HISTORY146 - The Way We Learn

Once again, this blog arose out of talking with Pat, who was telling me how interesting it was to remember people in her past law-librarian and knitting-store-owner lives who strongly preferred different methods of learning (visual or reading) to prepare law cases and to learn to knit.  That talk led to the “history of the way we learn” as a blog topic.

After an introduction to different personal learning styles, I will discuss the history of the way we learn in succeeding historic eras, including prehistory, early civilizations, the Middle Ages, the early printing press era, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the science behind how we learn, and the digital age.  I will finish with a snapshot of learning in the future.

As usual, I will list my principal sources at the end.

 

Introduction

Today, we know that humans learn by actively connecting new information to their existing knowledge, physically rewiring the brain’s neural networks through repeated experience.  This active process requires engagement, repetition, and the integration of both cognitive understanding and emotional states to build long-term memory.

The four traditional methods of learning, commonly referred to as the VARK model, describe the primary ways individuals prefer to take in and process information: 

·        Visual: Learning through seeing.  Visual learners process information best using charts, graphs, maps, diagrams, and videos. 

·        Auditory: Learning through hearing.  Auditory learners absorb information best by listening to spoken instructions, lectures, podcasts, and participating in group discussions. 

·        Read/Write: Learning through text.  These learners prefer engaging with the written word, such as reading textbooks, writing essays, reviewing manuals, and making lists. 

·        Kinesthetic: Learning through doing.  Kinesthetic learners thrive on hands-on experience, physical movement, real-life examples, and trial-and-error activities.

Traditional learning styles.

While most people utilize a combination of these methods, most individuals have a dominant preference that helps them study and retain information more effectively.

The history of learning spans from oral storytelling in ancient times to Artificial Intelligence (AI) tutors today. It evolved from community-based survival knowledge to structured, institutionalized schools, eventually transforming into personalized digital education.  This progression highlights changing societal needs, technological advancements, our changing understanding of cognitive development, and information access - how the human brain acquires, processes, and retains knowledge.

 

Oral Tradition and Apprenticeship (Prehistory to 3500 BC)

Before written language, during the prehistoric and early agricultural eras - survival skills, cultural stories, and traditions were passed down entirely through storytelling and observation.  Learning was experiential; individuals learned by doing, whether through hunting, gathering, or crafting tools.  In early civilizations, this grew into apprenticeships where learners absorbed specialized skills - like farming, metalworking, or masonry - by working directly alongside a master who taught trades to the next generation directly on the job.

·         Oral Storytelling: Elders used memorized narratives, myths, and songs to pass down tribal history, moral codes, and survival techniques.  Humans relied entirely on the spoken word to communicate history, laws, and religious beliefs. 

·         Observational Learning: Children learned to hunt, gather, and build tools by watching and mimicking adults.  Children and younger members of a community learned essential skills by participating directly in daily routines, such as knapping stone tools, spinning fibers, or preparing food.

·         Immediate Application: Knowledge was tested instantly by the environment.  Mistaking a poisonous berry or failing to track an animal had immediate consequences.

Early cavemen practicing oral storytelling.

 

·         Specialized Crafting: As tools and pottery became more advanced, experts passed down complex knowledge of agriculture, animal husbandry, and metallurgy.  Novices worked closely with masters in apprenticeships to learn specific techniques.

This quote from The Learning Stack captures the essence of learning in oral cultures:

Note:  The Learning Stack (learn-stack.com) is an advisory and strategic content organization.  It provides guidance for corporate training professionals navigating the highly complex Learning & Development technology market.

For most of human history, people learned without writing.  In oral cultures, knowledge was passed on through stories, songs, dance, and shared rituals.  Learning wasn’t something done alone, sitting quietly. It was social, emotional, and physical.  These weren’t just ways to entertain. They were memory tools, finely tuned to how the human brain works.  A song might map out a route across the land.  A dance might carry instructions for building a shelter.  Stories taught history, values, and survival.  The lesson, the storyteller, the setting, and the emotion were all part of one inseparable experience.  Learning was rich, active, and deeply connected to everyday life.  But there were limits.  Oral knowledge could only travel so far or grow so complex.  Details were lost or changed over time.  Writing would solve that, but also change learning forever.

The Birth of Formal Education (3500 BC - AD 500)

As agriculture created stable societies, writing systems emerged.  Learning transformed from an informal community practice into a structured privilege for elite male classes.

