Structure I .

9.0 Introduction
9.1 Objectives
9.2 Nature of Learning
9.2.1 Factors Affecting Learning
9.3 Learning Theories
9.4 Nature of Adult Learning
9.5 Learning from Print Medium
9.6 Implications for Material Design
9.7 Summary
9.8 Unit End Activities
9.9 References and Suggested Readings
9.10 Clues to Check Your Progress

9.0 INTRODUCTION
Learners aspire to learn things efficiently and effectively si learning, besides other
factors like fatigue, maturation, medications, etc. affects performance to a great
extent. Learning makes one more competent, enables o adapt successfully and
live in harmony with hisher environment. It is this learni cess which determines
ones behaviaur ahd basic habits. So an understandin e learning process is
important. What is learning? If you carefully review definitions of learning,
you would conclude that learning is a relatively permanent change in
behaviour potentiality (behavioural tendency) a result of practice
(repeated and/or reinforc'ed) and/or experience and Garmezy,
1963; Morgan, King, Weisz, and Schopler,
permanent change' implies that a change
Very transient changes caused due to
considered as learned changes
changes in behaviour that are
not considered as leatning.
But later s h e can do so because of maturation.
Learning as mentioned in the definition giyen above takes only after repeated
and/or reinforced practice, and/or experience. To learn a for example word
processing, you have to practice hard over and over learn in a single
instance ( through experience or observation) that a bum your hands.
We even "learn" prejudices, preferences and A baby has no
preferences about various political parties, games, only after social
interactions and personal experiences that helshe and starts
liking one and disliking the other. Learning is
sources of experiences: The social environment
society, etc. lead to learning. At these
interactions, print medium, electronic media, Internet, etc.
A huge proportion of learning, especially of a later in life takes place
from print medium. Text books, other books, journals, information
downloaded from the Internet, etc. help in learning. plays an important
role in learning. In this unit, we shall first study learning, factors
Print Media affecting learning, various theories of learning and finally about learning from print
medium and implications for malerial design through this medium.

9.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
explain the nature of human learning;
discuss the factors affecting learning
describe various theories of learning and their educational implications:
discuss the nature of adult learning;
explain learning from print medium;
discuss thc implications for material design.

9.2 NATURE OF LEARNING

It should be clear to you by now that learning is an active process which starts at the
time of birth (even before birth) apd continues till death and it is this learning process
that brings relatively permanent changes in our behaviour. These changes might be
desirable or undesirable. For example, one might learn to obey rules and laws or
learn Nays to violate them.
Learning is purposeful and goal-directed. Without any aim or motivation, it is highly
difficult to learn anything. For c-[ample, if one wants to be a software expert hisher
learning efforts would be different from those of the person who wants to learn law.
Learning is transferable. When we get advantage of one learned skill or experience in
another related area this is regarded as transfer of learning. For example, mathematical
abilities help in learning physical sciences. However, it has also been evident in some
instances that learning of one thing hinders the learning of another. For example,
learning two foreign languages at the same time may create confusion and interfere
with the learning of these languages

9.2.1 Factors Affecting Learning

You might have sometimes had the experience of your learning being affected by
some factors. Were you able to identify the responsible factors? Go through the
factors listed below and recall the factors that had affected your learning.
Nature of the Learning Material: The quantity and the nature of learning
materia, also have significant effects on your learning as well as memory. If you
are going through difficult and meaningless material (content) you might face
hurdles in learning that material. On the other hand, it is easier to learn clear,
familiar, logical and meaningful material.
Learning Method: There are many learning methods. Which method you choose
and use also affects your learning. Some of the popular learning methods are: .
part Vls. whole method (learning a content part by part as against trying to learn
the whole thing), active V/s. passive (learning by understanding the content as
against learning by rote), rhythrical method (making a rhyme out of the learning
material as rhymes are easier to learn and are also retained), learning by
association, trial and error, imitation, observation, insight, etc. If your method of
learning involves understanding, it will lead you to efficient learning.
Interest and Motivation: Were you motivated when you learnt something?
You already know that your level of interest and motivation to learn greatly affect
your learning. Also, there are some factors that even raise/decrease your level
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of motivation. For example if there is some proxision of reward (or punishment), Print and Human Learning
it will certainly have some effect on your level f motivation which in turn will
affect your learning.
Practice: It is important to practise for learning. he more you rep I+ ind pactise,
the more you learn and approach perfection. specially, skills improve with
practice.
Characteristics of the Learner: Even characteristics determine
your learning. Your age, level of aspiration,
anxieties, resources available, a significant effect
on your learning.
Environment: The environment has an influence on your learning. It
is common exper~bncethat one can in peaceful and favorable
conditions than in noisy and unfavorable air, ventilation, presence of
people, etc. affect your learning significantly.
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9.3 LEARNING THEORIES

