thus seems always in process of continuous
change and development.

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3.8 Characteristics of Learning:
i) Learning is the change in behavior:
Learning in its any form or shape is always associated with some or the
other changes in learner's behavior. That is why learning is always directed or
aimed for bringing changes in learner's behavior. However, these changes in
learner's behaviors should always be desirable ones as the undesirable changes
if these are allowed to happen, prove determinal to the welfare of the learner as
well as to the society.
ii) Change in behavior caused by learning is relatively enduring or
permanent:
Change in behavior caused by learning is neither too permanent nor temporary.
iii) Learning is a continuous life long process:

Learning although not in-herited, yet its beginning can be very well
made right from the conception of the child. Every day new problems are
faced, new situations are created and bring essential changes in his behavior.

iv) Learning is a Universal process:

We all the living creatures on this earth have the abilities and capacities
for learning irrespective of the nature of our species, caste, colour, sex,
geographical location or some other such individual differences.
v) Learning is purposive and goal directed:
All learning is goal directed. It is the definite of the aim and clear
understanding of the purpose which makes an individual learn immediately the
techniques of performing a particular task. It is the purpose or the goal which
determines what he sees in the learning situations and how he acts there in.
Therefore the purpose or goal is the pivot, around which the entire system or
learning revolves. In case where there is no purpose, definitely, there would
hardly be any learning.
vi) Learning involves reconstructions of experiences:
We learn some things a particular stage and it is stored in our learning
expenses store in the shape of previous experience or learning for the future

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task. The process of learning is often referred to as the process of continuous
reconstruction of expenses
vii) Learning is the product of activity and environment:
The basic condition of the emergence of any learning essentially lies in
one's responding activity to the stimuli belonging to one's environment.
Therefore the key of a successful learning in any teaching learning process
always lies in the active responding of the learner to the stimuli present or the
activities going on in the teaching learning environment.
viii) Learning is transferable from one situation to another:
Learning has a special characteristic of being transferred from one
learning situation to another having positive as well as negative effect. In its
positive transfer the learning is one situation but in the case of negative transfer
we may observe the adverse effect when learning is one situation hinders or
obstructs the path of learning in another situation.
ix) Learning does not necessarily imply improvement:
Learning is often considered as a process of improvement with practice
or training. This means that all types of learning help the child in the path of his
progress towards desired ends or results. But it is not always true. The child
learns so many things in the classroom that do not at all help him to achieve his
goal.
x) Learning does not necessarily imply the development in right direction:
Woodworth clarifies in his definition, as a result of learning; the pattern
of development is free to move to either direction positive or negative. It is no
guarantee that the individual will always pickup good knowledge, desirable
habits, interests and attitudes he has equal changes to be drifted to the debit
side of the human personality.
xi) Learning helps in bringing desirable changes in behavior:
Learning is the process of bringing changes in behavior. It can help in
introducing desired changes in the behavior of the learner in all its three
domains i.e. cognitive, co-native and affective.

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xii) Learning help in the attainment of teaching Learning objective:
The teaching learning objectives and teaching learning situation can be
effectively reached through the help of learning and consequently the children
can be made to acquire essential knowledge, skills, applications, attitude and
interests etc.
xiii) Learning helps in the proper growth and development:

Learning helps in reaching to one's maximum in term of the growth and

development under various aspects of growth and development dimension
namely physical, mental, emotional, social, moral, esthetic and language.

xiv) Learning helps in the balanced development of personality:

Our educational efforts are directed to bring on all round development in
the personality of the child. The process of learning results in bringing such an
all around development of the personality.
xv) Learning helps in proper adjustment:
Adjustment is the key of success in life. Learning helps the individual to
seek adjustment with his self and environment.
xvi) Learning helps in the realization of the goals of life:
Every man has his own philosophy and style of life and he strives to
achieve the goals of his life. Learning process helps individual to realize the
goals of his life. Therefore learning as a whole is not confined to the formal
classroom learning activities life presents enormous opportunities to learn and
learning activities are so numerous that is difficult to limit then in any specific
categories. How one eat, drinks, dresses, what his specific hobbies, interests,
attitudes, belies and aspirations how strives and what ideals and values he aims
at what is his concept of himself etc. All are the examples of learned and
acquired behavior. And the scope of learning definitely, embraces all of these
aspects into it domain.
3.9 Features of Learning:
i) Learning implies change: It includes all those factors which bring about a
change in our behavior.

