Types of learning

There are different types of learning that have the same results on a neurological level, but are different on a psychological level. The distinction is very important for education.

Natural learning
The first kind occurs implicitly and almost unconsciously. Every person unconsciously learns from experiences and situations. Whether that involves a fight in the auditorium or reading a book.

Conscious and natural learning
There is also a form of learning that is conscious and highly desirable. That is the learning that produces 'AHA moments or Eureka moments'. Suddenly you see the solution to a problem, you understand how a concept works. “You only see it when you realize it” is a famous statement by Johan Cruyff. It is one of the most important impulses that motivates people to learn and leads to great satisfaction. The brain responds very positively to this. Scientists often assume that this is about academic learning. Suddenly you see the solution to a mathematical equation. But it could just as well be the moment when you can “smoke at the top of your lungs or, more positively, spin the ball with the outside of your foot.” The last two moments also fit well with the need for social appreciation by adolescents' peers. The AHA moment is not so much about the content of the concept, but about the reward it brings. A very pleasant feeling of pride or appreciation for yourself and often also appreciation of the environment.

Academic Learning

The third form of learning is also conscious but not natural. That is to say, learning in that case does not happen spontaneously but in an organized manner. It is a misconception to want to turn academic learning into natural learning. Academic learning requires a teacher. A teacher in the role of an adult person with great academic knowledge. The teacher in his role as teacher should not guide students in their natural learning, but he should guide them in academic learning. He must transfer his surplus of knowledge to his students. He must do this in the most effective way possible and for this two attitudes are very important: engaging and positioning.Engaging means that he is involved with his students. He must have knowledge of the developmental phase in which their brains and their behavior are. He must have so much academic knowledge that he can link the student's knowledge to the knowledge of the field and thus put together the best curriculum. He must also position himself as a teacher. He leads both the learning and the group process. He controls the emotions of the group, so that the learning climate in that group is safe and task-oriented. This means that the social interaction between teacher and student is always professional. Academic learning requires a school. In other words, an organization within which the possibilities have been realized to enable a large number of students to follow a certain curriculum under the guidance of teachers. Both the curriculum and the students' attendance are not without obligation. The students are bound by compulsory education because the social value of the curriculum is so great that society believes that every young person should have completed it.