The term “meaningful learning” became prominent in science education through the work of the educational psychologist David Ausubel and his use of this label in the 1960s to designate learning that is in total contrast to rote learning. At its core this usage can be characterized as suggesting that, in most contexts most of the time, “rote learning is bad; meaningful learning is good.” Such usage has become widespread, so that “meaningful learning” serves as a label for learning seen to be of worth, of real purpose, in a wide variety of contexts. These range from academic discussions of alternative conceptions and the need to pursue conceptual change to popular debates of educational fads (e.g., “does [some specific fad] actually lead to any meaningful learning?”). Meaningful learning has also been central in other theories of learning that have been variously influential in science education, including Wittrock’s Theory of Generative Learning.
Cross-References
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Gunstone, R. (2014). Meaningful Learning. In: Gunstone, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Science Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6165-0_121-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6165-0_121-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6165-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education