What Is Real Learning Essay

What is Real Learning? Learning is commonly defined as the process of acquiring new, or modifying existing, knowledge through experiences. To me, learning is an ongoing process that continues throughout our lives. When referring to Robert E. Slavin ‘s book, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, he mentioned how people are already engaged in a learning environment where they receive stimuli everywhere they go, but they are only aware of some of the stimuli (p.129). By referring to Slavin’s book, what real learning is to me is when an individual actually notice those stimuli, learned particular information and skills from those stimuli, and being able to apply the things they learn to their daily life. Furthermore, when referring to the

Sometimes it is intentional and sometimes it is unintentional (pp. 128-129). For instance, when I sit in a classroom listening to lectures about culture differences, and learned that each culture, even each person, has different values and beliefs, I am intentionally learning. I intentionally attend a class to learn about cultural differences. Next time when someone is talking with me about cultural differences, due to my experience of learning this topic in lecture, I will have the information and knowledge to discuss this topic with them. I can also apply my personal real life experiences of culture differences that I had encountered before in the discussion. On the other hand, when I was sitting in my room one day and suddenly feel terrified when I see a spider, I learned that I am afraid of spiders. Although I learned about my fear toward spiders unintentionally, it is still a kind of learning nonetheless because this experience will affect my future behavior. Next time when I see a spider, due to my previous experience with it, I will know that I am terrified of it, so I will try to find someone to kill it or stay away from it. These two examples are both changes in my knowledge and behavior that are caused by experiences, no matter if they are experiences I encountered intentionally or