The Culture of Learning: How We Acquire Knowledge

The culture of learning comprises the ways people ask questions, acquire, interpret, and pass on knowledge. We learn not only on our own: our understanding of the world is shaped by language, education, communication habits, and the experience accumulated by society.

Studying this culture can show why some knowledge is preserved and becomes part of shared life, while other knowledge remains personal or is forgotten. For more on how society creates and passes on knowledge, see our analysis, “The Cognitive Function of Culture: How Society Creates and Passes on Knowledge.”

• 3 types of thinking: action-based, visual-imagery, and abstract
• 2 questions “What is it?” and “Why does this happen?” describe the starting points of cognition
• 2011 year of T. E. Vavilova’s publication on developing a culture of learning among high school students

What does the culture of learning mean?

The culture of learning is the habit of not merely reacting to events, but systematically finding out what is happening, why, and what it might lead to. It combines curiosity with the ability to look for connections, test explanations, and use acquired knowledge thoughtfully.

Learning begins with two questions: “What is it?” and “Why does this happen?” For example, noticing that raindrops remain on a window, you can do more than simply observe the phenomenon: you can find out where the water came from, how it relates to the humidity of the air, and what will change if the glass is heated. Observation then becomes a search for causes and an attempt to predict the outcome.

How a culture of learning takes shape

The culture of learning is reflected in how we approach a question: formulate it, find an appropriate way to investigate it, and compare an explanation with observable facts. In education, this may involve moving from handling an object to forming a mental image and then to an abstract explanation. These three forms of thinking—visual-action-based, visual-imagery, and abstract—help examine different aspects of a problem; they do not replace one another.

At the heart of this culture is intellectual curiosity: the desire to understand is what prompts us to ask new questions and return to what remains unclear. Learning thoughtfully therefore means not simply memorizing a ready-made answer, but understanding which connections it explains and what consequences it helps us anticipate.

How do the three types of thinking help us learn new things?

Action-based, visual-imagery, and abstract thinking help us learn in different ways: by interacting with an object, working with a mental image of it, and reasoning about concepts and relationships. For example, you can turn an unfamiliar mug in your hands, picture its shape after it has been put away, and then discuss how ceramic differs from glass.

• Action-based thinking reveals an object’s properties through practical interaction. You can pick up a mug, feel its weight, see whether its handle is comfortable to hold, and notice how it feels different when you pour water into it.
• Visual-imagery thinking lets us retain an image and compare it with others without the object in front of us. You can recall the shape of the mug and mentally compare it with a teacup or a glass.
• Abstract thinking operates with concepts and the relationships between them. It helps us reason about why a vessel’s material, wall thickness, and shape affect its properties, even when the particular mug is not in front of us.

These three forms of thinking do not form a ladder from “simple” to “better”: they complement one another. When studying an object, direct interaction provides experience, an image helps retain and compare what we have seen, and concepts help explain observations and apply conclusions to other objects. The question “What is it?” may lead us to examine an object by hand, while “Why is it made this way?” may lead us to reason about its properties.

Why does intellectual curiosity drive learning?

Intellectual curiosity drives learning because it turns a question into a personal motivation: students want not only to remember information, but also to understand the cause of a phenomenon or the connection between events. A ready-made answer is then not the endpoint, but a reason to check how it was reached and whether it can be explained in one’s own words.

In the article “Theoretical Aspects of Developing a Culture of Learning Among Cadets,” intellectual curiosity is described as the main driver of the development of this culture. This is especially important for cadets: mastering the material requires more than simply reproducing it; it also calls for independent analysis of causes and connections. Curiosity sustains this transition by giving the search direction: what exactly needs to be discovered, and what would make an explanation convincing?

From asking a question to checking understanding

A three-step process is useful for learning: formulate a question, find an explanation, and check whether it is truly understood. For example, after asking “Why does this happen?” a student looks for a causal connection and then tries to explain it without relying on a ready-made text. T. E. Vavilova’s 2011 publication focuses on developing a culture of learning among high school students as a basis for their successful studies at a university run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs; this example connects independence at school with further study. Here, curiosity matters not as fleeting inquisitiveness, but as the impetus to move from a question to a considered answer.

