Factors Affecting Learning

Factors Affecting Learning

Learning, as you have studied, can be defined as a process of bringing relatively permanent changes in the behaviour of the learner through experience or practice. An examination of this definition may reveal that learning process is centred around three elements:

1.      The learner whose behaviour is to be changed or modified

2.      The type of experience or training required for modification in the learner’s behavior.

3.      The men and material resources needed for providing desired experiences and training.

Therefore, the success or failure in the task of learning in terms of introducing desired modification in the behaviour of a learner will automatically depend upon the quality as well as control and management of the factors associated with the above cited main elements. Let us discuss briefly these factors.

Factors Associated with Learner

Learner is the key figure in any learning task. He has to learn or bring desired modifications in his behavior. How he wall learn or what he will achieve, through a particular learning act depends heavily upon his own characteristics and ways of learning. Such things or factors associated with this Can be describe as follows:

Physical and mental health

 It is often seen a child who is mentally and physically healthy, is skilled in learning facts as well as activities. Children inclined to fall ill frequently do not take much interest in reading and the teacher has to coax or compel such students to do their work. As a result, diseased and unintelligent children often form deep complexes regarding teachers, their classes and the school. For this reason, it is advisable for the teacher to take care of the mental and physical health of his students and he should adapt his teaching methods to their mental and physical condition.

Learning is greatly affected by the learner’s physical and mental health maintained by him particularly, at the time of learning. A simple headache or a stomachache can play havoc with the process and products of learning. A child who does not maintain satisfactory physical health has to suffer adversely in terms of gains in learning. Similarly, the mental state and the health of a learner at the time of learning become potent factors in deciding the outcome of his learning. A tense, emotionally and mentally disturbed learner cannot show satisfactory results in learning.

Basic potential of learner

The result achieved by the learner through a process of learning depends heavily upon his basic potential to undergo such learning. Such potential may consist of the things given ahead:

(a)    Learner’s innate ability and capacities for learning a thing.

(b)   Learner’s basic potential in terms of general intelligence and specific knowledge, understanding and skills related to a particular learning area.

(c)    Learner’s basic interest, aptitudes and attitudes related to the learning od a particular thing or area.

Learning method

 Learning is also influenced by the method the teacher employs in imparting a piece of knowledge to the students. Every child is not influenced or impressed by the same method. If a child is being taught under compulsion unscientifically and unpsychologically, it is almost certain that he will not take any interest in learning that subject. It is for this reason that in the earlier classes, great stress is placed upon teaching by the play method which involves learning by doing in higher classes, a considerable part of the teaching is done through audio-video aids.

The level of aspiration and achievement motivation:

Motivation invariably plays a major role in the learning process. If a student has not been motivated to learn something, he will not take any interest in learning process. If a teacher first motivates students regarding the lesson he is about to teach, he will find that he achieves greater success in imparting it to his students. Motivation arouses ambition in the students.

Learning is greatly influenced by the level of aspiration and nature of achievement motivation possessed by a learner. How can we expect learner to achieve a thing for which he has no aspiration?

Also, too much of aspirations make it impossible for an individual to achieve this. A person has to maintain the level of his aspiration and achievement motivation at a reasonable level. That is to say, his aspirations should be neither too high which will result in non-achievement of any of his goals nor, too low as not to try to achieve goals which he is quite capable.

Goal of life:

The philosophy of immediate as well as ultimate goals of  life affect the process and product of learning. His mode and ways of looking towards things, his inclination towards learning a particular subject and patience and persistence in pursuing his learning despite the heavy odds- all depend up on his goals and philosophy of life.

Maturation: The physical and mental maturity of children plays a very significant part in the learning process. In the early classes, children are given training in muscular control to enable them to handle and manipulate pencils, books, copies. etc. In the higher classes, specific lessons are taught only after considering the mental ability, capacity, talent, etc. of the students. The subjects and activities taught to students should conform to their age and capacity. In other words, it can be said that mental and physical maturation is a very important factor in the successful working of the learning process.

Methodology of learning:

Learning depends upon the methods, techniques and approaches employed for the teaching and learning of the selected contents.

(a)    Linking the recent leanings with those of the past: the quality of result in learning, depends much on the abilities of a teacher and a learner to link the present new learning with the past experiences of the learner. Experiences help the learner to assimilate and understand the new learning.

School Influence Learning

The Learning situation: The phrase ‘learning situation’ refers to the atmosphere in the school which, if it is attractive and favourable can make learning easier. The behaviour of other students, in the class also contributes to this atmosphere and makes it either favourable or unpleasant.

