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I asked a similair question already, but wasn't satisfied with the answers, mostly due to my poor wording.
I want a word that means to learn. Not "to study" "to memorize" "to be taught/ learn from a teacher". A word that basically means "to absorb information" from, work, life, nature, etc.
From research I feel like its either 覚える (both memorize/learn) or 修学する but I have rarely heard the latter used, so I would be inclined to use 覚える。
What is the word I am looking for?
As Yuuichi Tam said, the most obvious answer is 学ぶ. Is there any reason you'd discarded it from your list of options?
Two other possibilities that come to mind are 学習(する) and 取得(する).
My wife often uses the first one when talking about our daughter, generally to complain that she's not learning (variants of 学習しない or 学習が遅い), in reference to repeatedly behaving in a way that she should realize would make mommy angry.
The second is one I often see in more formal context, and it tends to refer to learning through a combination studying and practice, and acquiring experience, with a focus on learning by doing aspect.
Just remembered one more as I typed learning by doing: 身につける is also often used in that context.
I think 覚える isn't a word you want. I suggest a word 学ぶ. You can say 自然から学ぶ、人から学ぶ、人生から学ぶ, etc. They mean "to absorb information from ～".
学び取る(学ぶ + 取る) is close to what you want. It means to get information without being taught, and it doesn't mean to study. For example, you can say 「仕事で色々な事を学び取る」 but 「日本語を学び取る」
覚える is natural but ambiguous, so 学び取る is closer to the word.