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Learning theories not only describe and explain the n cessary conditions under which
learning takes place but also emphasizes what take place when effective learning

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occurs. A learning theory is L general concept about earning. It means that it simply
applies to everyone, to all learning t~ ,ks, and to all co ditions and situations in which
learning takes place. In addition it explains, predicts nd controls the ways in which
various environmental influences affect learning.
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unit of the first course of this programme.

Behaviouristic Theory of Learning

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Two main categories of learning theories are : beh viouristic theory and cognitive
theory. We shall discuss these theori s briefly as the have been discussed in the 2nd

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The behaviorist view defines learning as stimulus-re$ponse (S-R) relationships, and
hence :s an associative process. According to them, ih learning, a new association or
connection is formed between astimulus and responde. For insta-LP,to the symbols
~feach alphabet (S) a child attaches a response (R ) w ich could be the pronunciation.
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Let us discuss some major learning theories, Ghch are ased on this S-R connectionism.
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Thor.,dike's Trial and Error Theory i1

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Thorndike developed his theory on the basis of his fa ous experiment of the cat and
the puzzle box. He placed a hungry cat in a puzzle box which could be opened only be
pressing a particular lever. Outside the box, he placpd some food. The cat due to
hunger and habit started attempting to come out of th+ box. Following some random

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attempts, by chance, the cat succeeded in coming out. n subsequent similar trials, the
time taken to make the correct response and the numbe of random activities gradually

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decreased and finally the cat learned the correct re ponse. Thorndike termed this
behaviour as "learnl,lg by trial and error with accidenta success" whi'ch did not consist

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of any apparent thoughtful analysis and ,;p!?raisal of th problem situation. According
to him, learning is by the assodiation between the stim lus (presence of the lever) and
the response (pressing the lever).
Thorndike (1932), further proposed three laws of leading which are as follows:
Law of Readiness: When any cond~ctionunit is ieady to conduct (an individual

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ready to learn something), for it to do so is satisfy ng. When any conduction unit
is not in readiness to conduct, for it to conduct is di ficult. So, it implies that if you
are not ready to learn something, you cannot l e m it effectively. Redlines comes
from interest, need, age, maturity, previous learning experiences, etc. 7
Print Media Law of Exercise: This law is further divided in two sub-laws: (a) law of use,
and (b) law of disuse. Repeated exercising of a response strengthens its
connection with the stimulus and disuse weakens it. Later he recognized that
mere blind repetition is not sufficient for effective learning, rather knowledge of
results is an essential condition for it.
Law of Effect: Acts leading to satisfaction becomes associated with *at situation.
So, it is our natural tendency to learn the things which give us happiness and
satisfaction, and to avoid others. We want to learn the things which make us feel
happy and satisfied.

Pavlov's Classical Conditioning Theory

Classical Conditioning theory was developed by Russian physiologist and Nobel Prize
winner Ivan P. Pavlov. He, noted that saliva secretion (UnconditionedResponse ,UCR),
a reflex reaction elicited at the sight of food ( Unconditioned Stimulus USC) can be
elicited by neutral stimuli, which was the sound of a bell (Conditioned Stimulus CS)
which preceded serving of food. This type of response to a neutral stimulus is
conditioned response (CR). Pavlov noticed that salivation would eventually be elicited
by other stimuli also, like the footsteps of the person who used to bring the food. So
this process is termed as conditioning, by which a previously neutral and ineffective
stimulus becomes effective in eliciting a lateral response. Pavlovian conditioning is
known as classical conditioning because it is the first and classical type of experiment
in the field of learning. It is also known as respondent conditioning because the
organism passively responds and the respondent behaviour is under the direct control
of a particular stimulus. Even human beings can be conditioned to respond in a particular
way to a stimulus. You might have seen that children cry (CR) when they visit a
doctor (CS). This is just due to the old frightening experience of a painful injection
(UCS) from a doctor earlier.