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ii) Learning implies development: The pattern of development is free to
move in either directions positive or negative. This word does not imply that
the development is always in right direction.
iii) Learning is adjustment: It implies that there is a constant interaction
between the individuals and the environment in which he lives. The individual
tries to adjust himself physically, intellectually, and socially with his
environment.
iv) Learning is Universal: Both men and animal learn. Human beings have a
rational will of their own. They are thus able to get the maximum benefits from
the environment.
v) Learning is a lifelong process: Learning starts from the time the child takes
birth in the world and it continue till death. At every step the individual faces
problems and tries to solve them. In this process he modifies and improves his
behavior.
vi) Effective learning is preplanned: As explained earlier learning‘s can be
positive or negative. If we want to achieve a positive result we shall have to
plan for it. The school as a social agency plays this important role.
vii) Acquiring new knowledge in terms of previous learning:
The child is coming in contact with environment everyday and is
learning many things. After sometimes it become a part of his mental makeup.
When the child becomes in contract with the new knowledge. He interprets it in
terms of his previous knowledge and it also becomes a part his mental makeup.
viii) Learning should have a definite purpose:
A well defined purpose moves the child in the right directions and
enables him to have proper and successful learning. The performance of
learning depends on the strength of purpose. Morsel is of the view that a strong
purpose and definite aim lead to successful learning.
ix) Learning and Intelligence:
An intelligent child can learn properly and quickly because he has a
basic mental drive to do things. It is this drive which helps him to learn

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quickly. The same cannot be said about a child who lacks intelligence; hence
his learning is slow and causal.
x) Learning By doing: Children learn quickly when they participate in same
learning activity. They do things with their own hands and thus learn quickly.
There is a better co- ordination of hands eyes and the brain.
xi) Progressive Learning is new learning:
Woodworth said that all our progress is due to progressive learning. It
implies that learning should explore new vistas of knowledge. It is this type of
learning which brings about future success for the individual as well as society.
xii) Learning is related to the environment:
The basic intelligence of the child finds its fulfillment in a healthy
environment. The child develops health habits and has a good living. It is this
type of environment which leads to better and better learning it is for this
reason that psychologists consider that effective learning is a product of the
environment.
3.10 The Goal of Learning:
Psychologists have classified these goals under two broad categories.
a) The Acquition of knowledge and
b) The Acquition of some skill.
A) The Acquisition of knowledge: It implies that the individual powers and
acquire more knowledge which leads to the modification and control of his
emotions.
i) Perception learning: The individual perceives through his senses various
objects of the world. He tries to distinguish between them. He starts attaching a
meaning to them on the basis of his past experiences. His learning is confined
to the perception of the concrete object.
ii) Conceptual Learning: This learning implies that the individual starts
thinking in obstruct terms. He understands about the object without its concrete
form. These obstruct concepts gradually multiply and become a part of mental
make up.

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iii) Associational learning: The child has some mental pictures of his
previous observations. He tries to linkup his new associations with his previous
mental pictures. He uses his memory and recalls his previous observations.
Thus he comes to accept new mental pictures.
iv) Appreciation learning: At this level the ideals, attitudes and material
disposition which are related to our feeling part of the mind come into play.
The child starts attaching some worthwhile values to the knowledge which has
acquired.
v) Attitudinal learning: The child by now has a firm grasp over the
knowledge acquired and develops certain attitudes of mind. These attitudes are
confirmed as the child acquires more and more knowledge.
b) The Skill knowledge: This type of knowledge includes the sensory motor
processes, writing, reading, musical performance, language learning, drawing
etc.
3.11 Theories of Learning: Modern learning theories may be classified into
two broad types namely.
a) Stimulus response associations type of theories.
b) Gestalt field or field cognition type of theories.
The former interpret learning in terms of the change in behavior of the
learner brought about association of the response to a series of stimuli. The
chief exponents of this type of theories are Edward. L. Thondike (1874-1949);
John B. Watson (1878-1958) and Evan petrovich Pavlov (1849-1935) and
Burrhus Fredric skinner (1904) while the ideas and system propagated by
Thordike is called. Connectionism, the system presented by Watson and Pavlov
is known as classical conditioning and the system given by skinner is called
operant conditioning.
The second type of theories look upon learning as the change in the field
consisting of the learner and his environment and the learners perception of
filed. These theories emphasize role of purpose, insight and understanding in
the process of learning. The chief exponents of these type of theories are max-

