Personal Theory of Learning

As a student, I have completed 12 years of primary education, four years of secondary education, and one year of graduate education. Over 22 years, I have built a career in managing people. I have taken lessons and classes for hobbies like horseback riding, knife skills, and trapezing. I listen to podcasts, read books, and look at social media. In all of these contexts, I have learned. I learned through being told and shown how to do something. I learned through hearing, seeing, and reading information. I learned from teachers, friends, colleagues, and strangers. Learning is a lifelong process of combining new information with previous knowledge and beliefs to create understanding. The process of learning to understand does not occur in a vacuum. Metacognition, the people in social contexts, and the physical context of learning, whether in or out of school, impact learning.

Taking in information to learn can be done in many ways. Bandura's social learning theory explains observational learning (Cherry, 2021). Bandura's (1961) Bobo doll experiment shows that after seeing an adult hit a doll, the children imitate this action. Bandura believes that not all behaviors are a response to rewards or negative reinforcement, and behaviors can come from observing others' actions. As a young child, repetition and mimicry were ways I learned fundamentals that became the building blocks of further learning. I watched Sesame Street and repeated letters and numbers after the characters on the show. The alphabet song helped me remember the letters. The more I sang the alphabet song, the more I remembered my letters. Learning letters and numbers through repetition and mimicry built a foundation for reading in subsequent years. Repetition and mimicry are examples of Bandura's social learning theory and observational learning.

Once a learner takes in new information, it is combined with existing knowledge to create new knowledge. Piaget sees existing knowledge as schemas, and adding new information to existing information is the assimilation of the new knowledge (Cherry, 2022). As I progressed through school, I did well in algebra and trigonometry. I struggled with geometry. Each time I encountered new math subjects, such as geometry, I assimilated those subjects into the schema of challenging classes. New schemas form, or existing schemas, change when a learner has novel interactions with their environment and the people within it. The forming and changing of schemas is a process Piaget names accommodation. When I took an educational research class with several sections on statistics, I accommodated statistics out of the schema of complex subjects into a new schema of exciting topics because the professor approached teaching statistics differently than others. I accommodated this knowledge into a new schema about math classes I previously thought were difficult.

Learning is not just memorization of information or gathering of knowledge. To truly learn, one must understand. Learners must utilize their expertise in new contexts or transfer the knowledge to truly understand a concept (McTighe & Wiggins, 2005). I have learned how to coach and motivate my employees in my professional career. I knew I understood how to effectively coach employees when I left one company, went to a new one, and was able to help employees improve. I learned how to apply the knowledge I had gathered over many years in a new context, which showed my understanding. 

To assess understanding and positively impact learning, one can self-assess their performance. Self-assessment is an example of metacognition, or thinking about what I'm doing or thinking while I'm doing or thinking (Bransford et al., 2000). This process of examining oneself can positively impact the transfer of learning. I ride horses consistently and have greatly improved my riding skills through metacognition. I thought about what I was doing while on the horse and analyzed what I needed to adjust to having the horse better respond to my cues. Thinking of what I was doing while doing it helped improve my performance and assisted in continually moving me forward and improving my riding.

People around learners and the social context of learning impact learning and understanding. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of development states that learners develop through interactions with others, their culture, and their environment (Cherry, 2023). In my professional experience, I have struggled with understanding the culture and politics of each workplace. I have learned how to operate within a workplace culture by observing the interactions of those around me and asking for help from others who have experience within the work environment. A colleague helped me understand the best ways to work with different departments, as each department had specific strategies and focuses. Working with the colleague, or as Vygotsky designated this person, "a more knowledgeable other," helped develop my ability to successfully interact with others and get what I needed for my department at work.

Learning through activity or within a culture will help in understanding concepts. Brown et al. state, "Activity, concept, and culture are interdependent" (p. 33). This means that someone may acquire knowledge of a subject but only understand it once applying it in a real-life situation. This is called "situated cognition" (Brown et al., 1989). Using knowledge within a context increases the level of understanding than learning theories without application. I didn't understand compounding interest when I learned about it in school. I remember completing problems about mortgage interest for homework but truly understood the concept once I signed my first mortgage and saw the amount of interest I would pay on a 15-year loan compared to a 30-year loan. My understanding of compound interest was exponentially better once I applied my knowledge to a real-world situation I experienced.

I am a life-long learner. I love learning something new and reveling when I can apply the learning in a unique situation. Understanding is something you can continue to build long after leaving formal education. The people and environment around you will shape your learning and understanding as much as your self-assessment and incorporating new knowledge with existing knowledge.

REFERENCES

Bandura, Ross, & Ross. (1961). Transmission of Aggression through Imitation of Aggressive Models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63(3), 575–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045925

Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded Edition). National Academy Press.

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

Cherry, K. (2023). How Observational Learning Affects Behavior. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402

Cherry, K. (2023). Lev Vygotsky's Contributions to Psychology. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/lev-vygotsky-biography-2795533

Cherry, K. (2022, October 29). The Importance of Assimilation in Adaptation and Learning. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-assimilation-2794821

Wiggins, G. T., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (Vol. Expanded 2nd ed). ASCD.