·        The Sumerian Tablet Houses: In ancient Mesopotamia (around 3500 BC), the invention of cuneiform writing (starting as pictographs before evolving into abstract, wedge-shaped strokes to allow for faster writing) led to the creation of the first schools, called edubbas.  Boys learned reading, writing, and math by copying text onto wet clay tablets.

·        Early Egyptian Training:  The rise of hieroglyphic writing (pictorial characters to represent objects, ideas, and sounds) in Egypt created a need for formal instruction. Schools emerged to train scribes, priests, and administrators in reading, writing, and mathematics.  Students learned by copying texts onto papyrus (made from the fibrous core of the Nile River delta plant), memorizing vocabularies, and practicing mathematics.

·        The Greek Socratic Method: In Athens, learning focused on the mind and body.  Great thinkers like Socrates and Plato introduced dialogue-based learning, using targeted questioning to challenge assumptions and uncover deeper truths.

·        Philosophy & Rhetoric: In Classical Greece and the Roman Empire, formalized systems of education developed for the children of the wealthy.  Boys studied philosophy, reading, writing, mathematics, physical training, and the art of public speaking (rhetoric) to prepare for political and civic life - establishing the foundation of the Western liberal arts.

Boys at school in ancient Rome.

·        Confucianism and Civil Service: In China, education was deeply tied to ethics and state governance.  Learning required rigorous memorization of classical texts to pass highly competitive civil service exams.

·        Monastic & Temple Centers: Religious institutions in India, China, and the Middle East preserved advanced knowledge of astronomy, medicine, and spiritual texts, often teaching disciples through intensive mentorship and scriptural study.

The vast majority of people learned through hands-on experience, working alongside parents, guilds, or masters to acquire vital agricultural, metallurgical, and craft skills.

This quote from The Learning Stack captures the impact of the development of writing:

The first writing systems weren’t just ways to record speech; they changed how humans think.  Learning to read reshapes the brain through a process called neuroplasticity, our brain’s ability to physically change based on experience.  As people learned to read, a new region of the brain developed: the visual word form area, which helps us recognize words quickly and connect them to meaning.  This shift made abstract thinking and analysis possible, laying the foundation for science, philosophy, and logic.  But written language also created new social divides. Those who could read and write gained access to power and influence.  Everyone else was left behind.

 

Religious Monasteries, Medieval Universities, and Apprenticeships (6^th - 14^th Century)

Following the fall of Rome, during the Middle Ages, from the 6^th to 14^th century, education was predominantly controlled by the Church, and shaped by social class.  Most commoners learned informally through oral tradition, apprenticeships, and family life, while formal academics relied heavily on rote memorization, listening to lectures, and Latin texts.

Monasteries and Cathedral Schools:

·        Monastic Schools: In the early Middle Ages, monasteries became the main keepers of knowledge.  Monks copied manuscripts, preserved ancient texts, and taught boys preparing for religious life.

·        Cathedral Schools: By the 12^th century, urban expansion led to the creation in cities of cathedral schools, which charged tuition.

·        The Curriculum: These schools taught the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music).  All subjects were taught strictly in Latin.

The Rise of Medieval Universities:

·        In the late 11^th and 12^th centuries, students and teachers organized into guilds, establishing some of the earliest formal universities, such as the University of Bologna and the University of Oxford.

·        Because books were rare and incredibly expensive, learning involved teachers reading single manuscripts aloud while students listened, memorized, and discussed.

Apprenticeships and Trade Skills:

·        For the vast majority of peasants and commoners, formal schooling was inaccessible and unnecessary for survival.

·        Instead, children began learning practical skills at a young age.  Boys were often sent to live with a master to learn a specific trade - such as blacksmithing or weaving - through a seven-year apprenticeship.

·        Girls learned household management, agriculture, basic medicine, and crafts directly from their mothers.

Medieval apprenticeship in a tool shop.

Informal & Visual Learning:

·        With extremely low literacy rates, communities relied on visual and auditory learning.  Churches were covered in painted murals and stained-glass windows, which were designed to visually teach biblical stories and moral lessons to illiterate commoners.

·        Knowledge of local history, customs, and laws was passed down through spoken stories, village gatherings, and public announcements.