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wertheimer (1880-1944) Wolf Gang kolher (1887-1967), Kurt koffka (1886-
1941) and kourt Lewin (1890-1947)
All these theories belonging to one or the other type represent the
viewpoints, held by their propagators about the nature and process of learning.
None of these theories is said to be complete in all aspects for explaining the
phenomenon of learning. Each one of them gives partial description. For e.g.
one theory is good in explaining the learning process in one situation while the
other hold equally good in the other different situation. Therefore these
essential to have a working knowledge of some important theories. Following
are the important theories of learning.
3.11.1 Thorndike’s Connectionism Or Trial And Error Learning:
He propagated his theory with the help of the experiments performed on
chickens, rats and cats. For this purpose he put them under different learning
situations, pierre flooure (1794-1857) proposed that conclusions drawn from
animal experimentation should be equally applicable to man. This proposition
is started the chain of experimentation, in the field of learning with animals.
Thorndike selected chickens rats, cats for experimentation. He placed them
under different learning situations and studies carefully. With the help of these
experiments, he tried to evolve certain laws and propagated his theory of
connectionism or trial and error learning.
Theory of trial and error has enough educational significance. Tries to
explain the process of learning carefully on the basis of actual experiments
performed. Not only the animals but human learning also, to a greater extent,
follows the path of trial and error.
In short, thorndike's theory and laws of learning have contributed a lot to
educational theory and practice. It has made the learning purposeful and goal
directed and has brought motivation in the forefront. It has also given impetus
to the work of practice, drill and repetition and realized the psychological
importance of rewards and praise in the process of teaching and learning.

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3.11.2 Watson’s And Pavlov's Classical Conditioning:
He gave birth to a new theory of learning known as conditioned
response theory or simply as learning by conditioning. It considers the learning
as a habit formation and is based on the principle of Association and
Substitution. It is simply a stimulus response type of learning where in place of
a natural stimulus like food, water, sexual contact etc. The artificial stimulus
like sound of bell sight of the light of a definite colour etc. can evoke a natural
response, when both natural and artificial or neural stimulus is brought
together. Wtson and Parlov concluded that all types of learning can be
explained through the process of conditioning. What is this process can be
understood through the following conclusion.
It is a learning process whereby artificial stimulus is able to behave like
a natural stimulus when both natural and artificial stimuli are presented
together. In this kind of learning, association plays a greater role since the
individual responds to an artificial stimulus because he associated it with the
natural stimulus. This theory of learning by Watson and Pavlov actually
involves the conditioning of the respondent behavior through a process of
stimulus association and substitution. here the responses of the learner become
so much conditioned behaving in the same way or responding similarly to the
similar situation that they does not care for the natural stimuli for evoking the
related natural response. As a result the new substituted stimulus behaves like
original stimulus and is able to evoke the desired response.
3.11.3 Kohler’s Gestalt Or Insightful Learning:
He Suggest the learning theory named as ―learning by Insight" A thing
cannot be understood by study of its constituent, parts but only by study of it as
a totality is a basic idea behind this theory. In the practical sense, this
psychology is primarily concerned with the nature of perception. According to
it, an individual perceives the thing as a whole while the Behaviorists and
stimulus Response theorists define perception in such a way as to make it
analogous with taking photographs. They think that sensation comes prior to
meaning and consider these two acts as separate as per Gestalt unless a person

