From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Learning is the process of acquiring new, or modifying existing,
knowledge,
behaviors,
skills,
values, or
preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some
machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learning in some plants.
Some learning is immediate, induced by a single event (e.g. being
burned by a hot stove), but much skill and knowledge accumulates from
repeated experiences. The changes induced by learning often last a
lifetime, and it is hard to distinguish learned material that seems to
be "lost" from that which cannot be retrieved.
Human learning begins before birth and continues until death as a
consequence of ongoing interactions between person and environment. The
nature and processes involved in learning are studied in many fields,
including
educational psychology,
neuropsychology,
experimental psychology, and
pedagogy.
Research in such fields has led to the identification of various sorts
of learning. For example, learning may occur as a result of
habituation, or
classical conditioning,
operant conditioning or as a result of more complex activities such as
play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals. Learning may occur
consciously or without conscious awareness. Learning that an aversive event can't be avoided nor escaped may result in a condition called
learned helplessness. 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 experiment with the world, learn the rules, and
learn to interact through play.
Lev Vygotsky
agrees that play is pivotal for children's development, since they make
meaning of their environment through playing educational games.
Types
Non-associative learning
Non-associative learning
refers to "a relatively permanent change in the strength of response to
a single stimulus due to repeated exposure to that stimulus. Changes
due to such factors as
sensory adaptation,
fatigue, or injury do not qualify as non-associative learning."
Non-associative learning can be divided into
habituation and
sensitization.
Habituation
Habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which
the strength or probability of a response diminishes when the stimulus
is repeated. The response is typically a reflex or unconditioned
response. Thus, habituation must be distinguished from
extinction,
which is an associative process. In operant extinction, for example, a
response declines because it is no longer followed by a reward. An
example of habituation can be seen in small song birds—if a stuffed
owl (or similar
predator)
is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were
a real predator. Soon the birds react less, showing habituation. If
another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one removed and
re-introduced), the birds react to it again as though it were a
predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is
habituated to (namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place). The
habituation process is faster for stimuli that occur at a high rather
than for stimuli that occur at a low rate as well as for the weak and
strong stimuli, respectively. Habituation has been shown in essentially every species of animal, as well as the sensitive plant
Mimosa pudica and the large protozoan
Stentor coeruleus. This concept acts in direct opposition to sensitization.
Sensitization
Sensitization is an example of non-associative learning in
which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated
administrations of a
stimulus (Bell et al., 1995).
This is based on the notion that a defensive reflex to a stimulus such
as withdrawal or escape becomes stronger after the exposure to a
different harmful or threatening stimulus.
An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation
of peripheral nerves that occurs if a person rubs their arm
continuously. After a while, this stimulation creates a warm sensation
that eventually turns painful. The pain results from the progressively
amplified synaptic response of the peripheral nerves warning that the
stimulation is harmful. Sensitisation is thought to underlie both adaptive as well as maladaptive learning processes in the organism.
Active learning
Active learning occurs when a person takes control of his/her
learning experience. Since understanding information is the key aspect
of learning, it is important for learners to recognize what they
understand and what they do not. By doing so, they can monitor their own
mastery of subjects. Active learning encourages learners to have an
internal dialogue in which they verbalize understandings. This and other
meta-cognitive strategies can be taught to a child over time. Studies
within
metacognition have proven the value in active learning, claiming that the learning is usually at a stronger level as a result.
In addition, learners have more incentive to learn when they have
control over not only how they learn but also what they learn. Active learning is a key characteristic of
student-centered learning. Conversely,
passive learning and
direct instruction are characteristics of teacher-centered learning (or
traditional education).
The
research works on the human learning process as a
complex adaptive system developed by
Peter Belohlavek showed that it is the concept that the individual has that drives the accommodation process to assimilate new knowledge in the
long-term memory, defining learning as an intrinsically freedom-oriented and active process. As a
student-centered learning
approach, the unicist reflection driven learning installs adaptive
knowledge objects in the mind of the learner based on a cyclic process
of: “action-reflection-action” to foster an
adaptive behavior.
Associative learning
Associative learning is the process by which a person or animal learns an association between two stimuli or events.
