How do you 'define' Learning?

'Learning', as a word, is used as a constant in our lives. We talk about learning different skills, language and as a parent it is always about what your child is learning. So how do we define learning? To answer this question articulately I opened my graduate school text book called Psychology of Learning for Instruction, by Marcy P. Driscoll. A fabulous read and is humbling experience because it reminds you of the basics. The following information were lines highlighted by me in the text. This information was helpful for me and I thought I should share this with you too. 

Learning is a persistent change in human performance or performance potential.

Let's divide this concept in three key segments that are required for this process to take place.

The results: What are these changes in performance?

The means: What are the processes by which the results are brought about?

The inputs: What triggers the process to occur?

Results 

In my previous article I talked about the term ADDIE. The 'A' stood for Analyze. As an instructional designer or trainer you will work with the SME or Stakeholders to understand the the goal of the training. Which means what are the results we are training to achieve through this training? What should the attendee or user of this training should be able to do that they were not able to do before? These then become the starting point of the training and are called 'Training Objectives'.

Means

how are we planning to deliver this training? Is this going to be ILT (Instructor led) or will this be online? Are there parts of this training that we can provide in a document as a self study so that attendees are better prepared? All these decisions are based on things like the location of the attendees (local or global), the type of concept being taught and overall training budget.

I will be writing another article on Cognitive information processing (CIP) that will explain the concept of chunking information better.

Inputs

This is a continuation of the 'means'. What kind of aids are we providing so that the learner can assimilate the knowledge faster? What are the triggers or learning activities you are providing in the training session? This is in direct alignment to the 'D' - Design phase of ADDIE. It is just not enough to provide information during the training session but how the information is presented is also important. For instance if the concept is in-depth and might require hours of training, then it is best to chunk it out. More information is stored in the memory once you chunk it out and provide it in sequence. Creating modules or segments in training is the best way to provide information in sequence and spreading it out from easy to hard concepts.

Learning occurs when you train someone. Hence, it is very important to follow these techniques when designing your training in order to be successful in your program.