Learning is a process of maturation [see also what is learning?].  It is much more like fermentation or bread-making than it is like adjusting the spark plugs on a motorbike.  It takes place over time.  Caleb Gattegno (ref) even went so far as to suggest that learning takes place when we are asleep, for it is then that our brain lets go of or forgets some memories so that it is possible to access others.

Research by Brenda Denvir & Margaret Brown (1986, 1986a) and showed that learners often come away from a lesson having learned something quite different to what the teacher thought the lesson was about. Learners are will-possessing organisms, not mechanical robots, so what they make of their experiences and activity is highly idiosyncratic.

By contrast, teaching consist of a sequence of acts.  Teachers can direct learner attention; they can set tasks and intervene by asking mathematical questions; they can even teach by listening (Davis 1996). But all of these acts take place in time.

You cannot do the learning for other people, you can only offer opportunities for them to learn from their experience [see learning from experience].

Probes & Prompts

Taking Action

Case Studies

Research Sources

See Also