STRATEGIES OF LEARNING

The word “strategic” comes from “strategos” (Yunani) that means the all of the efforts including plans, ways, and tactics in order to win some competitions (Oemar Hamalik, 1986). Strategy of Learning is an individual thing. It means that it can be effective for such people, but it may not effective for other people. To reach an effective learning strategy, people must understand a set of concepts that will show them the effective strategy of learning for themselves.

According to Piaget, learning is results from both mental and physical maturation plus experience. That is, development preceded learning. In contrast, Vygotsky observed that learning processes lead development. Vygotsky maintained that "learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human, psychological functions." In other words, learning is something which leads to the development of higher order thinking.  Learning also means the changing process of learners’ behaviour that is caused by interactions between the environment and the individual. Abin Syamsudin states that the changing in learning process includes three aspects; they are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

Robert M. Gagne (in Kosadi Hidayat, 1990:2-6) says eight types of learning. They are:

1. Signal Learning

Someone learns something by the signals that are given by someone else.

Example:

1. The command “ready” means that somebody has to prepare him/her/themselves to do something.
1. Stimulus-response(S-R) learning

The response of this type can be arranged and can be mastered, but it cannot come immediately. It is encouraged by rewards and motorist movements. The response is also specifically.   

Example:

1. A baby able to say “mama” to his/her mother
2. Chaining

There is a continuity relation between some S-R. It happens because a thing has happened after previous things.

Example:

1. after comes home, changes clothes, eats lunch

d.   Verbal association

      The most traditionally shape is if a child saw a her ball, she will say “that is my ball”. Previously, she has known the words ‘ball’, ’my’, ’is’ and ‘that’. The association is formed when an element follows the other elements. (continguity)

4. discrimination learning

Example : children can recognize many brands of cars although the cars are similar. Discrimination is based on the chain.

5. concept learning

it forms because the ability of human that can abstract a concept by using language. By acquiring the concept, they can categorize the environment around them, foe example, based on the colours, shapes, sizes, amount, nations, jobs, etc.

6. rule learning

There are so many rules that have to be known by the educated people. The rules exist in every subject of learning.

      For example : every citizen must be loyal to their country.

7. problem solving

In problem solving we need some things, they are :

1. mind

2. a number of concepts and rules

3. the ability of solving a problem

4. time

In language learning we can distinguish two basic categories of strategies: learning strategies and communication strategies. A learning strategy is a method of perceiving and storing particular items for later recall. A communication strategy is a method of achieving communication, of encoding or expressing meaning in a language.

Learning Strategies

In the literature on language learning strategies, four terms have commonly been singled out for explication: transfer, interference, generalization, and simplification.

Transfer

 Transfer is a general term describing the carryover of previous performance or knowledge to subsequent learning. Positive transfer occurs when the prior knowledge benefits the learning task; Negative transfer occurs when the previous performance disrupts the performance on a second task.

Interference

Interference, in that previously learned material interferes with subsequent material - a previous item is incorrectly transferred or incorrectly associated with an item to be learned.

Generalization

Generalization is crucially important and pervading strategy in human learning. To generalize means to infer or derive a law, rule, or conclusion, usually from the observation of particular instances. Inductive and Deductive reasoning are two polar aspects of the generalization process.

Simplification

Simplification is a term that has also been used as synonymous with generalization. The process of “uncomplicating,” of reducing events to a common denominator, to as few parts or features as possible. But it can be contrasted with complexification: the act of discovering many varied parts of a whole, or even parts that do not fit into a whole.

Reflective:

It is very important to make some considerations before make a decision

Impulsive:

Making a decision quickly, without any consideration.

Communication strategy

 Communication is the action or process of exchanging the information, news, ideas, etc with somebody else. So, communication strategy is the strategy that is used to make a good communication. There are two strategies of communication, as follows:

Field - dependent: the tendency to be dependent on the total field such as that the parts embedded within the field are not easily perceived, though that total field is perceived more clearly as a unified whole. (Personal orientation, holistic, Dependent from others, socially sensitive: greater skill in interpersonal/ social relationships)

Field - independent: your ability to perceive a particular, relevant item or factor in a “field” of distracting items. (Impersonal orientation, Analytic, independent, not so socially aware)  
The ability of a person to learn can be influenced by his or her relationship with other people in the society. There are some reasons that make the people learn something:

ü  Its purpose is to motivate someone to learn. If someone live and socialize in a strong group, the group will motivate her or him in learning.

ü  It will be easier to learn something if each person in the group share their knowledge together.

ü  There is the certain course that makes someone have to learn in a group as a part of learning activities.