Basic Conditioning Phenomena

There are a few interesting phenomena which are inherent in conditioning
Acquisition: It is acquiring the connection or association between the
unconditioned stimulus and the conditioned stimulus. When conditioned response
follows the presentation of conditioned stimulus, even in the absence of
unconditioned stimulus it implies conditioning.
Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery: Once the conditioning has taken place,
if you continue presenting CS alone over a number of trials, the learned response
(CR) gradually becomes weaker and gradually disappears. This is known as
extinction. However, this extinction is not just like simple erasure but there can
be spontaneous recovery. It suggests that even after extinction phase, there
remains some learning.
Generalizationand Discrimination: Generalization simply refers to responding '
in the similar ways to stimuli that resemble each other. For example a child who
fears mathematics also fears physics. However, discrimination learning is also
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significant. If an organism responds only to a specific stimulus and not to others,
it means it has discriminated between originally learned experience and the others.
For instance, a child learns to discriminate a bus from other automobiles

Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory

In classical conditioning paradigm, the behaviour (salivation) was elicited. On the
other hand, pressing the lever was emitted behaviour - performed intentionally by the
cat in Thorndike's experiments. So, Pavlov's was relatively passive learning whereas
the second type of conditioning was a more active and voluntary behaviour. This type

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of learning is known as instrumental conditioning (because the act or behaviour is
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instrumental in obtaining a reward) or as opemnt condin&ing (because the organism t Human Learning
P r i ~ ~and
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operates on its environment). I

(disapproval can weaken a behaviour).

The learners should be active: As has been odrerved repeatedly, learning is

an active process. Hence, for effective learning,)the learners should be active.
"Learning by doing" is the best technique for efhctive learning. Hence there is
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need to include exercises within printed text.
Practice leads to perfection: To acquire any skili. frequent repetition or practice
is a must. Activities, exercises,etc. offer scope/for practice.
Appropriate reinforcement should be theie: There are many types of
reinforcements. If you want to strengthen the behbviour, you should apply certain
type of reinforcements like praise, reward, a nod,letc. And if you want to weaken
some behaviour, then different type of reinforceds should be used. The clues and
model answers at the end of the units give you the feedback and reinforce your
answers.

will be easier to learn.

Cognitive Theory of Learning i

Educational Implications of Cognitive Theory

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 Insightful solutions are transferable: Once the solution is reached, this
experience can be easily utilized in similar problem situationsincluding new problem
situations. For instance, one who drives a two wheeler on a busy road finds
driving a car easy.
Encouraging learning with understanding: Rote learning or learning by
. formula soon fades but learning through understanding lasts long.

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Providing cognitive feedback: As has been seen previously, feedback not
only indicates our direction (we are on the right path or not) of learning but also
serves as reinforcement for further and self-directed learning.
Goal setting: Goal setting is highly important step in learning. It is this stage,
which would determine and predict success or failure. Also, it provides the learners
with the motivation.
Responses are influenced by the total situation: The teachers and trainers
should always keep in mind that they themselves, learners, and the activities
performed, all form the learning environment. All these essential components of
learning environment influence learning.
Insight develops according to age: As we mature and gain experience, we
develop an insight. So, the teachers must select problem situations according to
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the learner's mental level. ,
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p o u r Progress I
I Answer the following questions briefly: I
1. What is meant by learning?

...............................................................................................................
2. Highlight some of the significant factors affecting human learning.

3. In your view which is more effective: learning by association or learning by

rote? Why?