In classical conditioning a previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly
paired with a reflex eliciting stimulus until eventually the neutral
stimulus elicits a response on its own. In operant conditioning, a
behavior that is reinforced or punished in the presence of a stimulus
becomes more or less likely to occur in the presence of that stimulus.
Operant conditioning
In
operant conditioning, a reinforcement (by reward) or
instead a punishment given after a given behavior, change the frequency
and/or form of that behavior. Stimulus present when the
behavior/consequence occurs come to control these behavior
modifications.
Classical conditioning
The typical paradigm for
classical conditioning involves
repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus (which unfailingly evokes a
reflexive response) with another previously neutral stimulus (which
does not normally evoke the response). Following conditioning, the
response occurs both to the unconditioned stimulus and to the other,
unrelated stimulus (now referred to as the "conditioned stimulus"). The
response to the conditioned stimulus is termed a
conditioned response. The classic example is
Ivan Pavlov and his dogs.
Pavlov fed his dogs meat powder, which naturally made the dogs
salivate—salivating is a reflexive response to the meat powder. Meat
powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the
unconditioned response (UR). Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the
meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus,
the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their
mouths they began to salivate. After numerous pairings of bell and food,
the dogs learned that the bell signaled that food was about to come,
and began to salivate when they heard the bell. Once this occurred, the
bell became the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation to the bell
became the conditioned response (CR). Classical conditioning has been
demonstrated in many species. For example, it is seen in honeybees, in
the
proboscis extension reflex paradigm. It was recently also demonstrated in garden pea plants.
Another influential person in the world of classical conditioning is
John B. Watson. Watson's work was very influential and paved the way for
B.F. Skinner's
radical behaviorism. Watson's behaviorism (and philosophy of science)
stood in direct contrast to Freud and other accounts based largely on
introspection. Watson's view was that the introspective method was too
subjective, and that we should limit the study of human development to
directly observable behaviors. In 1913, Watson published the article
"Psychology as the Behaviorist Views," in which he argued that
laboratory studies should serve psychology best as a science. Watson's
most famous, and controversial, experiment, "
Little Albert", where he demonstrated how psychologists can account for the learning of emotion through classical conditioning principles.
Observational learning
Observational learning is learning that occurs through
observing the behavior of others. It is a form of social learning which
takes various forms, based on various processes. In humans, this form of
learning seems to not need reinforcement to occur, but instead,
requires a social model such as a parent, sibling, friend, or teacher
with surroundings.
Imprinting
Imprinting is a kind of learning occurring at a particular
life stage that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences
of behavior. In filial imprinting, young animals, particularly birds,
form an association with another individual or in some cases, an object,
that they respond to as they would to a parent. In 1935, the Austrian
Zoologist Konrad Lorenz discovered that certain birds follow and form a
bond if the object makes sounds.
Play
Play generally describes behavior with no particular end in
itself, but that improves performance in similar future situations. This
is seen in a wide variety of vertebrates besides humans, but is mostly
limited to
mammals and
birds.
Cats are known to play with a ball of string when young, which gives
them experience with catching prey. Besides inanimate objects, animals
may play with other members of their own species or other animals, such
as
orcas playing with seals they have caught. Play involves a significant cost to animals, such as increased vulnerability to
predators and the risk of
injury and possibly
infection. It also consumes
energy,
so there must be significant benefits associated with play for it to
have evolved. Play is generally seen in younger animals, suggesting a
link with learning. However, it may also have other benefits not
associated directly with learning, for example improving
physical fitness.
Play, as it pertains to humans as a form of learning is central
to a child's learning and development. Through play, children learn
social skills such as sharing and collaboration. Children develop
emotional skills such as learning to deal with the emotion of anger,
through play activities. As a form of learning, play also facilitates
the development of thinking and language skills in children.
There are five types of play:
- sensorimotor play aka functional play, characterized by repetition of activity
- role play occurs starting at the age of 3
- rule-based play where authoritative prescribed codes of conduct are primary
- construction play involves experimentation and building
- movement play aka physical play
These five types of play are often intersecting. All types of play generate thinking and
problem-solving skills in children. Children learn to think creatively when they learn through play.
Specific activities involved in each type of play change over time as
humans progress through the lifespan. Play as a form of learning, can
occur solitarily, or involve interacting with others.
