An Updated Perspective on Learning

The subject of human learning is revisited. The emergence of new research findings in cognitive neuroscience and related disciplines using new imaging tools and techniques has revealed the existence of not one but two complementary learning systems. A newly-discovered prospection process, interacting with both memory systems, has been revealed as the pivotal mechanism of learning that leads to new experience and new memory records. The universal impact of emotion on this process also receives a new emphasis. This, coupled with the ever-present social environment, show learning to be the result of conversational activity. The existence of this more complete and integrated description of learning should occasion revisiting educational guidance, specifically, guidance given designers of learning experiences, including professional designers, instructors, teachers, parents, and those who plan and administer educational institutions. This does not discard the wisdom of the past, but it radically reprioritizes the elements of learning experiences in terms of sequencing, situation, and emotional atmosphere. These new insights are timely matched with new intelligent delivery technologies capable of bringing the learning experience closer to the needs and interests of the learner.