Tuesday 11 November 2014

Learning-An effected attitude

Learning is a special characteristic found in every creature. In case of human being learning is very very important aspect. Since a child is born he starts to learn by the process of observing and listening. And this process continues till death. Effective learning is "realization and application" of knowledge. The objective of this article is to give an overview about how the process of learning is a combinatorial result of teaching process, environment, personality of one and many more.

Teaching process:
    It's important for a teacher or trainer to read the mindset of his student. Every individual is separate and human being is nature driven. The process of grasping knowledge varies from student to student. Some student can understand theories with example and can learn. Again some student needs visual to grasp the content. According to psychologist, learning is most effective when more than one sense organ are involved. So other than having domain expertise,it is important for the teacher to communicate effectively with students and use a correct managerial approach to plan and carry out the teaching. According to cognitive theory, it's important to go through the mind of a student.

Environment:
    It is easier for a person to learn which he is exposed at the most. For example, a child is born in a musical family. Since childhood he will see his relatives, parents to practice singing or playing with musical instrument. So his mind becomes molded to do the same. But while he grows up he may find himself to be ready for some other goal to achieve. Not only family, friends and neighbors also effect mind of a kid. The inter-competition in school level also create complex mentality among students. This can prove good or bad in the long run.

Acceptability effects learning:
    "Acceptability" implies whether a persons idea is welcome when a teacher is sharing knowledge within a group. If a student feels detached or if he feels inferior to others he becomes unmotivated towards learning more. So it is responsibility of the teacher to take care of individual emotion as well as of the group.

Learning is goal driven:
    For maximum student attitude towards learning is future plan or goal driven. Mostly he learns the subject which complies with his goal and other subjects he studies only to pass exams.

Level of concentration:
    When knowledge is being shared it's important for one to remain concentrated. This will decide how much and how well one can grasp content. Level of concentration varies from person to person.

Personality or Mentality of student:
    Knowledge is not medicine which can be taken inside with water. When a teacher is saying something the students active participation is required for his clear understanding of the subject. Some students are very enthusiastic by nature and they can get involved and interact easily. Some students are shy in nature or are afraid to ask any question in classroom, because they don't want to showcase their lack of understanding. It is the duty of a student to analyze data for proper understanding.

Enjoying the subject:
    Kids do things simply because they like to do them. This is called "intrinsic motivation". Say, a child likes mathematics. Reason of this liking is he has found fun or enjoyment in doing so. He will keep on doing this for lifetime if unless for some other external or environmental reason his mentality changes. But, on the other hand the same student can be afraid of reading history or geography. There can be many reason of not finding interest in subjects:
1. He cannot link the subjects with reality. The contents may seem to be a far unknown world for them which has no effect on him or the world around him.
2. Some kids expects immediate reward of their effort. "Intrinsically motivated" students can find reward within the work they like to do whereas "Extrinsically motivated" students, who is doing something only because they have been asked to do, try to find reward from outside. When they cannot find any reason to learn something they become unmotivated.

Use of technology:
    In these days Internet, I Pads have become very familiar. It can prove a strong weapon for learning if used properly. Easy and quick availability of data and various source can be friendly with new learners.

Medium of learning:
    According to a research, average retention rate varies depending on teaching medium. See the table below:
    Medium                    Retention rate
    Lecture                     5%
    Self-Reading             10%
    Audio-visual             20%
    Demonstration         30%
    Group Discussion     50%
    Self-practice             75%
    Teach other              90%

School or College Infrastructure:
    Infrastructure gives proper platform to enjoy practical education which is most-worthy when a student steps into the industry.

    So, Learning is multifaceted process. Proper learning can build a strong candidate for the future world. We must impose importance on realization of knowledge other than looking at it as merely a mark-scoring weapon. A famous quote on learning by Mahatma Gandhi: 'Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.'

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