Factors Influencing Learning
Factors Influencing Learning Process
When we take factors influencing learning process, teaching-learning acts a joint concept, it has five components – learner(student), trainer(teacher), material to be taught(curriculum), teaching methods and environment for teaching-learning. It is necessary to maintain these five components properly in order to make the process of teaching-learning effective. The factors related to them are the factors that affect teaching-learning. We shall discuss these factors here in sequence.
Learning is an innate nature of mean, but he learns what exists in his environment or for what the circumstances are favorable. Creation of environment for learning is called teaching. The aim of teaching is to make the learner learn. There is no meaning of teaching until the learner is able to learn. Though man also learns without teaching, but teaching is necessary for purposeful learning. This is the reason that teaching – learning is taken as a joint concept. The chief scope of study for educational psychologists is the process of teaching-learning. They have discovered the theories and laws of learning so that the process of teaching-learning can be made effective on their basis. They have also discovered the factors influencing learning.
Factors related to student
The most important component of the process of teaching-learning is the student. The effectiveness of the process of teaching-learning depends the most on the student. The chief factors related to a student can be discussed under the following headings:
Age and Maturity of the student: We are aware that the physical growth and mental development of a child takes place with his age, and these mature by the age of about 16 years. By physical maturity of a child is meant the strengthening of his muscles and complete development of his organs of action and sense organs and by his mental maturity is meant the complete development of his mental abilities. It has been seen that as a child proceeds towards maturity from physical and mental viewpoint, the rate of his learning increases and his level of learning rises.
Physical and Mental Health of the Student: It has been seen that a child who is physically and mentally healthy takes interest in learning and feels less fatigue, see he learns sooner. On the contrary, a physically unhealthy and suffering from mental ailments(as fear, anxiety and frustration, etc.) child does not take interest in learning and thus the process of teaching-learning cannot be run smoothly and efficiently.
Intelligence, Aptitude, Attitude, Interest and Attention of the Student:
Generally, a child learns in conformity with his IQ. However, in-spite of high IQ if a child does not have aptitude and attitude for the subject or activity to be taught or learnt, then he cannot learn it properly. Besides, a child may have all the above three but if he does not have interest in it then he would not be able to pay his attention to it and in that situation the teaching-learning process cannot be effective. It is clear that all the above factors affects the teaching-learning process.
Level of Motivation and Will to Learn: It has been observed that when a student is not motivated to know a fact or learn an activity, it is difficult to teach him anything. The will to learn is necessary along with motivation. The level of his will and motivation decides the duration of his learning.
Level of Aspiration: Each individual desires to attain something at each level of his life, somebody aspires more than his ability and capability, somebody aspires according to his ability and capability and somebody aspires less than his abilities and capability, this is called aspiration level in psychological terminology. Because this decision is taken by the individual himself, so it functions like self-motivation. It has been seen in the context of child learning that a child who wants to have higher achievement in the class, his level of aspiration is higher and he is more active, that is, his aspiration level is higher, all this is helpful in his learning. However, aspiring more than one’s ability and capability and failure to achieve it disappoints him which obstructs his learning. Aspiration level is acceleratory only when it is according to one’s ability and capability.