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sees some meaning in an object he will pay little or so attention to it.
Furthermore, the meaning of sensation or perception is always related to the
total situation. According to them perception always involves a problem of
organization. A thing is perceived as a relationship within a field which
includes the thing, the viewer and a complex background incorporating the
viewer's purposes and previous experiences. Gestalts tried to interpret
learning as a purposive, exploratory and creative enterprise instead of trial and
error or simple stimulus response mechanism. Learner, while learning always
perceives the situation as a whole and after seeing and evaluating the different
relationships takes the proper decision in on intelligent way. He always
responds to the proper relationship rather than the specific stimuli. Gestalt used
the term insight to describe the perception of the whole situation by the learner
and his intelligence in the responding to the proper relationship kohler', first of
all used this terms insight to describe the learning of his apes.
3.12 Learning Style Models:
VAK learning style model: There are many different kinds of learning
style models based on different aspects. In this thesis four of them will be
discussed. One model concentrates on human observation channels; vision,
hearing and feeling. It is called the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) model.
Probably the most well known model is the Kolb‘s learning style model. The
Honey and Mumford's learning style model and The Felder-Silverman model
are also briefly introduced. The observation channel model or in other words
the Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) model bases on the basic observation
channels of human. The learning styles are divided into four categories; visual
(verbal), visual (non-verbal), auditory and kinesthetic. Sometimes the word
tactile is connected to the kinesthetic category changing the model name into
Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile (VAKT). The VAK model is not a
learning style in a way that the other learning style models are. It is not
developed by any specific person or persons. The model is any way a base for
several learning style models including for example the Dunn and Dunn
learning style model and the Gregorc‘s Mind Styles Model and Style

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Delineator. (Tyossaoppii 2006; Illinois Learning Styles 2006) Learners with
visual learning style learn best using their eye sight. Seeing and reading are
described to be important for visual learners. For example pictures, Tables,
demonstrations, handouts, and mind maps are very useful for them. Especially
lecture notes, textbooks and other written text is the most useful way of
learning. It is easy to add those things in the learning environment and
therefore it is easy to visually learning students to use and study in virtual
environment. Thematic entities are important to this kind of learners. (ibid.)The
students who learn best through hearing (aurally) can find virtual learning
useful if there are video clips, virtual lectures, and video conferences because
listening and speaking are important for auditory learners. The clips can also be
easily added to the environment. The learners with auditory learning style like
to hear detailed directions. They learn things one at a time. Auditory learners
benefit from listening to lectures and participating in discussions. (ibid.)
Kinesthetic learners learn best through feeling and experimenting. They prefer
laboratory sessions or field trips over classroom lectures. These learners like to
be involved with physical experiences; touching, feeling, holding, doing, and
practical hands-on experiences. Therefore the virtual learning environment
brings a lot of challenge to their learning. In the learning process some kind of
virtual models can be useful for them where one can see how things work.

Learning Style Prefers In Learning Recommended E-Learning Activity

Visual, verbal Text E-books, lecture notes, articles, Visual, non-verbal
Graphics, Tables Figures, charts, Tables, maps, videos, animations. Auditory
Sound Group works virtual lectures, sound samples, and video conferences.
Kinesthetic Practical related things 3D-models, hands-on tests with specific
programs. VAK learning styles are to taken in to account in e-learning. For
visual learners with verbal aspect Filppula (2006) suggests e-books, lecture
notes and articles. Figures, charts, Tables, maps, videos and animations are
recommended for the visual learners with non-verbal aspect in learning. The
auditory learners prefer hearing in learning and therefore group work, virtual

