What is Learning (redefined)?

What is learning? (Redefined)


If learning is transfer from previous experiences, as Chapter 3 of How People Learn, asserts, then I feel that my definition of learning is rather complete.  I like my definition because it is personal, abstract, and a little philosophical.  It is my idea and mine alone.  This definition that I came up with is a result of my past experiences, and is a combination of all the thoughts I have had about learning and the evolution of those thoughts.  It is a product of my critical thinking skills.  The inputs to creating my definition of learning are what others wrote as their answers for the definition.  During the in-class discussion about learning we talked about it being the result of individual and personal experiences, as did Chapter 9 of How Students Learn.  I feel that since everyone has his/her own experiences, then their definition of learning should all be different as well.  In my opinion, writing out a definition from a dictionary for the word "learning" might show laziness, or worse- that no deep understanding of the content of learning has been mastered.  Rather, to create a unique definition expressing one's opinion and produce examples to reiterate shows the ability to transfer (as written in Chapter 3 of How People Learn.)  Admittedly, I am no expert on learning, but the literature from Chapter 2 of How People Learn makes me feel better about this because experts, although they have a rich background in a subject, are still not guaranteed to be good teachers.  In order to be a good teacher, you must be able to reflect on someone else's ability to learn, not just your own.