This quote from The Learning Stack captures the importance of apprenticeships:

Over time, another powerful learning model emerged: apprenticeship. A young learner would work alongside a master to gain real-world skills, not just by reading, but by watching, copying, and trying things for themselves.  This method was excellent at passing on tacit knowledge, the kind of know-how that’s hard to explain with words.  Things like timing, intuition, judgement, or technique.  Apprentices learned by doing, not by sitting in a classroom.  It also reflected how humans naturally learn best: with others.  In education theory, this process is supported by the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development.  It describes the sweet spot where a learner is stretched just beyond what they can do alone, but can succeed with guidance.  The master served as a “more knowledgeable other,” helping the apprentice grow step by step.  While apprenticeships weren’t perfect, as some involved harsh conditions or unfair labor, the core model worked.  It spread skills quickly and helped entire industries evolve. Most importantly, it was deeply aligned with how our brains are wired to learn.

The Printing Press and Mass Literacy (15^th - 17^th Century)

Between the 15^th and 17^th centuries, learning transitioned from rare, oral memorization in Latin to widespread education in local languages.  Driven by Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the movable-type printing press in 1440, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation, learning methods shifted toward reading, critical thinking, and structured schools.

·         The Printing Press Revolution: The rise of a practical printing press made books cheaper and more accessible.  Rather than relying on memorizing passages read aloud by teachers, scholars and the public could now read printed texts.  Books became widely available, shifting learning away from pure rote memorization to reading and individual interpretation.

The printing press enabled mass literacy.

The printing press was crucial because it enabled the mass production of books and documents, democratizing access to information.  By replacing laborious hand-copying with mechanical movable type, it drastically reduced costs, fueled a surge in literacy, and accelerated the spread of scientific and religious ideas. 

·         Apprenticeships: For the working and peasant classes, learning was still heavily hands-on.  Trades were passed down generationally, and children often learned to survive and work through domestic and agricultural apprenticeships.

·         Grammar Schools: Formal schooling expanded, with children learning reading, writing, and religion using a "hornbook" - a wooden paddle with a printed alphabet and scripture on it.  Learning still heavily relied on rote memorization and repetition. 

·         University and Humanism: Universities (such as Oxford and those in Italy) taught the liberal arts, law, medicine, and theology in Latin.  The Renaissance sparked a shift toward "humanism," encouraging students to study classic Greek and Roman texts and think critically rather than just reciting them.

·         Shift to Native Languages: The Reformation led to an emphasis on reading the Bible in one's own language.  This sparked a major shift toward education and literacy in native languages instead of strictly confining knowledge to those fluent in Latin.

 

Industrialization and Standardization (18^th - 19^th Century)

The Industrial Revolution radically reshaped the way the masses learned.  Learning shifted from a luxury privilege - dominated by classical tutoring and apprenticeships - to a formalized, state-sponsored system.   As societies shifted from agrarian to urban and industrial economies, schools were standardized to mass-produce literate, punctual, and disciplined workers.  This era introduced grade levels, standardized testing, and birthed the modern public education system.

·        Standardization: Students were grouped by chronological age rather than ability.  Learning was divided into strict time blocks signaled by bells, mimicking factory shifts.

·        Rote Memorization: Instruction was teacher-centric, designed to teach foundational skills to the masses, focusing on repetitive memorization, standardized curricula, and passive listening.

Once again, The Learning Stack captures the essence of the period:

Then came the Industrial Revolution.  Suddenly, society needed millions of workers with basic literacy, punctuality, and a tolerance for routine.  Apprenticeships couldn’t scale fast enough.  The solution was to build a new kind of learning system, one that looked a lot like a factory.  This is where modern schooling was born:  Students grouped by age, like products on an assembly line.  A standardized curriculum moved everyone along at the same pace.  Bells signaled when to move, speak, or stop.  Teachers became information-deliverers; students became passive receivers.  This marked a huge break from how humans had always learned.  Knowledge was now separated from context.  Instead of learning by doing, students learned about things in abstract, disconnected ways.  The goal wasn’t mastery or creativity.  It was standardization: training people to fit the needs of industrial society.  This “factory model” still shapes most of our schools today, even though the world around us has changed dramatically.

Formal Schooling & The Rise of Public Education:

·        18^th Century: Education was largely reserved for the wealthy.  Wealthy boys attended grammar schools or had private tutors, while girls often focused on domestic skills and penmanship.  Working-class children rarely received formal education.

·        19^th Century: The push for free universal, public education transformed learning.  By the 1850s, public town schools became commonplace, expanding access to both boys and girls.  Students were grouped by chronological age rather than ability.  Learning was divided into strict time blocks signaled by bells, mimicking factory shifts. 

Schoolroom in 1899.

·        Rural Education: Rural students typically learned in one-room schoolhouses. Younger children sat at the front, while older students sat in the back.  Teachers instructed one group at a time while others worked independently at their desks.

