Learning refers to the relative permanent change in behaviour brought about through

experiences or interactions with the environment. According to Tyler (1949), the term
learning experience is not the same as the content with which a course deals or the activities
performed by the teacher. He defines the concept of learning experience as the interaction
between the learner and the external conditions in the environment to which he [sic] can react.
However, he maintains that the teacher has the responsibility of invoking the experience in
which the learning takes place. Selecting these experiences is guided by a number of principles.
In this piece I explain these principles, five of them, in selecting the learning experiences.
The first of these is that, for a given objective to be achieved, the learner must have experiences
that give him/her an opportunity to practice the kind of behaviour implied in the objective. That
is if the objective is to develop problem-solving skills in sanitation, it is important that the
learning experiences give the student opportunity not only to solve problems, but to have ample
opportunity to solve sanitation problems. Also, if the objective in relation to interests is to
develop interest in reading a wide variety of prose fiction, then it is crucial that the learning
experience not only gives opportunity for reading, but also for reading various sorts of prose
fictions.
The second principle states that the learning experience must be such that the child obtains
satisfaction from carrying on the kind of behaviour implied by the objectives. For example, in
the case of learning experiences to develop reading interests, it is very important that the
experience not only gives the leaner an opportunity to read widely, but there must be
satisfaction gained from this kind of behaviour. It is this satisfaction that will ensure the
effectiveness of the learning experience and sustain this interest in reading.
The third general principles is that the reactions desired in the experience are within the range
of possibility for the child involved. This implies that the learning experiences should be
provided, considering the students current attainments, his predispositions or inclination,
background and the like. Indeed, the teacher must begin where the student is. This means that
if the learning experience involves the kind of behaviour which is foreign to the student, then
it fails its purpose. Teachers must, therefore, endeavour to have relevant key information about
their students in order to have effectively possible desired behaviour for their students.
The fourth principle is that there are many particular experiences that can be used to attain the
same objectives. To the extent that the educational experiences meet the criteria for effective
learning, they are useful in realising the desired objective. That is to say, multiple learning
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experiences can achieve the same objective. There are many ways of learning the same thing.
It also implies that a wide range of experiences is more effective for learning than a limited
range. This principles also makes it possible for the curriculum developer to capitalize on the
various interests of both students and the teachers.
The fifth principle maintains that the same learning experience will usually result in several
outcomes. Learning experience contributes to attaining various types of objectives. They
develop the child`s ability to think, to acquire information, and to develop social attitudes and
interests. For instance, while reading a wide variety of prose fictions, the students acquires
substantial knowledge of the sociocultural orientation and the political history of his/her
environment. This is so because most of the prose fictions are enactment of the social, cultural
and political happenings in real life. It also means the teacher must watch out for undesired
negative outcomes like apathy and xenophobic tendencies.
To sum up, it has been discussed in this piece that that the interaction between the learner and
the external conditions in the environment to which he/ she can react is the learning experience,
which means it is centred on the student, however, I have also established that the experience
is invoked and manipulated by the teacher. For its desired effects, the teacher must select
learning experiences based on certain principles as are outlined by Tyler. First, the learner must
have experiences that give him/her an opportunity to practice the kind of behaviour implied in
the objective; second, the learning experience must be such that the child obtains satisfaction
from carrying on the kind of behaviour implied by the objectives; third, the reactions desired
in the experience are within the range of possibility for the child involved; four, there are many
particular experiences that can be used to attain the same objectives and finally, learning
experience will usually result in several outcomes.