As the world became more civilized, some members of every society developed ideas about the nature of learning. As the world becomes more complex, theories on how people learn have continued to be defined and re-defined. A learning theory is a systematic approach that describes the process whereby people learn. It relates to how people exist and interact with their environment to enhance a person's ability. Everyone who teaches or who has ever taught has his own theory of learning.
Behaviorist learning theorists believe that knowledge exists independently and outside of people.
It is in small concrete bits that must be transferred to the learner. Learning occurs when there is some connection between the stimulus and response. Behaviorist theory is credited to the work of B.F. Skinner. Cognitive learning theorists believe knowledge arises from the interaction of a particular structure and a person's own psychological environment. Learning is a modification of the person's world by an interaction process within which a person attains new insights or changes old ones.