What Is Learning?

Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, attitudes and preferences. It is an integral component of almost all forms of life on earth. The capacity to learn is closely linked to the capacity to survive.

In humans, over billions of years, this inherent capacity to learn from experiences has been honed to a degree where much of learning has been condensed into readymade knowledge and fed to learners, under different environments – at home, in a classroom and in a workshop. This is with the assumption that the process of learning will be similar among individuals whether instructed through one-on-one interactions or in groups.

While one could expect that this assumption may not necessarily hold true for individuals separated by age, ethnicity, social and economic background and other such factors, the reality is that learning is an extremely unique activity, akin to fingerprints. No one size fits all, however similar two individuals may be (even in case of identical twins who are genetically similar and have access to same resources, one may learn maths, while the other may play football).

What is more, learning is not a static phenomenon. It is a continuous one. Therefore, as civilizations evolve and confront newer challenges and discover newer solutions to adapt, the need to redefine the learning-capsule, the learning-environment, the learner and the teacher arises.

What is ‘Science of Learning’?

The ‘Science of Learning’ is an emerging, inter-disciplinary science that studies systematically how individuals learn.

The ‘Science of Learning’ assesses and codifies large-scale data to generate new insights about how we learn using advanced techniques and intelligent technologies.

This science of how humans learn draws on resources from diverse areas such as cognitive sciences, psychology, neuroscience, education, pedagogy and instructional design, linguistics, psychometrics and computational science. By building a better understanding of the processes of learning, the Science of Learning will pave the way for better learning for all.

What learning is important in the 21st Century?

The 21st Century is a pivotal period in human history. Advancements in science and technology, information interconnectedness and mobility have changed the world like never before.

What skills are critically needed?

Research has shown that in this increasingly globalised and technologically advanced world, if individuals, organisations and nations have to achieve well-being, then it is critical that our youth acquires the following skills:

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Academics

Beyond Academics

Social Skills

Leadership and Transformational Entrepreneurship Skills

Emotional Skills

Attitudes

Several CSSL studies that assess the knowledge, skills and mindset of our students and teachers have thrown up many startling insights about the real status of learning in our school system.

Levels of Learning

Students in government schools exhibit low levels of learning and are falling behind even in basic competencies as they move up to higher grades.

Nature of Learning

The learning in ‘Top’ private schools across the country lacks conceptual understanding and students are unable to apply it in real world contexts.

Teacher Misconceptions

Teachers, like many other adults are often found to have same misconceptions as their students.

Social Emotional Skills

Nearly 30-50% of students are not acquiring social emotional skills such as understanding emotions and regulating their behaviour and feelings.

Holistic Perspective

Social, emotional skills has a positive predictor relationship to academic learning.

Social Aspects and Attitudes

A significant proportion of students, parents and teachers show discriminatory attitude towards a number of social aspects.

Similarity in Attitudes

tudent attitudes are largely similar to the attitude of their parents.3

School Safety

Both government and private schools are not seen as places that are secure and conducive to learning by students.