LEARNING THEORIES, NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND STRATEGY-BASED SUPPORT FOR LEARNERS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Dimitrios Kompocholis, Maria Dolores Hidalgo Ariza

Abstract


Learning is a lifelong, experience-driven process that transforms knowledge and behavior and reflects adaptation to environmental regularities. Learning may occur without immediately observable behavioral change, making conceptual clarity essential for research. The review synthesizes major learning theories: behaviorism (reinforcement/contiguity), connectionism (stimulus–response bonds via trial and error), and classical conditioning; cognitive and constructivist accounts emphasizing perception, memory and active knowledge construction (Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner); social learning through observation and intrinsic reinforcement; sociocultural views of learning as participation in communities of knowledge; and humanistic perspectives highlighting learner agency and the teacher as facilitator. It also contrasts teacher-centered and learner-centered instructional models, noting the contemporary shift toward learner-centered practice to address individual differences in aptitude, motivation, and prior experience. Finally, it refers to neurophysiological foundations, memory processes and age-related changes, mnemonic strategies, and implications for supporting learners with learning difficulties through individualized and adaptive instruction to improve memorization and educational outcomes.

Keywords


learning theories, cognitive psychology, sociocultural theory, instructional models, mnemonic strategies, learning difficulties, literature review

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i9.6959

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