Let the learner have the hammer (5)
I believe the answer is:
gavel
'the hammer' is the definition.
('gavel' can be a synonym of 'hammer')
'let the learner' is the wordplay.
'let' becomes 'gave' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the learner' becomes 'l' (as in a learner driver with L-plates on their car).
'gave'+'l'='GAVEL'
'have' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gavel that I've seen before include "Small hammer" , "Ceremonial mallet" , "Judicial hammer" , "An auctioneer's wooden hammer" , "Small mallet" .)