To acquire knowledge or skill through study, practice, or experience. People learn all sorts of things every day—how to dance, how to cook, or how to speak a new language. They also learn a lot from their jobs, hobbies, and families. Some people even learn by watching how others do things, such as a mechanic learning to fix a toilet or a child learning to ride a bicycle.
The word learn is most often used to refer to an observable process that leads to the acquisition of new information. But it can also be used to describe a more subtle process, such as an individual becoming wiser or improving their performance due to experiences. For example, a businessperson learns from their mistakes or a student learns from the advice of their mentor.
Some of the most fundamental ways that people learn are through association. For example, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate at the sight of food by pairing it with neutral stimuli like the experimenter’s white lab coat. After repeated pairings, the dogs learned to associate the sight of food with the sound of a bell tone. This is called classical conditioning.
Another way that people learn is by practicing a skill, then evaluating and grading their performance. This is one of the most effective ways to retain information, especially when it is complex or unfamiliar. For example, when learning a new skill, such as skateboarding or drawing, it is important to practice frequently and to test your skills by trying out different techniques (like using cross hatching) and comparing the results. learn