The Process of learning- Learning is also influenced by the manner in which any particular activity is performed. However, psychologists themselves are not completely unanimous in their opinion about how the process of learning should be conducted. Irrespective of how the process of learning is set in motion, it is an undeniable fact that a child acquires, learns or absorbs any activity in his own way.

Suitable atmosphere- Learning is profoundly influenced by the atmosphere in which it takes place. If the environment is suitable whether the environment is internal or external, of the home or the community of the school or the classroom learning becomes easy and facile. In the classroom, such elements as lighting, ventilation, cleanliness, etc. constitute the external environment. Before students can learn anything it is essential that they should be mentally prepared to learn it. This means that the teacher must prepare a suitable mental atmosphere before trying to teach anything.

The Teacher’s role- Learning usually does not take place in an effective and successful manner as long as the teacher does not play his role with determination and dedication.  Many important researches are being conducted in the sphere of education. If is desirable for the teacher to be in touch with the findings of the latest research and to employ the most modern methods of teaching. If he does this, he will find himself becoming a more effective teacher.

Structure of the curriculum: If the curriculum is organized on the principle, from simple to complex’. It will definitely prove helpful in learning. The teacher should know that he has to teach, and the students should be aware of what they have to learn. In case the curriculum is disorganized. The students as well as the teachers suffer.

According to Alexander, the factors which influence learning are the following- (i) acquisition of motor skill and the habit of reacting. (ii) Growth in perceptual knowledge and testing. (iii) Symbols which aid memorization (verbal signs, images) and thoughts which encourage association, (iv) modification of emotional reactions and motivational tendencies, (v) perception, innovative thinking and ability to solve problems, (vi) individual characteristics, thoughts and development of suitable mental condition.

Cultural Factors Influence Learning

Dr. Christine Bennett concluded that there are five cultural factors that might influence learning: (1) childhood socialization, (2) socio-cultural tightness, (3) ecological adaptation, (4) biological effects, and (5) language

Childhood socialization refers the common child-rearing practices of a culture. The ways in which the caretakers in a culture raise their children influences the children’s developmental skills. For example, Bennett found that African Americans might have better motor proficiency skills because African American mothers tend to have more physical contact with the babies than Euro-American mothers. Socio-cultural tightness is determined by whether a culture is a high-context or low-context culture. High-context cultures regard time in a polychromic format, which knowledge using intuition and spiral logic. Low-context cultures see time as linear with tight schedules. Knowledge is believed to be gained through analytical reasoning.

The environments of particular cultures require the people to acquire skills or to adapt in order to survive. This describes ecological adaptation. The environment may include geography or social settings. Some environments lead to skills that are beneficial. For example, Native Americans may have better perceptual skills because they have been taught to recognize their families’ herds from a distance and to interpret signs of dangerous weather and approaching predators. On the other hand, harmful environments, such as impoverished areas, create problems that can be learning deficits for children.

Biological effects like genetics, brain development, and physical development impact how an individual processes information. Some scientists believe that persons from different ethnicity or cultures have specific cognitive characteristics. Scientists Pasteur and Toldson believe that Whites are more likely to be left-brain dominant and African Americans are more right-brain dominant (Irvine, 1995). Although this can be seen as stereotyping race, biological factors such as a person’s heritable traits should be considered when perceiving a person’s learning style.

Finally, a person’s language influences how a person learns, especially with a second language. “Language reflects the worldviews, the thought processes, and the lifestyles of its people”. The values of the culture are expressed through language, whether it be communicated non verbally or spoken in the words of the culture’s primary language. Hence, one’s native language shapes how a person thinks and perceives knowledge.

Cultural tendencies impact the way children participate in education.  The table below describes different expectations about "normal" school behavior for students from individualist and collectivist cultures As you review this information, take a moment to think about how teachers who lack knowledge about culture might interpret the behavior of a child from a collectivist culture These differences may cause educators to inaccurately judge students from some cultures as poorly behaved or disrespectful In addition, because cultural differences are hard to perceive, students may find themselves reprimanded by teachers but fail to understand what they did that caused concern.

The influence of culture on beliefs about education, the value of education, and participation styles cannot be overestimated Many Asian students, for example, tend to be quiet in class, and making eye contact with teachers is considered inappropriate for many of these children (Bennett, 2003) In contrast, most European American children are taught to value active classroom discussion and to look teachers directly in the eye to show respect, while their teachers view students' participation as a sign of engagement and competence.

