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Abstract
This paper is a contribution to the library of learning and I have tried to clarify the concept of learning,
its different aspects which include learning as a product of every process, it relevance with other
researchers concepts and how it can be studied in contrast with Human Resource Development. The
concept of learning is viewed and explained by a number of writers related to different fields of life. I
have specifically tried to discuss this concept with reference to Human Resource Development. The
subject is so wide that it is almost impossible to cover all the aspects of this concept in a single paper.
The concept is further supported by some learning theories and models from well-known authors and
researchers. These models and theories are well known to students and we too have studies some of
these theories in our syllabus of MBA, so it is rather easy for me to give an analytical as well as critical
After reading a lot of papers on theories and models of learning I am in a good position to either develop
a new model or change the preexisting model of learning on my own. The new model is a combination
of Problem Based Learning Model and ARCS Motivational Model and is well capable of fulfilling the
ambiguities of these two models as my knowledge is concerned. The developed model is an inspiration
After reading this paper one will be in a good position to understand the concept of learning and the
critical reviews of this concept. This will also clarify the type of connection present between the learning
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What is Learning?
Leaning as a term means to acquire or modify the existing knowledge that an individual is having with
him or her. It means that when someone learns something, it is always new to him. He can wither
acquire or get something new or he can replace his existing knowledge with the new one. It is defined
by a number of scholars in their own way. Some of the well-known and easy-to-understand definitions
are:
OR
And
information from its environment and analyses this information to increase its learning.
Learning as a Product
Learning can somehow be categorized as a
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the outcome of any process. The process of analyzing and getting something out of it will be the
learning.
By contrasting this concept of learning in 60s and 70s with the advance definition of product with
reference to economics and other social sciences, we can conclude that learning is in fact the ultimate
product of every process. Let me take an example of a process, i.e. solving a Rubik’s Cube. If I spend a
month trying to solve the cube and I only manage to solve 30%of it, the ultimate learning can be for
instance “it is difficult but not impossible to solve it”. The learning would be the skill that I grabbed from
the process of solving the Rubik’s cube. And if somehow I manage to solve the cube in 1 month, the
ultimate ‘product’ will be the knowledge or trick that I got from solving the cube.
“The ultimate product of every process is learning whether you fail or pass the process.”
with the survival of the mankind from the day he came to this universe. It is leaning which enabled him
and prepared him to survive throughout years till now. The humans started observing the environment
As we go into the formal history of learning styles we will see that the historical researchers and
philosophers focused on the relationship between ‘memory’ and ‘oral or visual methods’. In 1904,
Alfred Binet (a French psychologist) developed an intelligence test, which was based to learn about the
differences between individuals. In 1907, Dr. Maria Montessori used materials to enhance the learning
styles for humans. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom developed Bloom's Taxonomy, which defined learning style
differences and distances. Isabel Myers-Briggs and Katherine Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI) in 1962. In 1976 a model called Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model was introduced
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was created a base for a lot of further studies. These models led to the new study of learning styles from
1980s to the present day. In 1984, David Kolb published his learning style model which I will discuss in
animals is exemplified whenever there is a debate on learning. Gorillas and dolphins are two of the best
learners in the animal kingdom. There are some machines developed which have the built in ability to
learn from its environment. Automatic Air Conditioners are a good example which senses its
environment to adjust the temperature of the room and the Japanese built robots are also leaners of
environment.
However the ability of humans is greater than animals and machines when learning is discussed. The
learning ability of animals is restricted to a limit, and the ability to increase the learning ability of the
machines is restricted to ability given by humans; but the ability of human beings to learn can be
increased. A number of theories, models and techniques have been developed which helps a lot to
increase the learning abilities of human beings. These techniques have developed from time to time
keeping in view the needs and wants of human beings. Generally speaking, the basic techniques to
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Apart from these general guidelines, there are a number of models and theories; which are developed
by experts from different school of thoughts and fields; regarding learning styles and learning
techniques which helps an individual to enhance and speed up the learning process. These models are
However every department is important but Human Resource is one department that works
continuously for the progress and development of the organization and the individuals working in the
organization as the same time. None of the other departments work for the development of the
individuals, they only work for the organization; organization’s profit preferably. It was thought to be a
‘revenue consumer’ only in the past few decades but now it has proven its worth by working as a
‘revenue generator’ in the organizational setup. Major functions of an Human Resource Development in
Learning is well connected with the concept of development of individuals. One of the basic
learning. This includes giving training to the individuals who are new to an organization, new to a
specific department or new to a specific job. A part from this it is the function of the Human
resource Development to keep the workforce updated with new technologies and up gradation in
the environment. For this the Human Resource Development should know the importance of
learning in the Human Resource Training Program. The more the aspect of learning in the training
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The concept of learning is also very closely connected to organizational development through the
concept of learning organization. A learning organization is the one which facilitates the learning of
its members and keeps on changing itself with the changing environment.
