Skills Education

The Theory(ies!) of Learning

If there is one thing that is common across education research, learning theories, learning frameworks, principles, and preferences, is that learning cannot be done for someone - it is what someone does.

But as educators, it’s also probably no surprise that despite knowing that learning is what someone else does for themselves, there is an ongoing quest by teachers and trainers for how they can make learning happen, while making it easier, more accessible, more engaging, more enjoyable, more memorable! for learners.

- Image by vecstock

The curiosity about how learning happens, and importantly, how educators can assist or facilitate it to happen has spawned a multitude of inquiry and explanations over hundreds of years.

While it is typically agreed that certain main groupings exist, for example pedagogy (teaching of children) versus andragogy (teaching of adults), or theories that learning is about memory and recall (cognitivism), or watching others (behaviourism), or doing something for one's self (experiential learning), not many people are aware of just how many explanations have been coined as Learning Theories.

To start your exploration of Learning Theories, see the course topics below.

- Updated 29.3.24