So Steve Sorden (@sorden) posted a comment-question on Twitter, “informal, formal, social, self-directed, action, observation “learning”. Any other types of “learning” that come to mind?” For some reason, I could not let this question go and have been thinking about it for some time now. However, the problem with this is that “types” is vague as well as “learning.” So to really nail down this question, one needs to define both. For example, by types, do we mean styles, mediums, modes of learning, or all or something else entirely? To complicate this even further, there are 9 different types of intelligences (Gardner) and learners.

So let’s see if I can come up with a complicated list of some sort. There are a variety of types of learning: informal (see here, here), formal, social (and here, a guide here, here), uLearning (ubiquitous), self-directed, independent, action/kinesthetic, emotional? auditory, and observational/visual learning.

There a limited number of modes of learning: see, hear, see & hear, discuss, experience, and teach (can we add imaginative?). Then there is a growing number of mediums of learning: mentoring/discipleship/apprenticeship, small group learning, eLearning, classroom learning, mLearning (mobile), and virtual learning.

What do you think? This is not meant to be exhaustive, but is there more? What would you add, merge, or take away?