What Drives a Learner?

So, we’ve defined a Learner as someone who is actively looking to fill a need. They are generally looking for the means to meet

~       immediate needs

~       long term needs

Now, what drives a learner? What is the fundamental motivating factor that causes someone to seek learning in order to help them meet immediate and long term needs?

I would suggest that a learner is driven by the realization that fulfilling their needs depends upon some action on their part.

What do you see is the fundamental drive for a learner?

The next question is:

What influences

~       the immediate and long term needs they are seeking to meet and fill?

~       the kinds of actions that are needed to meet and fill those?

This obviously begs the question: Are all actions learning? Unfortunately that question will have to wait until my next post titled, very cleverly, What is Education? However, for now I would suggest that two things influence a learner’s needs and actions, namely:

~       the learner’s context

~       how they process their context

Context, for our purposes, is briefly defined as everything in the Learner’s environment, including external and internal influences.

What would you say are the most influential elements of a Learner’s Context?

~vbb