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lectures, sound samples and conferences are helpful to them in the e-learning
environment. For the kinesthetic learners e-learning gives the greatest amount
of challenges compared to other styles because there are no practical ways to
perform things in VLE. Anyway some e-learning activities are recommended
for them such as 3-D-models and hands-on tests with specific programs.
3.13 Kolb’s Learning Style Model
David Kolb developed his learning style model over years basing it on the
research on
many others, for example Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. He published it in a book
'Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development
in 1984. Kolb's experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles
inventory (LSI). (Business balls) Kolb's learning theory includes four different
learning styles, which are based on a four-stage learning cycle. The learning
cycle stages are:
 Concrete Experience (CE) - feeling
 Reflective Observation (RO) - watching
 Abstract Conceptualization (AC) - thinking
 Active Experimentation (AE) - doing
 Kolb says that concrete experiences lead to observations and reflections.
These reflections are absorbed and translated into abstract concepts with
implications for action, which a person can actively test and experiment.
This enables creation of new experiences and starts a new cycle. Ideally
this process represents a learning cycle where all the bases on learning;
experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting are treated. (Business balls)
The learning styles definitions are representations of the combination of
two preferred styles
 Diverging (CE/RO)
 Assimilating (AC/RO)
 Converging (AC/AE)
 Accommodating (CE/AE) (Business balls)

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The diverging learning style is learning through feeling and watching. The
word diverge means break up or differ from something (English-Finnish
General Dictionary 1997). These people prefer to watch rather than do. They
are best at viewing concrete situations from several different viewpoints. They
prefer working in groups, receive personal feedback, gather information and
use imagination to solve problems. (Smith 2001) The assimilating learning
style combines watching and thinking as ways to learn. The word, assimilate,
means absorbing and translating (English-Finnish General Dictionary 1997).
This can mean that the assimilators prefer clear explanations rather than
practical opportunity. For assimilators ideas and concepts are more important
than people. They want clear explanations and tend to like logically sounding
theories over ones that are based on practical value. These kinds of learners
prefer readings, lectures and exploring analytical models. (Smith 2001) The
converging learning style is learning by doing and thinking. The word converge
means to get closer to something (English-Finnish General Dictionary 1997). It
can be seen as the converges like to combine ideas and practice closer together.
People with converging learning style like to find out solutions for practical
issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and
social or interpersonal issues. Converges like to experiment with new ideas, to
simulate and to work with practical applications. (Smith 2001) The
accommodating learning style combines doing and feeling as ways to learn.
The word accommodation means adaptability (English-Finnish General
Dictionary 1997) which can mean that the accommodators like to adapt the
learned things into practice. Learners who prefer accommodating learning style
like to do things concretely. The Accommodating learning style relies on
intuition rather than logic. These learners take a practical and experiential
approach to learned material. They prefer to work in teams to complete tasks.
(Smith 2001)

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3.14 Honey And Mumford's Learning Style Model:
A learning style model developed by Honey and Mumford in 1982 is
based on Kolb's work but is somewhat different. It includes four key stages of
learning styles:
 Activist
 Reflector
 Theorist and
 Pragmatist.
They are often presented as the Kolb‘s learning styles although they differ a
little. Activists enjoy new ideas and tasks and like to be very active in the
learning process. Activists learn best when they are involved in new
experiences, problems and opportunities. They like to work in groups, work
with tasks and educational games. Listening to lectures or reading and writing
on their own, hinder the activists learning. They don‘t like to follow precise
instruction or strict schedules. (Campaign for Learning 2006) Reflectors are
more drawn back than the activist. They prefer standing aside and think what is
happening. They learn best by observing someone else, collecting information
about it and going through what was learned. They like to produce analyses and
reports Reflectors don‘t like to be leaders or do things unprepared and with
tight deadlines. (ibid.) Theorists prefer analytical and rational thinking over
subjectivity and emotions. They like complex problems where they can use
their skills and knowledge. Structured situations, interesting ideas and concepts
are things which theorists like in the learning process. Theorists learn less in
situations where emotions are emphasized or activity is unstructured or briefing
is poor. (ibid.) Pragmatists are the ones who prefer hands on doing over theory.
They like that learning tasks are related to their present or future job.
Pragmatists are down-to-earth who learn less when there is no benefit to
achieve or no guidelines to do the job. The Honey and Mumford learning style
stages and the Kolb‘s learning styles are very similar. Here is correspondence
between them:

