Learning Theory: The Process Through Which Humans Essay

Learning Theory:

The process through which humans learn has been an issue of significant concern since the emergence of formal education thousands of years ago. In attempts to understand the process of human learning, there have been several theories and concepts that have been developed from time to time. These concepts and theories have particularly been a reflection of the various paradigm shifts in thought and practice. The most significant shift or event that contributed to understanding the process of human learning took place in the past century. This shift resulted in the development of a plethora of ideas regarding the most appropriate practices for encouraging learning. Notably, the shift led to the development of learning theory because of the extensive considerations by early educators and philosophers.

Learning theory is centered on identifying the best practices for encouraging learning since it traces the roots of learning and how the process of learning takes place. Learning theory is divided into two major schools of thought i.e. rationalism and empiricism (Edgar, 2012).While rationalism considers learning as a process originating from reasoning, empiricism argues that experience is the source of learning and knowledge. As a result of ongoing considerations by educators and philosophers, learning theory has significant contribution to andragogy i.e. adult learning. Actually, andragogy is a term that has been used as a learning theory to understand how adults learn. The contribution of learning theory to andragogy is evident in the fact that adult learning is based on empiricism i.e. experience as source of knowledge. Actually, Malcolm Knowles developed this concept based on his experiences as a teacher and evaluation of the existing learning theories. Therefore, learning theory has provided the basis or school of thought with which andragogy is founded and developed.

As part of the process of understanding how humans learn, pedagogy and andragogy are concepts with some similarities and differences. The main similarities between pedagogy and andragogy include the fact that….....