The Nature of Learning

The Nature of Learning The success or failure of achieving educational goals depends largely on the learning process experienced by students as students. The learning process carried out by a person depends on his view of learning activities. There are people who believe that learning is an activity of memorizing facts, so that someone feels satisfied if they are able to memorize a number of facts by rote. There are also those who believe that learning is a training activity, so that in order to make progress, aperson trains themselves with various aspects of behavior even though they have no knowledge of the meaning, nature and purpose of these skills. So what is actually meant by learning? Learning is a process of change, namely changes in behavior as a result of interaction with the environment in meeting their life needs. Learning as a relatively permanent change due to experience. First, learning as a process of acquiring knowledge and second , learning as a relatively lasting change in reaction ability as a result of practice strengthened. From these various definitions it can be concluded that learning is a process of gaining knowledge and experience in the form of changes in behavior and reaction abilities that are relatively permanent or permanent due to the individual's interaction with his environment. The characteristics of changes in behavior in learning are: 1. Change occurs consciously This means that someone who is learning will realize that the change has occurred or at least he will feel that there has been a change in himself, for example realizing that his knowledge has increased. Therefore, changes in behavior that occur due to drunkenness or being unconscious are not included in the definition of learning. 2. Change is continuous and functional As a result of learning, changes that occur within a person take place continuously and are not static. One change that occurs will cause the next change and then it will be useful for life or for the next learning process. For example, if a child learns to write, then he will experience a change from not being able to write to being able to write. This change will continue until their writing skills become beautiful and perfect, they can write with various writing tools, and they can write for various purposes. 3. Change is positive and active In learning behavior, these changes always increase and are aimed at obtaining something better than before. Thus, the more learning efforts are made, the better and more changes will benobtained. Changes in learning are active, this means that changes do not occur by themselves, but rather because of the individual's own efforts. Therefore, changes in behavior due to the maturity process that occur automatically due to internal encouragement do not include changes in the meaning of learning. 4. Change is not temporary Changes that occur due to learning are permanent or permanent. For example, a child's ability to play the piano after learning will not just disappear but will continue to be possessed and will even further develop if it continues to be used or trained. 5. Changes in learning are purposeful or directed This means that changes in behavior occur because there is a goal to be achieved. Learning changes are directed at changes in behavior that are truly conscious. For example, someone who learns to type has previously determined what might be achieved by learning to type. In this way, the learning actions carried out are always directed towards the behavior that is determined. 6. Change covers all aspects of behavior The changes that a person obtains after going through the learning process include changes in overall behavior. If someone learns something, as a result he will experience a complete change in behavior in attitudes, skills, knowledge, and so on.