Enculturation
Enculturation is the process by which people learn values and behaviors that are appropriate or necessary in their surrounding culture. Parents, other adults, and peers shape the individual's understanding of these values. If successful, enculturation results in competence in the language, values and rituals of the culture. This is different from
acculturation, where a person adopts the values and societal rules of a culture different from their native one.
Multiple examples of enculturation can be found cross-culturally.
Collaborative practices in the Mazahua people have shown that
participation in everyday interaction and later learning activities
contributed to enculturation rooted in nonverbal social experience.
As the children participated in everyday activities, they learned the
cultural significance of these interactions. The collaborative and
helpful behaviors exhibited by Mexican and Mexican-heritage children is a
cultural practice known as being "acomedido". Chillihuani girls in Peru described themselves as weaving constantly, following behavior shown by the other adults.
Episodic learning
Episodic learning is a change in behavior that occurs as a result of an event.
For example, a fear of dogs that follows being bitten by a dog is
episodic learning. Episodic learning is so named because events are
recorded into
episodic memory, which is one of the three forms of explicit learning and retrieval, along with perceptual memory and
semantic memory.
Episodic memory remembers events and history that are embedded in
experience and this is distinguished from semantic memory, which
attempts to extract facts out of their experiential context or - as some describe - a timeless organization of knowledge. For instance, if a person remembers the
Grand Canyon
from a recent visit, it is an episodic memory. He would use semantic
memory to answer someone who would ask him information such as where the
Grand Canyon is. A study revealed that humans are very accurate in the
recognition of episodic memory even without deliberate intention to
memorize it. This is said to indicate a very large storage capacity of the brain for things that people pay attention to.
Multimedia learning
Multimedia learning is where a person uses both auditory and visual stimuli to learn information (
Mayer 2001). This type of learning relies on
dual-coding theory (
Paivio 1971).
E-learning and augmented learning
Electronic learning or e-learning is computer-enhanced learning. A specific and always more diffused e-learning is
mobile learning (m-learning), which uses different mobile telecommunication equipment, such as
cellular phones.
When a learner interacts with the e-learning environment, it's called
augmented learning.
By adapting to the needs of individuals, the context-driven instruction
can be dynamically tailored to the learner's natural environment.
Augmented digital content may include text, images, video, audio (music
and voice). By personalizing instruction, augmented learning has been
shown to improve learning performance for a lifetime.
Moore (1989) purported that three core types of interaction are necessary for quality, effective online learning:
- learner–learner (i.e. communication between and among peers with or without the teacher present),
- learner–instructor (i.e. student teacher communication), and
- learner–content (i.e. intellectually interacting with content that
results in changes in learners' understanding, perceptions, and
cognitive structures).
In his theory of transactional distance, Moore (1993)
contented that structure and interaction or dialogue bridge the gap in
understanding and communication that is created by geographical
distances (known as transactional distance).
Rote learning
Rote learning is
memorizing information so that it can be
recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard. The major technique used for rote learning is
learning by repetition,
based on the idea that a learner can recall the material exactly (but
not its meaning) if the information is repeatedly processed. Rote
learning is used in diverse areas, from mathematics to music to
religion. Although it has been criticized by some educators, rote
learning is a necessary precursor to meaningful learning.
Meaningful learning
Meaningful learning is the concept that learned knowledge
(e.g., a fact) is fully understood to the extent that it relates to
other knowledge. To this end, meaningful learning contrasts with
rote learning
in which information is acquired without regard to understanding.
Meaningful learning, on the other hand, implies there is a comprehensive
knowledge of the context of the facts learned.
Informal learning
Informal learning occurs through the experience of day-to-day
situations (for example, one would learn to look ahead while walking
because of the danger inherent in not paying attention to where one is
going). It is learning from life, during a meal at table with parents,
play, exploring, etc.
Formal learning
Formal learning is learning that takes place within a
teacher-student relationship, such as in a school system. The term
formal learning has nothing to do with the formality of the learning,
but rather the way it is directed and organized. In formal learning, the
learning or training departments set out the goals and objectives of
the learning.
Nonformal learning
Nonformal learning is organized learning outside the formal
learning system. For example, learning by coming together with people
with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in
(international) youth organizations, workshops.
