Learning is a vital aspect of all HRD efforts. Whether you are training a carpenter’s apprentice, conducting a workshop on discipline for managers, or promoting career development among your employees, your goal is to change behavior, knowledge, or attitudes through learning. Supervisors and HRD professionals who understand the learning process and how to create an environment that facilitates learning can design and implement more effective HRD interventions.

With the growth of corporate universities and other learning centers, there is a new position within the top leadership of many large organizations, namely, chief learning officer. Such an individual must emphasize both individual and organizational objectives, and use different forms of learning.

Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior, cognition, or affect that occurs. The focus of learning is change, either by acquiring something new (like skill in conducting meetings) or modifying something that already exists (like a soldier becoming more accurate in shooting a rifle). The change must be long-lasting before we can say learning has really occurred.

The focus of learning can include behavior, cognitions, affect, or any combination of the three. Learning results from an individual’s interaction with the environment. The cornerstone of learning theory is the concept of association. Association is the process by which two cognitions become paired (e.g., “dozen” and “twelve items”), so that thinking about one evokes thoughts about the other. Three principles that influence the learning of associations include. Contiguity—Objects that are experienced together tend to become associated with each other.

The Law of Effect—states that a behavior followed by a pleasurable consequence is likely to be repeated. Practice—Repeating the events in an association will increase the strength of the association. The effect of practice is strengthened with reinforcement, such as receiving a pleasurable consequence. Since much of the research that demonstrates these principles was conducted in tightly controlled laboratory settings using artificial tasks, the findings do not apply to many real-world settings.