This feels like a trick question. So, in order to maximize my adaptive learning and metacognitive abilities I'm consulting Webster. Learning can be formally defined as “the act or experience of one that learns; knowledge of skill acquired by instruction or study; modification of a behavioral tendency by experience."
Relevant to my experience within ecology, learning is very hands-on, applied, and dirty! You gotta get your hands a little dirty if you’re going to learn. Watching students experience this intense form of learning reinforces my belief that students relish in it, thrive off of it, and REMEMBER it! Learning is 110% doing and ongoing.
But learning is also so. much. more. It is complex, it is dynamic, and it is all around us. From common sense to a PhD, learning encompasses intricate weaves of levels, folds, and shortcuts. The easiest way for me to define learning is to compare it to ecology. Patterns, processes, and theories expand and contract to form accumulative relationships, interactions, experiences, applications, and perspectives that are constantly evolving and growing into new areas to...learn about. 
It does seem like a trick question, doesn't it? I agree - learning is dynamic. Here's another question to add to the mix, though. Based on your definition, how would you know a student learned?
ReplyDeleteMy definition definitely needs some work, including an assessment of learning. It has been my experience, while conducting field tours and presentations that those students active and present during the discussion are the ones walking away with my take homes message. I believe getting any question in the form of "who, what, when and how" is a healthy assessment of the level of learning achieved.
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