The 13 types of learning: what are they?

Some people think that there is only one way to learn.

Surely, many, when we think about learning, we imagine someone studying or learning by rote. However, there are different types of learning with very different characteristics from each other. In today's article, we'll go over and explain them.

Psychology and learning

Learning refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values ​​and attitudes, and human beings could not adapt to changes if it were not for this process.

Psychology has been interested in this phenomenon for several decades and there are many authors who have contributed valuable knowledge about what this learning is and how it is built. Ivan Pavlov, John watson or Albert bandura are clear examples of this marked interest.

If you are interested in knowing more about the contribution of psychology to learning, we recommend reading the following articles:

• Educational psychology: definition, concepts and theories
• Jean Piaget's Theory of Learning
• Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
• Piaget vs Vygotsky: similarities and differences between their theories

The different types of learning

Over the years, the studies of many of these researchers have made it possible to decipher how our memory and how observation or experience influences when building knowledge and changing our way of Act.

But, What ways of learning are there? What kinds of learning are there? We will explain it to you below.

• Recommended article: "Types of memory: how does the human brain store memories?"

1. Implicit learning

Implicit learning refers to a type of learning that is generally unintentional learning and where the learner is not aware of what is learned.

The result of this learning is the automatic execution of a motor behavior. The truth is that many of the things we learn happen without realizing it, for example, talking or walking. Implicit learning was the first to exist and was key to our survival. We are always learning without realizing it.

2. Explicit learning

Explicit learning is characterized because the learner has the intention to learn and is aware of what he learns.

For example, this type of learning allows us to acquire information about people, places and objects. That is why this way of learning requires sustained and selective attention of the most evolved area of ​​our brain, that is, it requires the activation of the prefrontal lobes.

3. Associative learning

This is a process by which an individual learns the association between two stimuli or a stimulus and a behavior. One of the great theorists of this type of learning was Ivan Pavlov, who dedicated part of his life to the study of classical conditioning, a type of associative learning.

• You can learn more about this type of learning in our article: "Classical conditioning and its most important experiments"

4. Non-associative learning (habituation and awareness)

Non-associative learning is a type of learning that is based on a change in our response to a stimulus that occurs continuously and repeatedly.. For example. When someone lives near a nightclub, they may be bothered by the noise at first. Over time, after prolonged exposure to this stimulus, you will not notice noise pollution, as you will have become accustomed to noise.

Within non-associative learning we find two phenomena: habituation and the sensitization.

• To know more, visit our post: "Habituation: a key process in pre-associative learning"

5. Significant learning

This type of learning is characterized by the fact that the individual collects the information, selects it, organizes and establishes relationships with the knowledge that they previously had. In other words, it is when a person relates new information with what he already has.

• You can know more about meaningful learning clicking here

6. Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning is a type of learning that allows each student to learn not alone, but together with their peers.

Therefore, it is usually carried out in the classrooms of many educational centers, and the groups of students do not usually exceed five members. The teacher is the one who forms the groups and who guides them, directing the performance and distributing roles and functions.

7. Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is similar to cooperative learning. Now, the first differs from the second in the degree of freedom with which the groups are constituted and function.

In this type of learning, it is the teachers or educators who propose a topic or problem and the students decide how to approach it

8. Emotional learning

Emotional learning means learning to know and manage emotions more efficiently. This learning brings many benefits at a mental and psychological level, since it positively influences our well-being, improves interpersonal relationships, favors personal development and we empowers.

• Recommended article: "The 10 benefits of emotional intelligence"

9. Observational learning

This type of learning is also known as vicarious, imitation, or modeling learning., and is based on a social situation in which at least two individuals participate: the model (the person from whom it is learned) and the subject who performs the observation of said behavior, and learns it.

10. Experiential learning

Experiential learning is learning that occurs as a result of experience, As its name indicates.

This is a very powerful way to learn. In fact, when we speak of learning from mistakes, we are referring to learning produced by one's own experience. Now, the experience can have different consequences for each individual, since not everyone will perceive the facts in the same way. What takes us from simple experience to learning is self-reflection.

• Recommended article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"

11. Learning by discovery

This learning refers to active learning, in which the person instead of learning the contents passively, discovers, relates and rearranges the concepts to adapt them to her cognitive scheme. One of the great theorists of this type of learning is Jerome bruner.

12. Rote learning

Rote learning means learning and fixing different concepts in memory without understanding what they mean, so it does not carry out a signification process. It is a type of learning that takes place as a mechanical and repetitive action.

13. Responsive learning

With this type of learning called receptive learning, the person receives the content to be internalized.

It is a kind of imposed, passive learning. In the classroom it occurs when the student, especially due to the teacher's explanation, the printed material or the audiovisual information, only needs to understand the content to be able to reproduce it.

Bibliographic references:

• Arias Gómez, D. H. (2005) Teaching and Learning of Social Sciences: A didactic proposal. Bogota Cooperativa Editorial Magisterio.
• Farnham-Diggory, S (2004) Learning difficulties. Madrid. Morata Editions.
• Hoppenstead, F. C.; Izhikevich, E. M. (1997) Weakly Connected Neural Networks. New York. Springer-Verlag.