What are you doing well?
I feel that I have gained control over completing my assignments according to the schedule I have set out. I also feel that I have gained a good grasp on all the material we covered during the semester (mostly thanks to all of the helpful assignments!!). I really feel I have come away with knowledge I will be able retain for a lifetime.
What are you not doing well?
I hope that next semester I will be able to take the studying strategies I have developed in this class and apply them to other classes. I hope to use study guides and reflections to help solidify information in my mind. I am not very good at doing this unless it is required of me.
Are you making sufficient progress on your goals?
I feel that I achieved the needed progress on my goals to be successful in the class. I feel that I was able to complete all my assignments to the best of my ability and I hope I can retain the information I have learned.
List specific things you need to change in order to meet your goals.
In order to meet my goals next semester I will need to set aside the needed time to use the study skills I have learned this semester. As I said before I would really like to incorporate study guides and reflections. Maybe I'll even keep new blogs for other classes to reflect. :) I have noticed this has helped me a lot in retaining information.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Personal Learning Theory
What?
After taking the quiz about my emerging theory, I discovered that I mostly align with what I believe to be humanist views. However, what I found to be interesting was that I also scored very high in the other areas. So it seems as though I am believer in many different areas. :)
Below I have listed my thoughts on the many different educational theories:
1) Piaget's Cognitive Development: I feel that Piaget has tapped into a very important part of how people develop. It seems as though he has developed a theory that accurately sums up the process the brain takes in developing cognitively. However, with the being said, I do not think his ages are particularly accurate. Since I was not a middle school student that long ago, I cannot remember any of my friends not being able to handle proportional reasoning or abstract ideas (characteristics of those in the stage of concrete operations). I feel as though Piaget was a little bit off in what ages people should be moving into certain stages.
2) Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: I am a big fan of Vygotsky's theories about cognitive development. I feel that he is able to explain how children learn in a very logical manner. I too feel that the development of language is extremely important in a child's cognitive development and I feel that it is the primary responsibility of adults to help children through the developmental process. I also feel that Vygotsky's idea of play is extremely important in helping children learn. However, although I feel an adult's influence is extremely important, I feel Vygotsky also needs to discuss more about how a child is able to take control over their own learning.
3) Erikson's Pyschosocial Development: I feel Erikson's findings to be very interesting. I feel that the different stages he believes people go through throughout their lives to very accurate. As I analyze my own life I am able to see how I have progressed through each of Erikson's stages. However, I also feel that Erikson needs to more fully address the different ways people can progress through each stage. For example, in the first stage, trust vs. mistrust, Erikson discusses how infants, depending on the treatment they receive, either learn to trust or mistrust people. I feel that Erikson needs to discuss alternate ways a child reacts to infancy besides the absolutes of either trust or mistrust.
4) Kohlberg's Moral Development: I also believe Kohlberg's theory on moral development to be very important in helping educators help their students. I feel that most people go through the different levels of morality which Kohlberg has outlined. However, something which is particularly interesting about Kohlberg's theories are that some people only stay at a certain stage of moral reasoning. I also feel that Kohlberg should've included studies involving girls rather than just boys.
5) Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: I believe Goleman's ideas about emotional intelligence to be very true. Throughout my life, I have noticed that people who are able to control their own emotions, read the emotions of others and manage relationships well seem to be control in other aspects of their lives as well. However, with that being said, I have also known plenty of people who are very emotional, have a hard time managing their relationships and are extremely successful.
6) Information Processing: The theory of information processing is a very practical and logical theory. By looking at the brain and how people process memories, information processing theorists have been able to create certain strategies, such as mnemonic devices, which seems to help the mind get a better hold on things a person is learning. However, I think information processing theorists need make more mention on how social experiences can effect how a person learns.
7) Knowledge Construction and Higher Order Thinking: I really the strategies which are discussed along with the constructivist theory. I feel that discovery learning, spiral organization and employing a community of learners are all very effective techniques. It seems as though a constructivist classroom would be a very effective place to learn. However, I also believe teachers need to focus on how to manage their classrooms as well. I think it is important to think about how to control your children before you teach them.
8) Behaviorism: I believe that being able to help students control their behavior is a big part of helping children being successful in school. Helping students pay attention, obey the rules, and work well with other students is a very important part of scholastic success. However, controlling a person's behavior is not the only part of successful education. It is necessary to also think about the brain, teaching strategies, etc, rather than just how your students are acting.
9) Social Cognitivism: This is another important theory which gives teachers strategies on how to model appropriate behavior to their students. The strategies presented help students learn how to regulate their own learning, help teachers learn how to model how to think and work, and provide great examples to help your students be successful. However, like the theory of Behaviorism, I believe that learning goes far beyond simply controlling your actions and behavior.