Career Development is the process of developing and keeping the pace of one career throughout
his practical life. The component of learning cannot be neglected in this function also. An individual
who learns from the environment can develop his career better than those who are not that much
attracted by the concept of learning. Apart from this, good learners develop their career early as
Keeping is view these functions and their connection with the concept of learning, it can be concluded
that learning is bounded with Human Resource Development or they go side by side in an organization.
They cannot be separated from each other, because practically they will not work as desired if kept
apart. So an organization and as well an individual should develop learning abilities in itself if he wants
models are of high quality but nothing is perfect in this world is a famous saying. Some of the famous
learning models and theories which are said to be the most effective among others are discussed below.
Based on the ambiguities in these models one can modify these models. As learning is a social science
and it varies from ‘time to time’, ‘place to place’ and ‘person to person’. So it can be modified to fit the
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This model is the most famous model when we talk about learning. The model is named on the name of
its developer David A. Kolb (born 1939). He was an American who had a lot of work on experiential
learning in the 20th century. He is the founder and chairman of “Experience Based Learning Systems,
Inc.”
The model classifies the learning styles into 4 types and is based on the fact that different types of
people can adopt different learning styles. He assumed that there are 4 kinds of people which differ
from each other on the basis of learning styles. The four types of people are:
These people look at things from different angle. They are mostly sensitive and they watch more as
compare to actually do something. They are intuitive and use imagination and assumptions to solve a
particular problem. These people seek careers in Art, entertainment, social working and kind of jobs
which require more imagination rather than physical abilities. Their flaw is that they are assumed to be
These kinds of people have mental approach towards matter on the whole. They are more conceptual
than the diverging people. They require a good logical approach towards the matter instead of just
assumptions. They seek careers in teaching, research and education. They are ones who are good in
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developing new ideas and new inventions. The big flaw associated with Assimilating people is that they
repeat mistakes.
These types of people are mainly the problem solvers and they have a better practical approach as
compared to the other type of people. They are good at finding practical uses for ideas and theories.
They are suitable for technical tasks and problems than conceptual and theory based jobs. They seek
careers in technical fields, engineering, and computer side. The major flaw connected to these types of
people is that they actually switch their concentration to unimportant issues and mostly solve wrong
problems.
They are the self-listeners and often follow their intuition rather than logic. They always have a practical
approach based on intuition and experience. People with an Accommodating learning style are task
oriented and they are good team workers. They seek careers in marketing and sales. They are also good
This model is given by Keller who is a researcher of late 20th century; his major work is on motivational
designs. He gave this learning model in 1987 which is about the steps of learning. He stated that leaning
has 4 steps which run after one another. These steps start from the initiation of the learning to the
Attention
Relevance
Confidence
Satisfaction
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ATTENTION
In the first step the person start taking interest in the material that is being taught to them. This part is
the most crucial of all because it directs the other steps to move further. If the attention is not there in
the learner, the rest of the process is useless. The instructor should use of specified examples use
interesting style to catch attention of the learner. The individual should be invited to participate in the
discussion to increase the level of interest of the learner and the instructor must use a variety of styles
RELEVANCE
This step includes clearance of the subject matter. It is done by giving examples relating to the subject to
increase the relevance of the subject in the mind of the learners. This step also has some divided
strategies which are to ‘concentrate on telling the importance of topic’, add a task oriented approach’,
CONFIDENCE
This is the motivational step of the process. This step includes giving confidence to the learner about the
fact of achieving the objective. The meaningfulness of confidence depends upon the liberty given to the
learner on the subject by the instructor. It also includes providing the feedback and support to the
learner.
SATISFACTION
The learning process should be rewarded in this step to motivate the learner to initiate learning in the
future. This could include inviting former learners which will increase the level of motivation in the
learners. A complete evaluation report (feedback) should be provided to the learners which will be
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This is another good theory specifically for students in which they try to solve their own problem with
the help of a teacher (facilitator) who acts a guide through the process of learning and solving their own
problems. The theory has a self-directed and self-learning base which goes towards investigative as well
This is a two way communication between the instructor (facilitator) and the students. It assumes that
the students will solve their own problems with the help of the facilitator who is an expert in the matter.
