Related topics: memory , brain , neurons , hippocampus , dementia



Learning

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Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.

Human learning may occur as part of education or personal development. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation. The study of how learning occurs is part of neuropsychology, educational psychology, learning theory, and pedagogy.

Learning may occur as a result of habituation or classical conditioning, seen in many animal species, or as a result of more complex activities such as play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals and humans. Learning may occur consciously or without conscious awareness. There is evidence for human behavioral learning prenatally, in which habituation has been observed as early as 32 weeks into gestation, indicating that the central nervous system is sufficiently developed and primed for learning and memory to occur very early on in development.

Play has been approached by several theorists as the first form of learning. Children play, experiment with the world, learn the rules, and learn to interact. Vygotsky agrees that play is pivotal for children's development, since they make meaning of their environment through play.

For more information about Learning, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with learning

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Privacy concerns could limit benefits from real-time data analysis, researcher says

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Society will be unable to take full advantage of real-time data analysis technologies that might improve health, reduce traffic congestion and give scientists new insights into human behavior until it resolves questions about ...


Learning styles debunked

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (14) | comments 3

Are you a verbal learner or a visual learner? Chances are, you've pegged yourself or your children as either one or the other and rely on study techniques that suit your individual learning needs. And you're not alone— for ...


Experiential learning teaches change and adaptation

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Economics, environmental impacts, social dynamics, and production levels are all major factors that influence the overall success of an agroecosystem. Positive or negative, these factors enact change on the system, forcing ...





Search results for learning


Education Budget Cuts to Cause Increase in Mobile Technology Use

Technology / Other

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- As budget cuts in education continue, we will see more use of mobile technologies in the classroom in 2010, predicts Dr. Vivian Wright, a University of Alabama educator.


Discovering addiction clues could help smokers kick the habit

Discovering addiction clues could help smokers kick the habit

Medicine & Health / Health

created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever tried to quit smoking, understanding how you got hooked in the first place probably seems irrelevant. But University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychologist Rick Bevins believes those ...


Math goes viral: Researchers make math and science real for high-school students

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

At least a dozen Alberta high-school calculus classrooms were exposed to the West Nile virus recently.


How categories and environment create satisfied and well-informed consumers

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Expert consumers like to be surprised by unusual product formats, while novices crave familiarity, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.


Engineers develop machine that visually inspects and sorts strawberry plants

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) have developed a plant-sorting machine that uses computer vision and machine learning to inspect and grade harvested strawberry plants ...


Adding technology to geometry class improves opportunities to learn

Adding technology to geometry class improves opportunities to learn

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

A new study co-written by a University of Illinois expert in math education suggests that incorporating technology in high school-level geometry classes not only makes the teaching of concepts such as congruency ...


Dyslexia defined: New study 'uncouples' reading and IQ over time

Dyslexia defined: New study 'uncouples' reading and IQ over time

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and ...


Color my numbers

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

For as many as 1 in 20 people, everyday experiences can elicit extra-ordinary associated sensations. The condition is known as synaesthesia and the most common form involves "seeing" colours when reading words and numbers. ...


How could Santa know if you've been good or bad?

How could Santa know if you've been good or bad?

Technology / Computer Sciences

created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- By using technology to detect guilty expressions, of course. CSIRO is using automated expression recognition technology to tell whether someone is in pain and, according to computer scientist, ...


STEM gets greener: Promoting critical thinking using renewable energy technology

Technology / Energy

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Can building model cars really help create the next generation of electric vehicle designers and engineers? Researchers at North Carolina State University think so. Through a recent grant, they will develop a curriculum that ...



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