An operational definition of learning

An operational definition offered in this paper posits learning as a multi-dimensional and multi-phase phenomenon occurring when individuals attempt to solve what they view as a problem. To model someone's learning accordingly to the definition, it suffices to characterize a particular sequence of that person's disequilibrium–equilibrium phases in terms of products of a particular mental act, the characteristics of the mental act inferred from the products, and intellectual and psychological needs that instigate or result from these phases. The definition is illustrated by analysis of change occurring in three thinking-aloud interviews with one middle-school teacher. The interviews were about the same task: “Make up a word problem whose solution may be found by computing 4/5 divided by 2/3.”