What is Learning Theory?
Learning is a process that combines emotion, perception, and environment. These factors are used to obtain, improve or change one's knowledge or ability to perform an action. That action may be mental or physical. Learning theories are basically a study of what occurs in the learning process. Learning theories attempt to explain how learning takes place. These theories are important as they help us find solutions to problems that may occur in the learning process. They may not provide the actual solutions, yet they lead us in the right directions, some times. They can be an invaluable tool in studying the learning process.
There are three basic learning theories utilized today. Most ideas about learning can be placed in one of these categories. These three theories are behaviorism, constructivism, and cognitivism.