Meaningful Learning in Education and Development

All development activity involves the learning of some process or product. This may include anything from learning about basic family planning practices, to learning how to manufacture and market local produce. In order to achieve their full impact, development programs and activities require careful attention to what needs to be taught and how to optimize its learning.

Learning that is most effective is a process that is situated within the context and the culture of the learning community. This is called meaningful learning.

The Role of Context, Culture and Community in Meaningful Learning

Learning design that focuses on the transmission of information has been found to be ineffective in the long run. Contemporary views on learning see it as an active and recursive process. This perspective is driven by greater recognition of the pivotal role of the ‘learning context’ in knowledge construction and understanding. 

This is the constructivist perspective on learning. It is grounded in the belief that learning and cognition are most potent when situated within a meaningful context, and within the culture and the community within which learners live.

The constructivist view of learning is one in which there is a process of developing understanding through problem-solving and critical reflection. As an active process, learning is most effective and efficient when learners are engaged in learning by doing.

This approach also highlights the importance of the learning group in the learning process. It argues that learning, and the development of understanding, is a social process which comes about as a result of learners acting upon authentic problem situations in groups, through dialogue, discussion, and debate.

Instructional designs that embody the constructivist perspective of learning make use of scenarios, problems, incidents, stories and cases that are realistic or authentic (i.e., that reflect real life situations). These activities ‘situate’ and ‘anchor’ all learning experiences, and in this constructivist approach, assessment of learning outcomes is closely tied to the learning context.

Evidence of this view of learning is reflected in the widespread use of scenario and problem-based learning in the study of medicine and the health sciences, case-based reasoning in the study of law, business and economics, and the use of role-play in the study of social sciences. Within these contexts, learners are put into situations where they are required to think for themselves by reflecting on their actions, drawing conclusions, and defending their decisions and actions.

Fundamental Principles and Practices of Meaningful Learning

Following this perspective on meaningful learning, there is growing consensus among educational practitioners that learning is most effective when:

§ Learners are active partners in the process, rather than passive recipients of information and dates;

§ Learners are engaged in learning by doing;

§ Learners are engaged in problem-solving tasks and activities;

§ Learners are engaged in critical reflection during and after their activities;

§ Learning is situated within the context of real-world or authentic problems;

§ Learning is engaged in support and promote cognitive learning;

§ Assessment of learning outcomes is closely aligned with the learning context and the learning activities.

http://pcf4.dec.uwi.edu/learning.php