ASSIGMENT 10: THEORY OF LEARNING

Theory of learning: Meaningful learning

Ausubel's believes that learning of new knowledge relies on what is already known. That is, construction of knowledge begins with our observation and recognition of events and objects through concepts we already have. We learn by constructing a network of concepts and adding to them. According to his theory, meaningful learning, to learn meaningfully, individuals must relate new knowledge to relevant concepts they already know. New knowledge must interact with the learner’s knowledge structure.

Meaningful learning can be contrasted with rote learning. He believed in the idea of meaningful learning as opposed to rote memorization. The latter can also incorporate new information into the pre-existing knowledge structure but without interaction, it is of no use to the learner in understanding the relationships between the objects.

Because meaningful learning involves a recognition of the links between concepts, it has the privilege of being transferred to long-term memory. The most crucial element in meaningful learning is how the new information is integrated into the old knowledge structure. Accordingly, Ausubel believes that knowledge is hierarchically organized; that new information is meaningful to the extent that it can be related to what is already known.

I can't post it in a tweet because I don't have twitter.