·        Teaching Methods: Instruction was teacher-centric, designed to teach foundational skills to the masses, focusing on repetitive memorization, standardized curricula, and passive listening.  Learning relied heavily on rote memorization and recitation.  Students chanted the alphabet, spelled out loud, and memorized poems and math proofs.  Lessons centered on the “Three R's” (Readin', Ritin', and Rithmetic), along with geography, history, and penmanship.

The Mechanics of Learning:

·        Textbooks: Students relied heavily on foundational texts like the McGuffey Readers and Webster's American Spelling Book.

·        Materials: Because paper was expensive, students used wooden slates and soapstone pencils to practice their handwriting and arithmetic, wiping them clean to reuse them.

·        Discipline: Learning was strict.  Physical discipline and "drill exercises" (marching, head-turning, and arm stretching) were heavily used to instill order and discipline.

Vocational and Higher Education:

·        Apprenticeships: For the working class, trades were still primarily learned on the job.  Young people entered into contracts to work for a master craftsman in exchange for learning a specific trade, such as blacksmithing, carpentry, or printing.

·        Academies & Universities: Higher education was typically restricted to upper-class men.  However, the late 19^th century saw significant expansion, with more colleges opening for women and African Americans.

Self-Education:

·        Reading & Debating: For adults, self-improvement was highly valued.  People learned through mechanics' institutes, public libraries, and community debating or literary societies.  Men and women actively learned about civic life and self-governance by participating in strict organizational meetings, reading civic guides (like Robert's Rules of Order), and keeping detailed meeting minutes.

 

Rise of the Science Behind How We Learn (20^th Century)

Psychologists and educators began to study how people learn.  Theorists moved away from rote memorization towards, recognizing that learners actively build knowledge rather than just passively receiving it. 

·        Behaviorism (Early 20^th Century): Led by thinkers like B.F. Skinner, this is the belief that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.  Learning is viewed as a response to environmental stimuli, often driven by rewards and punishments.

·        Cognitivism (Mid-20^th Century): As the human brain began to be compared to a computer, cognitivism explored memory, problem-solving, and how the mind processes and retains information.

·        Constructivism (Late 20^th Century): Educational reformers like John Dewey and Jean Piaget argued that learners are not passive vessels.  Instead, individuals actively construct knowledge based on their experiences and interactions with the world.

The science of learning is an interdisciplinary field - combining cognitive science, neuroscience, and psychology - that investigates how the human brain acquires and retains information.  It is critical because it replaces outdated educational habits with evidence-backed strategies, maximizing knowledge retention and cognitive growth for all learners.

This era did give rise to specialized teaching methods focused on child development and individualized cognitive growth.  But despite these psychological insights, standard institutional learning remained anchored to lectures, textbooks, rote memorization, and high-stakes testing.  Lifelong learning outside of school happened through daily newspapers, public libraries, and community organizations.

Formal Schooling: Standardized curricula was taught through physical textbooks, chalkboards, and structured classroom lectures, often relying on memorization and standardized testing.

·        Mass Media: The rise of radio and television allowed educational and cultural programming to broadcast directly into homes, expanding access to news, documentaries, and instructional broadcasts.

·        Physical Archives: Public libraries, encyclopedias, and microfiche archives served as the primary methods for independent research and fact-finding.

·        Correspondence Courses: People completed vocational, academic, and professional training via mail, exchanging physical assignments and study materials with educators.

·        Community & Apprenticeships: Practical, hands-on skills were frequently passed down in person through trade apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and community-based workshops.

 

The Digital Age and Connectivism (21^st Century)

In the 21^st century, learning is positioned to transition to personalized, continuous, and decentralized methods.  Learning no longer has to be confined to the physical classroom.  Instead of memorizing facts, people can utilize a mix of digital tools, global networks, and hands-on experiences to develop flexible, lifelong skills.  But this exploitation of the digital world for learning is not happening yet; it should be but it isn’t.

Characteristics of Digital Learning:

·        The "4 Cs:" Education prioritizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity over rote memorization.

·        Digital & Information Literacy: Navigating a sea of data means learning how to fact-check, analyze sources, and use technology ethically.

·        Lifelong Learning: Because technology evolves rapidly, people can continually “upskill” and “reskill” throughout their entire lives to adapt to a changing workforce.

·        Microlearning & Online Platforms: Instead of traditional multi-year schooling, people can consume knowledge via bite-sized online courses, tutorials, and interactive podcasts.

