Introduction to Learning and Education

• Education and learning are explained.
• Chapter 1 introduces education and learning.
• Chapter 2 discusses the basic factors in learning.
• Chapter 3 covers the types of learning.

Introduction to Learning

• Learning begins at birth and continues until death.
• It is the process of acquiring new experiences, which leads to more adaptive behavior.

Definition of Learning

• It involves high mental ability
• It is an indication of intelligence
• It includes acquiring new behavior, information, or skills.
• It depends on physical and mental health.

Differences Between Learning and Education

• Learning and Education are distinct concepts.

Learning

• Informal or accidental
• Involves acquiring information
• Has no legal restrictions
• Non-systematic
• Relies on self-evaluation
• Selective and based on interests/satisfaction
• It is a wider concept than education.

Education

• Formal
• Acquires knowledge
• Restricted legally
• Systematic and determined by time
• Evaluated by teachers and instructors
• Obligatory with no selection
• Narrower concept than learning

Factors Controlling Learning Ability

• Maturity is sometimes considered growth
• Maturity includes physical and mental aspects which are important for learning.
• Learning requires both physical and mental maturity.

Physical Maturity

• Involves the growth of the body, tissues, muscles, and limbs.
• It includes suitable body dimensions for everyday life activities.

Mental Maturity

• Involves the growth of the nervous system to understand and act mentally.
• Allows one to act well with adaptive behavior during environmental interaction.

Factors Controlling Maturity

• Genetic factors play a role in maturity
• Siblings of mentally challenged couples typically have physical defects and are often retarded based on genes.
• The environment acts as a gateway for all mental and physical functions.
• Sensory deprivation results in physical and mental dysfunction
• Age influences mental and physical functions with the growth of the nervous system.
• Sensory organs that can perceive environmental stimuli may cause learning disability if distributed by tumors or injuries.
• Gender affects mental and physical maturity

Gender Examples

• Females Speech Center grows more rapidly than males which enable females to learn verbal skills earlier and better than males.
• Males develop faster, stronger skeletons and muscles than females because of intensive hormones that enable males to act physically.

Practice or Exercise or Training

• Reproducing tasks indicates learning.

Why Practice Is Important

• Decreases errors and mistakes.
• Strengthens memory.
• Improves performance.
• Saves time and effort.
• Strengthens the relationship between task parts.

Types of Practice

• Two main types of practice: continuous and discrete are important

Continuous Practice

• Facilitates linking task parts in early learning stages.
• Fixes errors and facilitates task reproduction.

Discrete Practice

• Protects against losing the learned tasks
• Uses new experiences or situations which improve performance

Importance of Practice

• Both types are integrated in learning.
• Continuous practice is vital in early stages for tight connected parts
• Discrete practice refreshes memory

Motivation

• It is an abstract concept that directs behavior, focuses attention and fulfills satisfaction, and helps overcome obstacles
• It is energetic and considered an achievement factor.

Importance of Motivation

• Defines what to select and the people working towards it.
• Provides energy in unsuitable conditions.
• Organizes the person, and maintains behavior

Rewards or Reinforcement

• People should be rewarded to encourage more learning and acquiring new behavior.
• Rewards are vital in establishing desirable behaviors and medical situations

Rewarding Patients Learning Medical Instructions

• Medical teams should be aware of a patient’s age, mental health, and gender.
• Relief of pain or recovery energizes a patient and helps with compliance.
• Comfort motivates, while pain frustrates.
• Age determines the type of reward given; adults like money, children like sweets.
• It is important to understand instructions & recognize the relationship between what is learned.
• Rewards should be variable from situation to situation and effective.
• Rewards should be suitable for the person and not the person giving it.
• Selection of rewards is based on sex.

Types of Learning

• Behavioral learning falls into three general categories which are: classical, operant, and oberservational learning

Classical Conditioning

• Pairing between two stimuli or conditions where A) Powerful (Original) stimulus can evoke desired results or B) a Neutral Stimulus will not.
• Pairing between stimuli gives power
• In absence of a powerful stimulus, the neutral stimulus can be used to learn new tasks
• An example is the smell of food increasing saliva and pairing rings of a door bell.

Operant Conditioning

• Conditions shape behavior through reward or punishment.
• It is a process in which occurrence is increased due to reinforcement or punishment
• Rewarded behavior is reinforced, strengthened, and repeated.
• Punished behavior is not reinforced and disappears.

Reinforcement or Rewards

• They are energetic and encourage learning.
• The timing and rate are known as schedules of reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Learning can occur quickly due to these schedules.
• Giving rewards systematically according to 1) time (interval) or rate of action or 2) # of frequencies

Interval Schedules

• Includes: Fixed and Variable

Fixed Interval Schedules

• Rewards given after defined time, regardless of the person's response every week.

Variable Interval Schedules

• Rewards given after an unknown time.
• A learner will pay the maximum effort, waiting for rewards with unknown periods.

Rate Schedules

• Includes: Fixed and Variable:

Fixed Rate Schedules

• Rewards are given after tasks like performing three physical therapy steps.

Variable Rate Schedules

• Rewards after unknown rate
• After five steps and then after one trial with 7 steps and after 3 steps.

Notices

• Important at early stages of learning situations to ensure all required steps.
• Variable intervals and rate schedules help in refreshing and memorizing to avoid forgetting.

Observational Learning

• Learning through observing others to obtain similar results.
• People imitate actions without direct reinforcement or ethics.
• Four things essential for learning: attention, motivation, memory and skill.