What is learning?

There no single and simple answer to the question "what is learning". This blog post aims to give a short visual overview over major theories of learning: Behaviorism, Cognitivsm, Constructivism (classic and socio-cultural), and Networked learning/ Connectivism.

"Learning" is defined differently by different research fields and frameworks. The illustrations below are my attempt to visualize the progression of major theories of learning:

Individual Knowledge Acquisition
Individual Knowledge Acquisition
Collaborative Knowledge Participation
Collaborative Knowledge Participation
Collaborative Knowledge Participation

Figure: Theories of Learning (by Beat A. Schwendimann)

Learning is often closely connected to the nature of knowledge (Epistemology). Like learning, knowledge can be defined in many different ways. In relation to knowledge, Paavola (2005) distinguishes two types of learning. Based on Paavola's paper, I created the following table:

I created the dynamic mindmap below to provide an overview over some major theories of learning and education concepts. This mindmap is ongoing work in progress. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome.

To navigate the dynamic mindmap below, just click on a term and it will move to the center - showing related concepts. You can also search for terms in the textbox at the bottom.


See this mindmap on the webbrain.com website (where you can find other interesting mindmaps).