Declarative learning is obtaining information that one can speak about. memory learning It is the opposite of motor learning, which is the process of improving motor skills and different from procedural learning, which is often more gradual and less conscious. Learning the alphabet is an example of declarative learning, while learning to ski is not. Declarative learning is characterized as being memory dependent. In addition, it is language based and analytical. As a fundamentally important skill, declarative learning is how we acquire new information.
Declarative learning often works through memorizing information. It occurs consciously, however, the unconscious is also involved. According to a recent study, increased relaxation during sleep may improve declarative memory performance. Declarative learning uses the temporal lobe of the brain. This lobe of the brain allows an individual to recall information at will.
The sum of declarative learning is equal to everything intellectual that human beings know. Although it seems immeasurable, there have been two attempts at estimating the amount of knowledge that a person possesses. The first is a measurement of the size of a persons vocabulary or mental lexicon. There are more than 100,000 words in the English language. An adult with a college education generally knows between 40,000 to 60,000 of them. However, this measurement only represents a subset of declarative learning. The second estimate is a measurement of how much information that people can remember from a lifetime of learning. One expert estimates that by the age of 70, humans have acquired and retained 2×10^9 bits of information. However, these are rough estimates and only represent the size an information database. They are not precise for declarative learning.