9.4 NATURE OF ADULT LEARNING

According to your view, is there any difference between the learning of a child and of
an adult? Pedagogy is the art and science of educating /teaching children whereas
andragogy is concerned with adult learning. However, some basic learning principles
are equally applicable to both. Factors affecting learning such as meaningfulness of
the content, previous experiences, environment are also common to both. However
adult learning is different since adults have developed a mature personality. So it is
crucial to understand the adult personality and its particular needs, motivations and
aspirations. You should have a clear understanding of the various characteristics of
adult learners so that you could help them learn better. Although the following list is
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not exhaustive yet the following points are important as thdy provide useful information Print and Human I,earni~~::
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about such characteristics. I
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a Adult learners are mature people: Adults are +ture unlike children. They

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are self-reliant learners and they like determining t eir own learning pace. They
have realistic and useful past experiences and ins ghts about what might lead
them to success. They prefer a democratic, and collaborative
environment for learning. I

a Adults long for control over learning eontebt, activities and pace of
learning: Adults require active involvement in detkrmining how and what they
will learn. They desire some control over their lea$ning content, activities, pace
of learning and working environments. 1
a Helping adults evaluate themselves: Scope foh self evaluation challenges
and motivates adults and if followed by constjctive feedback, learning is
facilitated.
a Adults have concrete and immediate needs: ~ 4 u l t are s more aware of their
immediate needs. Instead of lengthy theoretical d~scourses,practical problems
and their solutions are preferred. The content has Jtobe more task or problem-
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centered and above all need based. I
a Intrinsic motivation of adults is high: Adults /may lack time but are more
motivated to learn than children. External rewardd are not so motivating for the

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adult learners as the internal incentives and curiosit to learn more. The usefulness
and appropriateness of the material to be learned Iirectly affect their motivation
and interest to learn.
a Adults go for Voluntary Education: Age not inly brings maturity but also
responsibilities with it. That is why they show inhreased readiness for learning
and education than children do.
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a. Maintaining adults' interest in studies is ch~llenging:There are a lot of
factors like family pressures, social and job coqhrnitments that influence the
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motivation and interest of the adult learners. I

9.5 LEARNING FROM PRINT MEDIUM

In the traditional classroom education system, there; is a continuous face-to-face
interaction between the teacher and the learners as well gs among the learners. Learners
learn to a considerable amount from the oral instructiqns imparted by the teacher, the
teaching aids used and also through interaction witq their peers. But even in this
conventional instructional system, the students are +ccustomed and habituated to
acquire maximum knowledge from the printed textbodks and other printed materials.
If you tell them that there will be no textbook for them tp read they might feel insecure.
Such is the reliance on print medium. Even topics no1 taught by the teacher can be
learnt with the help of printed texts. !
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On the contrary, in the distance education system, bqth the teacher and the learners
are separated by physical andlor geographical distancd, and teaching is imparted from
a distance with the help of various media of communic~tion.Of all the media available
for such communicationpurposes, the print medium is the most impressive and effective
because of certain qualities inherent in this medium. eirst and foremost, the message
the teacher wants to convey to the learners is in pe'hnanent, indelible ink and the
learner has got enough flexibility to go through that prir(ted material, message or content 1

whenever helshe desires so. Secondly it is relativeld cheaper than other media not
only for the concerned distance education institutions)but also for the learners. When
distance education institutions have to print some ma4rial in bulk, the printing cost is
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reduced'to a great extent, and the learners also re uire no technology or special
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Print Media infrastructure to read the printed material. It is highly portable and can be read,
reread, marked, underlined and thus the learner is at home with this medium. It is also 1
easy to carry out partial changes and revisions of the print materials. It is because of
these and various similar reasons that most open universities and distance education
institutions are adopting the print medium as the master medium for instructing the
learners.
It does not mean, however, that the human presence is completely replaced by print
media. Rather, they meet at intervals for counseling purposes. Such counseling helps
in clearing the doubts that the printed material sent could not clear, to supplement it
and for other purposes. Obviously, in the distance education system, interactionsbetween
teacher and learners and also amongst learners themselves is limited and the learners
have to learn from the delivered printed material mainly on their own without much
help and guidance from others'. But this problem is overcome and rather it is turned
into an advantage when the leakers become capable of independent learning with
the help of the print medium and other media.
Books have a profound influence on individuals and even a collective influence on the
entire society. For instance the epics of India and Greece have shaped the socio-
cultural ethos of these societies. Religious texts shape the thinking of the masses and
influence their behavior. Fairy tales and folk tales of childhood leave an indelible
impression on our minds. The newspapers we read influence our thinking. Good books
leave indelible impressions on us. So, you might have concluded by now that the print
medium has emerged as a more powerful, effective and popular mode of delivering
huge quantity of high quality information in a well organized way to the readers and
learners in the conventional system as well as in the distance education system and is
still the most impressive medium of imparting knowledge to the learners.
Researchers, working in this field also have reached the same conclusions that printed
material is more effective than other modes, and print medium has not only been
found highly effective in cognitive but also in affective domains as it is powerful enough
to shape our attitudes. Particularly in the cdgnitive domain. where a critical analysis of

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the presented material is highly desirable, printed material proves to be of immense
help and useful in facilitating learning.