Nonformal learning and combined approaches
The
educational system may use a combination of formal, informal, and
nonformal learning methods. The UN and EU recognize these different
forms of learning (cf. links below). In some schools, students can get
points that count in the formal-learning systems if they get work done
in informal-learning circuits. They may be given time to assist
international youth workshops and training courses, on the condition
they prepare, contribute, share and can prove this offered valuable new
insight, helped to acquire new skills, a place to get experience in
organizing,
teaching, etc.
To learn a skill, such as solving a
Rubik's Cube quickly, several factors come into play at once:
- Reading directions helps a player learn the patterns that solve the Rubik's Cube.
- Practicing the moves repeatedly helps build "muscle memory" and speed.
- Thinking critically about moves helps find shortcuts, which speeds future attempts.
- Observing the Rubik's Cube's six colors help anchor solutions in the mind.
- Revisiting the cube occasionally helps retain the skill.
Tangential learning
Tangential learning
is the process by which people self-educate if a topic is exposed to
them in a context that they already enjoy. For example, after playing a
music-based video game, some people may be motivated to learn how to
play a real instrument, or after watching a TV show that references
Faust and Lovecraft, some people may be inspired to read the original
work.
Self-education can be improved with systematization. According to
experts in natural learning,
self-oriented learning training has proven an effective tool for
assisting independent learners with the natural phases of learning.
Extra Credits writer and game designer James Portnow was the first to suggest games as a potential venue for "tangential learning". Mozelius
et al.
points out that intrinsic integration of learning content seems to be a
crucial design factor, and that games that include modules for further
self-studies tend to present good results. The built-in encyclopedias in
the
Civilization
games are presented as an example - by using these modules gamers can
dig deeper for knowledge about historical events in the gameplay. The
importance of rules that regulate learning modules and game experience
is discussed by Moreno, C., in a case study about the mobile game
Kiwaka (Q55416666). In this game, developed by Landka in collaboration with
ESA and
ESO, game progress is rewarded with educational content, as opposed to traditional
education games where learning activities are rewarded with gameplay.
Incidental learning
In
incidental teaching
learning is not planned by the instructor or the student, it occurs as a
byproduct of another activity — an experience, observation,
self-reflection, interaction, unique event, or common routine task. This
learning happens in addition to or apart from the instructor's plans
and the student's expectations. An example of incidental teaching is
when the instructor places a train set on top of a cabinet. If the child
points or walks towards the cabinet, the instructor prompts the student
to say “train.” Once the student says “train,” he gets access to the
train set.
Here are some steps most commonly used in incidental teaching:
- An instructor will arrange the learning environment so that
necessary materials are within the student's sight, but not within his
reach, thus impacting his motivation to seek out those materials.
- An instructor waits for the student to initiate engagement.
- An instructor prompts the student to respond if needed.
- An instructor allows access to an item/activity contingent on a correct response from the student.
- The instructor fades out the prompting process over a period of time and subsequent trials.
Incidental learning is an occurrence that is not generally accounted
for using the traditional methods of instructional objectives and
outcomes assessment. This type of learning occurs in part as a product
of social interaction and active involvement in both online and onsite
courses. Research implies that some un-assessed aspects of onsite and
online learning challenge the equivalency of education between the two
modalities. Both onsite and online learning have distinct advantages
with traditional on-campus students experiencing higher degrees of
incidental learning in three times as many areas as online students.
Additional research is called for to investigate the implications of
these findings both conceptually and pedagogically.
Domains
Future school (1901 or 1910)
Benjamin Bloom has suggested three domains of learning:
- Cognitive: To recall, calculate, discuss, analyze, problem solve, etc.
- Psychomotor: To dance, swim, ski, dive, drive a car, ride a bike, etc.
- Affective: To like something or someone, love, appreciate, fear, hate, worship, etc.
These domains are not mutually exclusive. For example, in learning to play
chess,
the person must learn the rules (cognitive domain)—but must also learn
how to set up the chess pieces and how to properly hold and move a chess
piece (psychomotor). Furthermore, later in the game the person may even
learn to love the game itself, value its applications in life, and
appreciate its
history (affective domain).
Transfer
Transfer
of learning is the application of skill, knowledge or understanding to
resolve a novel problem or situation that happens when certain
conditions are fulfilled. Research indicates that learning transfer is
infrequent; most common when "... cued, primed, and guided..." and has sought to clarify what it is, and how it might be promoted through instruction.
