Definition
In contrast to acquisitive learning and experiential learning, inferential learning refers to a kind of learning which enables people to construct new knowledge by thinking. The knowledge produced in this manner does not necessarily need to have any connection to experiences, although it originates in them. The thinking operations involved in this process of knowledge construction are inferential and content extending. However, this requires from the learner a conviction that there are regularities in the world which, although they might escape immediate observation, can be inferred by logical reasoning. Inferential learning includes (a) deductive reasoning (as truth conserving thinking), (b) inductive reasoning (as content-extending thinking) aiming at predictive inferences, and (c) abductive reasoning.
Theoretical Background
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Further Reading
Heidegger, M. (1968). What is called thinking? New York: Harper & Row.
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Seel, N.M. (2012). Inferential Learning and Reasoning. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_583
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