In everyday conversation, spoken words are only one way to communicate. As little as 7 percent of a message may be expressed in words. The rest is through facial expression, voice tone, body gestures, and overall posture. When the verbal and nonverbal messages don’t match up, people pay more attention to the nonverbal message. That’s what’s meant by the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

It may be difficult to understand nonverbal messages because different cultures have different expectations about eye contact, physical touch, body gestures, etc. A person’s gender, age, position in society, level of acculturation, and individual preference can complicate communication even more.

Let’s consider eye contact. Kids from many Latin American and Asian cultures show respect by avoiding the glance of authority figures. A teacher who’s unfamiliar with this cultural norm, however, might interpret the lack of eye contact as just the opposite – a sign of disrespect. For many American Indian children, looking a teacher in the eye and answering her question in front of the class is “showing off.” Yet a teacher who doesn’t know this could think the child was unmotivated or inattentive.

Gender Influence Learning

What do we know about differences in how girls and boys learn? 

There are significant differences in the ways girls and boys learn differences which are more substantial than age differences in many ways. In other words, a 7-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy differ, on average, on parameters such as "how long can you sit still, be quiet, and pay attention?" those differences between a same-age girl and same-age boy are larger than differences between, say, a 7-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl. Most American schools segregate kids on the basis of age differences: they put 7-year-olds in one classroom and 9-year-olds in another classroom. And yet, on some parameters - such as how long a child can sit still, be quiet, and pay attention - the sex differences (e.g. Between the average 7-year-old girl and the average 7-year-old boy) are larger than the age differences (e.g. Between the average 7-year-old girl and the average 9-year-old girl). 

The differences appear to be greatest among the youngest children. If you visit an all-girls kindergarten and then an all-boys kindergarten, you will be struck by how differently the children learn. If you visit an all-girls 12th-grade classroom and an all-boys 12th-grade classroom, the differences are more subtle. Some 6-year-old boys just have to stand and make buzzing noises in order to learn. It's unusual to find 17-year-old boys who absolutely have to stand and make buzzing noises in order to concentrate.

There are gender-specific personality traits which affect how children learn. In the 1960's and 1970's and even into the 1980's, it was fashionable to assume that gender differences in personality were "socially constructed." Back then, many psychologists thought that if we raised children differently -- if we raised Johnny to play with dolls and Sally to play with trucks -- then many of these gender differences would vanish. However, cross-cultural studies over the past 30 years have provided little support for this hypothesis. On the contrary, a report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that gender differences in personality were remarkably robust across all cultures studied, including China, sub-Saharan Africa, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, the United States, and Europe (including specific studies in Croatia, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Yugoslavia and western Russia). "Contrary to predictions from the social role model, gender differences were most pronounced in European and American cultures in which traditional sex roles are minimized," the authors concluded.

Educational psychologists have consistently found that girls tend to have higher standards in the classroom, and evaluate their own performance more critically. Girls also outperform boys in school (as measured by students' grades), in all subjects and in all age groups. Because girls do better in school (as measured by report card grades), one might imagine that girls would be more self-confident about their academic abilities and have higher academic self-esteem. But that's not the case. Paradoxically, girls are more likely to be excessively critical in evaluating their own academic performance. Conversely, boys tend to have unrealistically high estimates of their own academic abilities and accomplishments.

We arrive at one of the most robust paradoxes teachers face: the girl who gets straight A's but thinks she's stupid and feels discouraged; the boy who's barely getting B's but thinks he's brilliant. Consequently, the most basic difference in teaching style for girls vs. boys is that you want to encourage the girls, build them up, while you give the boys a reality check: make them realize they're not as brilliant as they think they are, and challenge them to do better.

Educational psychologists have found fundamental differences in the factors motivating girls vs. factors motivating boys. Researchers have consistently found that "girls are more concerned than boys are with pleasing adults, such as parents and teachers". Most boys, on the other hand, will be less motivated to study unless the material itself interests them.

Girls and boys experience academic difficulties very differently.

"Girls generalize the meaning of their failures because they interpret them as indicating that they have disappointed adults, and thus they are of little worth. Boys, in contrast, appear to see their failures as relevant only to the specific subject area in which they have failed; this may be due to their relative lack of concern with pleasing adults. In addition, because girls view evaluative feedback as diagnostic of their abilities, failure may lead them to incorporate this information into their more general view of themselves. Boys, in contrast, may be relatively protected from such generalization because they see such feedback as limited in its diagnostically."

Girls tend to look on the teacher as an ally. Given a little encouragement, they will welcome the teacher's help. A girl-friendly classroom is a safe, comfortable, welcoming place. Forget hard plastic chairs: put in a sofa and some comfortable bean bags. Let the girls address their teacher by her (or his) first name.