Over the history of its discourse, various hypotheses and
definitions have been advanced. First, it is speculated that different
types of transfer exist, including: near transfer, the application of
skill to solve a novel problem in a similar context; and far transfer,
the application of skill to solve novel problem presented in a different
context.
Furthermore, Perkins and Salomon (1992) suggest that positive transfer
in cases when learning supports novel problem solving, and negative
transfer occurs when prior learning inhibits performance on highly
correlated tasks, such as second or third-language learning.
Concepts of positive and negative transfer have a long history;
researchers in the early 20th century described the possibility that
"...habits or mental acts developed by a particular kind of training may
inhibit rather than facilitate other mental activities".
Finally, Schwarz, Bransford and Sears (2005) have proposed that
transferring knowledge into a situation may differ from transferring
knowledge out to a situation as a means to reconcile findings that
transfer may both be frequent and challenging to promote.
A significant and long research history has also attempted to
explicate the conditions under which transfer of learning might occur.
Early research by Ruger, for example, found that the "level of
attention", "attitudes", "method of attack" (or method for tackling a
problem), a "search for new points of view", "a careful testing of
hypothesis" and "generalization" were all valuable approaches for
promoting transfer.
To encourage transfer through teaching, Perkins and Salomon recommend
aligning ("hugging") instruction with practice and assessment, and
"bridging", or encouraging learners to reflect on past experiences or
make connections between prior knowledge and current content.
Factors affecting learning
External factors
- Heredity:
A classroom instructor can neither change nor increase heredity, but
the student can use and develop it. Some learners are rich in hereditary
endowment while others are poor. Each student is unique and has
different abilities. The native intelligence is different in
individuals. Heredity governs or conditions our ability to learn and the
rate of learning. The intelligent learners can establish and see
relationship very easily and more quickly.
- Status of students: Physical and home conditions also matter:
Certain problems like malnutrition i.e.; inadequate supply of nutrients
to the body, fatigue i.e.; tiredness, bodily weakness, and bad health
are great obstructers in learning. These are some of the physical
conditions by which a student can get affected. Home is a place where a
family lives. If the home conditions are not proper, the student is
affected seriously. Some of the home conditions are bad ventilation,
unhygienic living, bad light, etc. These affect the student and his or
her rate of learning.
- Physical environment: The design, quality, and setting of a learning space, such as a school or classroom, can each be critical to the success of a learning environment.
Size, configuration, comfort—fresh air, temperature, light, acoustics,
furniture—can all affect a student's learning. The tools used by both
instructors and students directly affect how information is conveyed,
from display and writing surfaces (blackboards, markerboards, tack
surfaces) to digital technologies. For example, if a room is too
crowded, stress levels rise, student attention is reduced, and furniture
arrangement is restricted. If furniture is incorrectly arranged, sight
lines to the instructor or instructional material is limited and the
ability to suit the learning or lesson style is restricted. Aesthetics
can also play a role, for if student morale suffers, so does motivation
to attend school.
Internal factors
There are several internal factors that affect learning. They are
- Goals or purposes: Each and everyone has a goal. A goal
should be set to each pupil according to the standard expected to him. A
goal is an aim or desired result. There are 2 types of goals called
immediate and distant goals. A goal that occurs or is done at once is
called an immediate goal, and distant goals are those that
take time to achieve. Immediate goals should be set before the young
learner and distant goals for older learners. Goals should be specific
and clear, so that learners understand.
- Motivational behavior: Motivation means to provide with a
motive. Motivation learners should be motivated so that they stimulate
themselves with interest. This behavior arouses and regulates the
student's internal energies.
- Interest: This is a quality that arouses a feeling. It
encourages a student to move over tasks further. During teaching, the
instructor must raise interests among students for the best learning.
Interest is an apparent (clearly seen or understood) behaviour.
- Attention: Attention means consideration. It is concentration
or focusing of consciousness upon one object or an idea. If effective
learning should take place attention is essential. Instructors must
secure the attention of the student.
- Drill or practice: This method includes repeating the tasks
"n" number of times like needs, phrases, principles, etc. This makes
learning more effective.
- Fatigue: Generally there are three types of fatigue, i.e.,
muscular, sensory, and mental. Muscular and sensory fatigues are bodily
fatigue. Mental fatigue is in the central nervous system. The remedy is
to change teaching methods, e.g., use audio-visual aids, etc.
