II.   Mind (PSY)

Learning is the formal or informal acquisition or attempt to acquire knowledge or some skill. It is also the act of studying itself and is synonymous with the achievement of successfully knowing, becoming informed.

The word Learn is derived from the ancient Gaelic word learn / lean meaning “follow, understand, continue, persevere, keep going on”.

The Learning of long term memory requires seven (7) fundamental factors to be present: learning imperative, memorizable elements, emotional stimulus, identification system, preexisting contextual memory, concentration and simulation and testing:

(i) Learning imperative is the compelling reason held by the student to learn a particular new piece or pieces of information, that provides the active motivation to learn at that particular time; and

(ii) Memorizable elements is that the information to be learnt is in a sufficiently easy structure to enable “chunks” to be absorbed one (1) “chunk” of information at a time; and

(iii) Emotional stimulus is the presence of a strong emotional state, normally associated with the learning imperative that determines how and where any new long term memories will be stored and reused in the future; and

(iv) Identification system is the presence of a classification system to refine the storage of newly formed memory through learning and the “context” of the information for future retrieval and relevance; and

(v) Preexisting contextual memory is the existence of memory matching both emotional state and identification system upon which new memories and learning will be formed; and

(vi) Concentration is the focus on the new information being provided to the exclusion of other distractions and priorities; and

(vii) Simulation and testing is the time after new information is introduced to allow the student to test the use of the information, role playing and testing which provides the necessary compelling repetition in order to create effective long term memories.

The absence of one or more of the seven (7) fundamental factors for learning may cause the failure of a student to acquire new information effectively, or even the complete failure to learn anything significant within a teaching session.

As the learning imperative is the source of necessary emotional stimulus, a valid learning imperative itself must evoke a significant emotional response.

As learning requires the presence of some significant emotional stimulus, effective learning can only take place over relatively short periods in between necessary breaks. The absence of breaks will cause the effectiveness of lessons to deteroriate.

Emotional stimulus does not itself need to be purely positive or negative, but may replicate an environment of mixed emotions. However, as learning is based on previous memories and previous emotions, complex emotional-memories make future learning more difficult unless such complex environments are recreated, or such memories are reabsorbed in a different and more stable environment in the reverse chronological order that it was acquired.

The best emotional stimulus is simple positive support, happiness and enjoyment. Complex emotional states may inhibit future learning.