Need for a Paradigm Shift From Teaching to Learning
What is learning? This question has aroused the interest of parents, teachers, educators, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and other social scientists interested in answering this question. Although the question is still not yet fully answered and understood, their contribution has made it possible to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in learning. Learning is a very complex process, in which the learner plays the primary role and the rest, including teachers, play a secondary role. In the past, it was thought that the teacher played the only and the most important role. Learning involves utilization of many internal and external processes; these internal processes are thought to be more within the control of the learner, especially when the learner achieves reasonable levels of maturity in the different functioning systems. External sources can also arouse interest and motivation in the learner, but they alone cannot make the learner learn. This is a major shift from the traditional definition of learning. This shift demands that all parties interested in enhancing learning, especially school learning, critically examine what they need to do to promote learning in children.