- Aptitude:
Aptitude is natural ability. It is a condition in which an individuals
ability to acquire certain skills, knowledge through training.
- Attitude:
It is a way of thinking. The attitude of the student must be tested to
find out how much inclination he or she has for learning a subject or
topic.
- Emotional conditions: Emotions are physiological states of
being. Students who answer a question properly or give good results
should be praised. This encouragement increases their ability and helps
them produce better results. Certain attitudes, such as always finding
fault in a student's answer or provoking or embarrassing the student in
front of a class are counterproductive.
- Speed, Accuracy and retention: Speed is the rapidity of
movement. Retention is the act of retaining. These 3 elements depend
upon aptitude, attitude, interest, attention and motivation of the
students.
- Learning activities: Learning depends upon the activities and
experiences provided by the teacher, his concept of discipline, methods
of teaching and above all his overall personality.
- Testing: Various tests measure individual learner differences
at the heart of effective learning. Testing helps eliminate subjective
elements of measuring pupil differences and performances.
- Guidance: Everyone needs guidance in some part or some time
in life. Some need it constantly and some very rarely depending on the
students conditions. Small learners need more guidance. Guidance is an
advice to solve a problem. Guidance involves the art of helping boys and
girls in various aspects of academics, improving vocational aspects
like choosing careers and recreational aspects like choosing hobbies.
Guidance covers the whole gamut of learners problems- learning as well
as non- learning.
In animal evolution
Animals
gain knowledge in two ways. First is learning—in which an animal
gathers information about its environment and uses this information. For
example, if an animal eats something that hurts its stomach, it learns
not to eat that again. The second is innate knowledge that is
genetically inherited. An example of this is when a horse is born and
can immediately walk. The horse has not learned this behavior; it simply
knows how to do it. In some scenarios,
innate knowledge
is more beneficial than learned knowledge. However, in other scenarios
the opposite is true—animals must learn certain behaviors when it is
disadvantageous to have a specific innate behavior. In these situations,
learning
evolves in the species.
Costs and benefits of learned and innate knowledge
In
a changing environment, an animal must constantly gain new information
to survive. However, in a stable environment, this same individual needs
to gather the information it needs once, and then rely on it for the
rest of its life. Therefore, different scenarios better suit either
learning or innate knowledge.
Essentially, the cost of obtaining certain knowledge versus the benefit
of already having it determines whether an animal evolved to learn in a
given situation, or whether it innately knew the information. If the
cost of gaining the knowledge outweighs the benefit of having it, then
the animal does not evolve to learn in this scenario—but instead,
non-learning evolves. However, if the benefit of having certain
information outweighs the cost of obtaining it, then the animal is far
more likely to evolve to have to learn this information.
Non-learning is more likely to evolve in two scenarios. If an
environment is static and change does not or rarely occurs, then
learning is simply unnecessary. Because there is no need for learning in
this scenario—and because learning could prove disadvantageous due to
the time it took to learn the information—non-learning evolves. However,
if an environment is in a constant state of change, then learning is
disadvantageous. Anything learned is immediately irrelevant because of
the changing environment.
The learned information no longer applies. Essentially, the animal
would be just as successful if it took a guess as if it learned. In this
situation, non-learning evolves. In fact, a study of
Drosophila melanogaster
showed that learning can actually lead to a decrease in productivity,
possibly because egg-laying behaviors and decisions were impaired by
interference from the memories gained from the new learned materials or
because of the cost of energy in learning.
However, in environments where change occurs within an animal's
lifetime but is not constant, learning is more likely to evolve.
Learning is beneficial in these scenarios because an animal can
adapt
to the new situation, but can still apply the knowledge that it learns
for a somewhat extended period of time. Therefore, learning increases
the chances of success as opposed to guessing.
An example of this is seen in aquatic environments with landscapes
subject to change. In these environments, learning is favored because
the fish are predisposed to learn the specific spatial cues where they
live.
Machine learning
Robots can learn to cooperate.
Machine learning, a branch of
artificial intelligence,
concerns the construction and study of systems that can learn from
data. For example, a machine learning system could be trained on email
messages to learn to distinguish between spam and non-spam messages.