9.6 IMPLICATIONS FOR MATERIAL DESIGN

The ultimate aim of an educational system is to facilitate learning. So is it in the case
of distance education. Even a book or an article in the newspaper has to be such that
the person reading it can comprehend it with ease. However, where academic content
is concerned, learning has to be guided. .In the absence of a teacher, the instructional
material should be such that it is self'explanatory. In the earlier sections, we have
studied various theories of learning, the nature of adult learning, and the role of phnt
media in the learning process. Now, it is significant that we take advantage of all this
information for the benefit of the learners when they learn through the print medium.
We should design our material in such a way that it not only facilitates learning but also ,
increases and maintains the interest and motivation of the learners. Here are some
suggestions for course designers; which might be taken into consideration while designing
their material.
Purpose: The first and most important things is that, instead of just directly
getting started with the material-writing, you should have a clear vision of what
your basic purpose behind developing this course is , what you want to achieve
by developing this course, and what you want to convey. This will set the goal
(objectives as mentioned at the beginning of the unit) for learning. Goal oriented
learning is more focused.
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 Meaningful: The content should be meaningful to the learners. Hence, the Print and Human Learning
language should be lucid and there should be an)ple illustrations and examples.
Chadwick (1990) rightly suggests that materibls should be designed as "an
interactive medium which provides informationb then stimulates and facilitates
the successful processing of the information."
Learner Characteristics: You should also explore in advance before developing
learning materials and seek information from prospective learners about their
previous knowledge, present demands, their manta1 level , readiness, etc. The
text should also avoid anything that could hurt sdmeone's feelings.
Learner-Based Approach: the course develop&ent is to be learner-centered,
and take care of the learner's particular needs apd aspirations. The learners are
to be encouraged to develop analytical and critiqal thinking and cognitive skills
through suitable activities and questions .
Content: The instructions provided should be dear and specific. It should be
interesting to sustain attention. Scope for further ledrning should be ensured through
a list of suggested readings. Scope for practice svould also be kept in view. All
these features will keep the learner active.
Authenticity: You must also ensure the authentibity of the information you are
going to deliver to the students. You should chbck periodically whether your
content is useful or not, and whether it fulfills thp current needs of the readers.
Difficulty: Difficulty level of a course material is important since both too easy
and too difficult material might lead to a loss of interest .
Textual Unity: If there is no textual unity ip the lesson, it distracts the
learners from learning. The content should bq supported with the relevant
headings and subheadings to highlight the structhring of the text. Further, the
graphical presentation should be in consistent$ with the information being

Organization of materials: It is important to drganize the learning material

logically and it should flow systematically and logically from that starting point
which is clearly related to the learners' past exIperiences. Breaking down the
message and information into smaller pieces undef logical and relevant headings
makes the material eye catching, easier to understand, learn and manage. There
should be enough scope for the mental exercisep of the learners and the text
should contain cognitive links pointing both back,and forward. Also, within the
text, there should be occasional breaks where the learners could review the
material they have been studying (Oma, 1985).
Assessment: Assessment is the most important activitp for any type of learning. It
assesses and reveals whether the learners have acquired the capability or competence
you desired to develop in them through your course. In tef t questions should be included
, so that learners can assess their own understanding, l e w n g and progress. Activities
can generate scope for reflection and even practical t~~aining.
Feedback: Providing feedback is highly crucial so that! the learners might also judge
the adequacy of their responses. The mechanism of feetiback works on the following
grounds that it not'only indicates to the learners the wrdng and right answers but also
how they could reach right answers and improve them. It enables self-evaluation and
self-assessment of performance. And above all, feedbahk and positive reinforcement
motivate self-directed learning. I
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besides the nature of the information provided, highly influence the learning
environment. I
1 Print Media
Check Your Progress 2
Answer the following questions briefly:
1. What are the main characteristics of adult learners?
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
2. Explain the advantages of the print medium.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
3. Explain some of the guidelines that have to be considered while designing
learning material in the print medium.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................