·        Informal & Community Learning: Knowledge can be shared across borders through global forums, collaborative workspaces, and open-source communities.

 

Theories like Connectivism suggest that digital learning can occur across vast networks of people and information, utilizing AI and personalized learning platforms.  It emphasizes how people use the internet, digital resources, and peer connections to learn continuously.

·        Information Abundance: The barrier to knowledge has dropped.  Platforms like Khan Academy and Coursera allow individuals to learn complex subjects on-demand, from anywhere in the world.

·        Algorithmic Personalization: Instead of a single teacher pacing an entire classroom, digital software can adjust lessons in real-time to match a student's specific learning speed.

·        AI Tutors: Artificial Intelligence tutors can provide personalized, on-demand education.  This allows learners to acquire new skills instantly, moving the focus toward self-directed, lifelong learning.

·        Immersive Learning: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), can provide immersive experiences that allow students to explore historical sites or visualize complex scientific concepts interactively.

Digital learning is not happening yet: Pat and I don’t see digital learning in the curriculum of our elementary age grandchildren.  The old approach persists.  As far as we can tell, youngsters and adults alike are using the fantastic gift of digital resources for constant social media participation and entertainment almost exclusively.

 Here is The Learning Stack’s perspective on digital learning:

The internet changed everything again.  Suddenly, information became available to almost anyone, anywhere, at any time.  We no longer need to rely on gatekeepers like libraries, institutions, or formal teachers.  This has empowered the autodidact, someone who teaches themselves, often by following curiosity and using freely available resources.  But here’s the new paradox: we’re drowning in information, but still struggling to learn.  Many schools still rely on passive, outdated methods. They don’t teach the skills we need to handle the digital world, like how to filter information, question sources, or connect ideas.  We’re surrounded by content, but lack the tools to learn deeply, think critically, and make sense of what we find.

 

The Future of Learning

The future of learning offers hyper-personalization powered by AI, immersive VR/AR experiences, and continuous upskilling.  Education can shift from rote memorization to building adaptable, lifelong skills, where human educators collaborate with AI mentors to tailor knowledge specifically to your needs.

Here are several aspects of possible future of learning that you can consider:

 

Core Trends Positioned to Shape Education:

·        AI-Driven Adaptive Learning: Instead of one-size-fits-all instruction, AI platforms can tailor the pace, style, and content to your unique learning journey in real time.

·        Immersive Environments: AR and VR allow you to step inside history, explore biological processes from the inside, or simulate complex chemistry and physics without leaving your seat.

·        The "Netflix" of Learning: Traditional, rigid degree paths can give way to flexible, modular micro-credentialing. You can build a custom, evolving portfolio of skills suited to a shifting job market.

Skills of Tomorrow: With AI automating routine information retrieval, human learning can heavily prioritize abilities that machines cannot easily replicate:

·        Prompting & Critical Thinking: Knowing how to ask the right questions and evaluate AI-generated answers for accuracy and bias.

·        Problem-Solving & Innovation: Synthesizing ideas across multiple disciplines.

·        Collaboration & Adaptability: Working in diverse teams and pivoting seamlessly as new technologies emerge.

Here’s a realistic assessment of AI in learning today - from The Learning Stack:

The modern learner is both curious and guided.  They teach themselves like an autodidact but seek support like an apprentice.  And now, Artificial Intelligence offers a new kind of support: a personal, tireless practice partner.

What AI Can Help With:

·         24/7 Support: You can get help anytime, anywhere.

·         Personal Pacing: It adapts to your level and breaks things down in different ways.

·         No Embarrassment: You can ask basic questions or make mistakes without fear of judgment.

What AI Still Can’t Do:

·         Real Experience: It can’t teach the feel of a situation or the judgment that comes from lived experience.

·         Inspiration and Mentorship: A great human teacher doesn’t just explain; they motivate, model, and connect learning to life.

The best approach is to combine AI with human mentors.  Let AI help with the “what” and “how” so that your time with a person can focus on the “why” and “when,” the parts of learning that require wisdom, timing, and care.  Most importantly, we need to unlearn the passivity taught by the factory model and reclaim our natural ability to learn through doing, reflecting, and connecting with others.

 

My question is, when will digital techniques and resources be applied to one the most important functions of human life?

 

Sources

My principal sources include: “A Brief History of Learning,” thelearningstack.sugstack.com; plus, numerous other online sources, including answers to many queries using Google in AI-Mode.