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  Activist = Accommodating
 Reflector = Diverging
 Theorist = Assimilating
 Pragmatist = Converging (Business balls)
Activists need interaction between other students in e-learning environment
and therefore group works and real-time conversations are recommended for
them. E-books and forum discussions are recommended for reflectors because
they like well outlined lectures and systematic instructions.
3.15 Learning Style
Needs In E-Learning Recommended E-Learning Activity
Activists Interaction between other students, free form exploration and
observation, no strict schedules. Group works, experimental problem-solving,
real-time conversation. Reflector Organized studying methods, well outlined
lectures, systematic instructions. E-books, forum conversations. Theorist
Traditional learning, clearly defined goals, well prepared exercises, tests
measuring, learning, Assignments: case study or logical cause-effect, problems
and quizzes during the course. Pragmatist Experimental possibilities, Practical
exercises, real-time conversation. Theorist learners like traditional learning and
clearly defined goals. They are recommended by logical cause-effect
assignments and quizzes during the course. For pragmatists practical exercises
and real-time discussions are recommended in e-learning because they like
practical issues.
3.16 Website Organization According To Kolb’s Model
In the website of University of Minnesota innovative teaching is a list of how
to organize a website according to Kolb‘s learning styles model. The website
should provide resources that cater to all four modes for the various units, such
as: practicum guides/practical links for help with practicum, flash concept
maps, lecture notes, practice quizzes that provide 20 feedback, links to video
clips, discussion board with reflective questions, some of which can be
optional. The website should also include assignments such as:

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  Active planning and creating such as projects and lesson plans.
 Optional ones could be posted on the Discussion Board for discussion
and sharing of ideas. May be offer extra credit for high quality projects.
 Watching activities such as video clips and personal stories.
 Thinking activities such as readings and accompanying questions (like a
reading guide).
 Feeling activities such as discussion board topics that involve reacting to
an experience. (Morris 2006) There should also be a link on the main
page that will bring students to a learning styles course organization
page. On this page, the course resources are organized based on the
modes. The resources are listed with different colored links based on the
modes that they use. The students are asked to reflect on their different
assignments in the discussion board:
 How can this assignment help me to construct knowledge?
 How might an assignment like this help my future students?
 On what kind of learner is this assignment the most supportive?
How can this assignment help me to practice different ways of learning?
(Morris 2006) This kind of website organization could help the students with
different learning styles to study more effectively because learning objects
suiting their learning styles are available. The students can find the resources
according to their learning style easier and quicker.
3.17 Felder-Silverman Model
The Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM) was created by Richard
Felder and Linda Silverman in 1988. It focuses on aspects of learning styles on
engineering students. The model had five dimensions in the original version but
was changed to four when one dimension was deleted. The learning style
dimensions according to Felder are:
 Sensory / intuitive
 Visual / verbal
 Active / reflective
 Sequential /global.

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Sensory learners like learning facts and solving problems with known methods
while intuitive prefer discovering possibilities. Active learners like to try things
out or do something active. Reflective learners prefer thinking about things on
their own. Sequential learners learn in small steps when global learners
understand things in large steps. (Felder 2002)

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References
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Press, 2005,Ch. 1

2. Guha, Ranajit, Subaltern Studies VI. Writings on South Asian History and Society, OUP, Delhi,

1989, Ch. 1 & 2

3. Prakash Ved : Trends in Growth and Financing of Higher Education in India, Economic and Political

Weekly,August 4, 2007

4. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012), Planning Commission, Govt. of India.

5. In the National Seminar on the Education Commission organized by NUEPA, New Delhi from

December 26-28, 2006, mimeo.

6. Annual Report 2006-07, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.

7. Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education (Various years), Ministry of Human Resource

Development,Govt. of India

8. Bjornavold, J. (2001) Making learning visible: identification, assessment and recognition of non-

formal learning, Vocational Training: European Journal (22) pp. 24-32.

9. Scribner, S. and Cole, M. (1973) Cognitive Consequences of Formal and Informal Education,

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10. Bernstein, B. (1971) On the classification and framing of educational knowledge, in M.D.F.Young

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Macmillan.

11. Scribner, S. and Cole, M. op. cit, pp. 183

12. Lave, J. (1996) Teaching, as Learning, in Practice Mind, Culture and Society, pp.149--X—25

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