How does society pass on ways of learning?

Society passes on ways of learning through language, education, and cultural norms: these help people name phenomena, discuss their causes, and assess explanations. For example, the words “observation” and “cause” give people in a conversation shared concepts they can use to compare different accounts of why an event occurred. Without this common vocabulary, it is harder to understand how the explanations differ.

Education passes on not only information, but also ways of working with it: observing, refining a question, and systematically supporting a conclusion with evidence. These practices support different forms of thinking, from practical action and visual imagery to abstract reasoning. When examining a natural phenomenon, for instance, it is important not to stop at naming it: first describe exactly what is being observed, then ask what causes might have produced the result, and check whether the explanation is consistent with the observation.

How norms shape the exchange of knowledge

Cultural norms determine which questions are considered appropriate, which arguments are convincing, and how knowledge is shared: through conversation, explanation, or the joint analysis of observations. As a result, the same fact may be discussed differently in different communities. For more on the connection between social practices and the transmission of knowledge, see “The Cognitive Function of Culture: How Society Creates and Passes on Knowledge.”

How can you tell meaningful learning from simple memorization?

Meaningful learning differs from simple memorization because a person can explain a concept in their own words, distinguish an observation from an assumption about its cause, and apply the idea to an unfamiliar example. Memorization retains the wording, but by itself does not show whether the content has been understood: someone may repeat a definition without being able to explain what it means.

Three ways to check understanding

• Concept. Ask the learner to explain the term in their own words and say what it is connected to. For example, with the concept of “learning,” it is important not only to repeat a definition but also to explain that it involves seeking to understand phenomena and their connections.
• Explanation. Ask them to separate what was said into an observable fact and a conclusion about its cause. If someone sees that a puddle has dried up, that is an observation; saying it dried up because of the heat is an explanation that requires justification.
• Application. Give a new example, not a problem with an answer that has already been memorized. If the learner can use a familiar idea to analyze a different situation and explain their reasoning, that shows understanding better than accurately repeating a textbook sentence.

These checks help reveal where a difficulty arises: in the meaning of a term, the connection between a fact and its cause, or the transfer of knowledge. A mistake here does more than lower a grade—it indicates what needs to be reviewed.

When do familiar ways of learning fail?

Familiar ways of learning fail when a single observation is treated as a proven cause, an image as a complete explanation, or knowledge of a formula as understanding. For example, if one event happens after another, their sequence alone does not prove a causal connection: to explain why the second occurred, you need to consider possible connections and test your reasoning.

How to combine observation, imagery, and concepts

A visual image helps reveal one aspect of a phenomenon, but may conceal complex relationships. A food-chain diagram, for example, shows who eats whom, but does not by itself explain all the factors that affect the number of organisms; it needs to be supplemented with concepts and reasoning. The reverse difficulty arises with an abstract formula: without an example, its meaning may remain unclear, while a practical activity or diagram can help connect the symbols to a specific problem.

Mechanically memorizing a definition makes it possible to recognize it when encountered again, but does not guarantee that someone understands the causes of a phenomenon or can apply the knowledge in a new situation. Checking understanding means more than simply repeating words: it means being able to explain the connection between events and use the idea in another example. It is therefore useful not to set observation, imagery, action, and abstract reasoning against one another, but to combine them: each approach clarifies what another may miss.

Frequently asked questions

Key takeaways

• The culture of learning begins with the questions “What is it?” and “Why does this happen?”.
• Action-based, visual-imagery, and abstract thinking address different cognitive tasks.
• Intellectual curiosity supports the transition from a ready-made answer to independently seeking an explanation.
• Understanding is checked not by repeating a definition, but by explaining causes and applying knowledge.

Written byAleksandra Vorobeva

Александра Воробьёва фокусируется на актуальных вопросах экономики и культуры, исследуя их взаимосвязь и влияние на общественные процессы. Она стремится предложить читателям глубинный анализ и новые перспективы в понимании культурных явлений.