Correct Answer - Option 3 : generalisation
‘Learning’ means a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience with the environment. It is not a passive process - in other words, it is not as if you tell something to the child and he will learn it. Learning requires interaction with and experience of the environment.
Learning, in case of all persons, proceeds through five stages. These are as follows:
- The first stage is ‘acquisition’. During this stage, the person learns a new task.
- The second stage is ‘fluency’/’proficiency’. During this stage, the person learns to perform the new task to a higher degree of accuracy
- The third stage is ‘maintenance’. During this stage, the person is able to perform the task independently, even after teaching has ended.
- The fourth stage is ‘generalization’. During this stage, the person learns to generalize the learned skills/tasks to other situations or environments. In other words, he is able to perform the task in situations other than the ones in which he had learnt it.
- The last stage is ‘adaptation’. During this stage, the learner applies a previously learnt skill in a new area of the application without direct instruction or guidance.
Hence, the 3rd option is correct because Maintenance is the specific stage of learning which is antecedent to ‘generalization’ stage of learning.
