learning

learning

noun

Definition of LEARNING

1

: the act or experience of one that learns

2

: knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study

3

: modification of a behavioral tendency by experience (as exposure to conditioning)

Examples of LEARNING

1. a computer program that makes learning fun
2. different methods of foreign language learning
3. The first year of college was a learning experience.
4. They were people of good education and considerable learning.

First Known Use of LEARNING

before 12th century

Related to LEARNING

Synonyms

erudition, knowledge, learnedness, education, literacy, scholarship

Antonyms

ignorance, illiteracy, illiterateness

Related Words

culture, edification, enlightenment; reading; bookishness, pedantry

Near Antonyms

functional illiteracy

See Synonym Discussion at knowledge

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

learn·ing

noun    (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of LEARNING

: the process of acquiring a modification in a behavioral tendency by experience (as exposure to conditioning) in contrast to modifications occurring because of development or a temporary physiological condition (as fatigue) of the organism; also : the modified behavioral tendency itself

learning

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Process of acquiring modifications in existing knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies through experience, practice, or exercise. Learning includes associative processes (see association; conditioning), discrimination of sense-data, psychomotor and perceptual learning (see perception), imitation, concept formation, problem solving, and insight learning. Animal learning has been studied by ethologists and comparative psychologists, the latter often drawing explicit parallels to human learning (see comparative psychology; ethology). The first experiments concerning associative learning were conducted by Ivan Pavlov in Russia and Edward L. Thorndike in the U.S. Critics of the early stimulus-response (S-R) theories, such as Edward C. Tolman, claimed they were overly reductive and ignored a subject's inner activities. Gestalt-psychology researchers drew attention to the importance of pattern and form in perception and learning, while structural linguists argued that language learning was grounded in a genetically inherited “grammar.” Developmental psychologists such as Jean Piaget highlighted stages of growth in learning. More recently, cognitive scientists have explored learning as a form of information processing, while some brain researchers, such as Gerald Maurice Edelman, have proposed that thinking and learning involve an ongoing process of cerebral pathway building. Related topics of research include attention, comprehension, motivation, and transfer of training. See also behaviour genetics; behaviourism; educational psychology; imprinting; instinct; intelligence.