The instructor will not provide them with the solution of the problem but will only guide them through
the process.
2. The problem is then analyzed and discussed with the facilitator. This step is kind of a focused
4. A set of solutions are identified as a result of the study in the guidance of the facilitator.
The basic steps tell us that it is kind of a self-paced learning that can enhance learning in a better way.
The motive is to guide you through the process instead of looking for a predefined solution of a similar
kind of problem.
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situations. However everything has something that we can talk about. Element of perfection is not
getable by us. So the gap between perfection and reality gives us a chance to criticize on it.
Human nature is not the same; they vary from time to time, place to place and person to person. Kolb
bounded the theory by making it strict and non-flexible as compared to actual human nature in his
model. He divided the model into 4 parts i.e. people who learn by ‘feeling and observing’, ‘observing and
thinking’, ‘thinking and doing’ and ‘doing and feeling’. What is a person learns by feeling and thinking?
Will he be there in both the categories? Will he be a Diverger, Assimilator, Converger or Accomodator?
According to him a person cannot be the one who learns by feeling and thinking at the same time, which
is actually not true. There are some humans who are of this nature; they are poets, writers and
This model is also a good approach towards learning techniques, but learning is a never ending process.
The theory should be in a continuous process and not just steps from 1 to 4. The hunger and thrust of
learning never stops and it should continue. Apart from this the model is very appropriate and to the
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Problem Based Learning model is one of its kinds which are actually self-paced. Problem Based Learning
model is specifically designed for students, who are guided by a facilitator or mentor. The concept of
finding solution to your problems with the guidance of a mentor is good enough but this model fails
when you don’t have a facilitator or instructor beside you. What will be the direction of your learning if
you don’t have a facilitator with you? The model could have been designed by replacing the factor of
The process should be self-paced which will eliminate the constraint of ‘non availability of facilitator’
and will encourage self-based learning which will be long lasting. The direction of the individual’s
learning will be directed according to the person learning capability. The cycle will be completed when
The model which I am going discuss is a mixture of ARCS Model of motivation and the Problem Based
Learning Model. The resultant model will try to overcome the above stated ambiguities and will be more
regarding something of value for him. This curiosity and dissatisfaction inside him will lead him to start a
process to find solution and answer to this question and he will start the process of learning which will
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This is the reason it is named as experimental learning. The model enables a person to
experience the library research again and again to increase the learning.
Case studies
Books, journals and articles
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6. After the library research, the person applies the final findings to the matter to see if curiosity is
7. If he feels that the curiosity is not there now, he comes to the satisfaction stage; and if the
curiosity is still there, he goes to the 4th step which is library research.
There is a shadow of both the models which makes this model more effective and suitable for
This model overcome the non-availability of a facilitator and focuses on indulging one’s self in
learning process rather than move with the guidance of the facilitator.
It encourages ‘experimenting’ the possibilities to increase learning with the help of repetitive
library research and personal experiences. The repetition of process occurs when the person
The resultant learning will be more realistic, self-paced and long lasting as compared to problem
based learning technique. This is a living fact that this type of learning stays longer than the
The model adds to the confidence and interest of one towards learning and experimenting
solutions himself. The person feels more comfortable in going for self-study when he sees that
The model is a continuous process as thrust of learning never comes to an end. The person will
move towards his next need and this process goes on. And this process will keep on adding to
his learning stock as he will move along with the self-paced learning technique.
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The model is a slow paced learning technique as there is no guidance by any mentor or
facilitator. There is always a slow start when someone gets into self-paced learning for the first
time. So it takes time to get along with the model and actually pace-up the learning process.
The model can go into diversified directions as there is no mentor or facilitator. It can give you
very segregated kind of results as there is no controller who can control you direction and tell
you that whether you are going in line or not. This leads to unsatisfactory initial stage results.
The person can come to a stage where he starts getting annoyed and bored with continuous
failures and dissatisfaction. The failure can demoralize the person and the person will mostly
stop the process with a perception that he can’t achieve satisfaction and learning on his own.
The person may get a feeling of having limited knowledge as compared to other people when
he’ll see that he is failing again and again. He will feel as he is no capable of doing it on my own
and this thinking will not encourage him even to try self-paced learning again.
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REFERENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning
http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/05/definition-of-learning/
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~infed/ohps/exhibits/learning_product_process.htm
http://www.arcsmodel.com/home.htm
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