A quick dive into the theories of learning

"Books, book pages, pitched, read..." by congerdesign is Public Domain.

The way we learn is changing at an ever more rapid pace, and with it, our theories of learning. There’s a lot of chat these days about how learners absorb information and how we as instructional designers and trainers can utilize new knowledge about cognition to improve learning outcomes.

If you haven’t thought about this before, or if the evolution of learning theories seems overwhelming, check out this infographic, which compares traditional learning with digital-era methods, and breaks down the different possible approaches within each. It’s a good distillation of a very complex and constantly changing topic.

What do you think? Does the graphic sum it up effectively? Are there any areas you’d disagree with? Tell us how you incorporate theories of learning into your practice.