9.7 S-RY
In this unit, you have studied one of the most important aspects of human life - learning.
If you carefully look at your daily activities, you will notice that almost all of your
activities are learned. In the present unit, an attempt was made to broaden and
deepen your view of learning. You have studied about the nature of learning and the
factors affecting it such as learning environment, readiness, etc. You have also
studied about various learning theories. While associationists adopt a mechanical
approach to learning, the cognitivists consider it to be an insightful process. You can
say that on theoretical grounds, each theory tries to'explain the nature of the learning
process, and as far as practical implications of these theories are concerned, these
guide and help to learn effectivelq.
In the traditional education system, learners and teachers meet face to face to share
their learning experiences. However, in the distance education system, the printed
material is an important means of communication. We have seen that among various
media, the print medium is most influential for effective learning. However,
understanding of the learning process seems to be inevitable so that the learning needs
of the distant learners could be efficiently fulfilled. As self learning through printed
materials is resorted to more by adults, the nature of adult learning has been discussed ,
in sufficient details. The importance of print medium in bringing about cognitive as
well as affective developments has been discussed. But to achieve this it is necessary
that the material is suitably designed. The factors that determine the quality of the *
print material such as information regarding the profile of the learner, language,
sequencing of content, scope for activity, etc. have been explained.

9.8 UNIT END ACTIVITIES

1. Recall anything you learnt recently. Make a note of the factors, you feel that
facilitated your learning. Recall something that you learnt with difficulty or could
not learn at all. Make a note of the factors you feel were responsible for it.
 Print and Human Learning
9.9
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REFERENCES AND SUGGESTEDREADING
Brookfield, S.D. (1986). Understanding and Facilitafing Adult Learning, Open
University Press, Milton Keynes. I

Chadwick, C. (1990). 'Instructional Development and Third World Textbooks',

Educational Technology, Research and ~evelophent,38 (3), pp. 51-59.
I

Dececoo, J.P. and Crawford, W. (1977). The Psy$hology of Learning and

Instruction, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi. 1
Kimble, G.A. (1961). Hilgard and Marquis' ~ o n d i t i o n i and
i ~ Learning, Appleton-
Century-Crofts, New York.
Kimble, G.A. and Garmezy, N. (1963). Principles oJl General Psychology (2nd
edn.), The Ronald Press Company, New York.
Knowles, M.S. (1990). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species, (3rd edn.), Gulf,
Houston. ,
Maslow, A.H. (1943). 'A Theory of Human ~otivation'(Psychological Review, 50,
pp. 370-396.
Morgan, C.T., King, R.A., Weisz, J.R., and ~ c h o ~ l eJ.r ,(1987). Introduction to
Psychology, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New work.
Orna, E. (1985). 'The Author: Help or Stumbling Bloclf on the Road to Designing
Usable Texts?' in T. M. Duffy and R. Waller (edq.), Designing Usable Texts,
Academic Press.
Ramsden, P. and Entwistle, N.J. (1983). Understdnding Student Learning,
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Beckenham, Kent, Croom Helm, London.
Thorndike, E.L. (1932). Fundamentals of Learning, Tkachers College, Columbia
University, New York.

9.10 CLUES TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 1 I
1. More or less permanent change in behaviour. I

2. Nature of learner, leaning material, learning gnvirodrnent, etc.

3. lndghtful learning as the learner learns through cobprehension i.e. exercise of
higher cognitive processes. I
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Check Your Progress 2 ~

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1. Adult learners are mature, are intrinsically motiqated and take up learning
voluntarily, they have greater pe;sonal and social commitments , they have
concrete needs, etc. 1
2. Economic, easily accessible, portable, complex ibfrastructure not needed to
utilize it, etc. I

3. It should be structured, logically sequenced and orgadzed, meaningful, interactive,

lucid, match the level of learners, especially their pievious experiences, etc.