10) Group and Individual Differences: This is something which I believe all teachers need to take more seriously. Each student is different and each student learns differently. Teachers face students who have many different abilities. Some students are not able to read well, some students have problems paying attention, while other students are just bored. Teachers also face students who learn extremely well if there is a pattern involved, or if they are able to write something. I believe that different learning styles, such as Gardner's multiple intelligences need to be thought of as a teacher is preparing each lesson. However, the problem with trying to meet every student's needs is ultimately you can't. You just have to try your best with what you have and what you can do.
11) Motivation: How and why people are motivated is something which is very hard to pinpoint. It is sometimes hard to figure out why people are motivated to do certain things and how you help your students to be more motivated. I feel that motivation is a very important part of teaching. Obviously the best way to be motivated is to be intrinsically motivated. It is better for someone to have their own purposes for doing something rather than having to continuously give students reasons to complete their work. However, always maintaining some sort of motivation is key. Yet, motivating students is not the only part of learning. Just as I said before thinking of how the brain processes information and how to manage classroom behavior is also extremely important.
So what?
To me, people learn in a number of different ways. I feel that the only way to ensure a successful classroom is to take parts of all of the theories I discussed above. It is important to think about how your students are cognitively developing, it is important to think about how your students are emotionally and morally developing and it is important to think about how they process information. It is also vital to create a classroom in which the teacher has expectations for certain behavior and a certain level of respect for others. Teachers also need to think about the differences each of their students have and how they can help those students work with those differences. And of course, it is extremely important to motivate students to learn and excel. Therefore, if I cannot describe my personal learning theory into one concise statement. I feel what is most important is for a teacher to keep his or her mind open to change and to the thoughts and feelings of his or her students.
Now what?
As I become a teacher and start preparing lessons for my own classroom, I hope to keep in mind all the things which I have learned this past semester. I hope to employ strategies which will help my students achieve their highest potential and become well-adjusted people who can contribute to the world. It will be important that I always stay open to my students and to be prepared to adjust my teaching styles and strategies to help my students be as successful as they can be. I hope I can continue to improve on being more open to techniques which will help students with different abilities and different learning styles. I also hope that I will be able to have more experiences in which I will be able to refine my own personal learning theory.
After taking the quiz about my emerging theory, I discovered that I mostly align with what I believe to be humanist views. However, what I found to be interesting was that I also scored very high in the other areas. So it seems as though I am believer in many different areas. :)
Below I have listed my thoughts on the many different educational theories:
1) Piaget's Cognitive Development: I feel that Piaget has tapped into a very important part of how people develop. It seems as though he has developed a theory that accurately sums up the process the brain takes in developing cognitively. However, with the being said, I do not think his ages are particularly accurate. Since I was not a middle school student that long ago, I cannot remember any of my friends not being able to handle proportional reasoning or abstract ideas (characteristics of those in the stage of concrete operations). I feel as though Piaget was a little bit off in what ages people should be moving into certain stages.
2) Vygotsky's Cognitive Development: I am a big fan of Vygotsky's theories about cognitive development. I feel that he is able to explain how children learn in a very logical manner. I too feel that the development of language is extremely important in a child's cognitive development and I feel that it is the primary responsibility of adults to help children through the developmental process. I also feel that Vygotsky's idea of play is extremely important in helping children learn. However, although I feel an adult's influence is extremely important, I feel Vygotsky also needs to discuss more about how a child is able to take control over their own learning.
3) Erikson's Pyschosocial Development: I feel Erikson's findings to be very interesting. I feel that the different stages he believes people go through throughout their lives to very accurate. As I analyze my own life I am able to see how I have progressed through each of Erikson's stages. However, I also feel that Erikson needs to more fully address the different ways people can progress through each stage. For example, in the first stage, trust vs. mistrust, Erikson discusses how infants, depending on the treatment they receive, either learn to trust or mistrust people. I feel that Erikson needs to discuss alternate ways a child reacts to infancy besides the absolutes of either trust or mistrust.
4) Kohlberg's Moral Development: I also believe Kohlberg's theory on moral development to be very important in helping educators help their students. I feel that most people go through the different levels of morality which Kohlberg has outlined. However, something which is particularly interesting about Kohlberg's theories are that some people only stay at a certain stage of moral reasoning. I also feel that Kohlberg should've included studies involving girls rather than just boys.
5) Goleman's Emotional Intelligence: I believe Goleman's ideas about emotional intelligence to be very true. Throughout my life, I have noticed that people who are able to control their own emotions, read the emotions of others and manage relationships well seem to be control in other aspects of their lives as well. However, with that being said, I have also known plenty of people who are very emotional, have a hard time managing their relationships and are extremely successful.
6) Information Processing: The theory of information processing is a very practical and logical theory. By looking at the brain and how people process memories, information processing theorists have been able to create certain strategies, such as mnemonic devices, which seems to help the mind get a better hold on things a person is learning. However, I think information processing theorists need make more mention on how social experiences can effect how a person learns.
7) Knowledge Construction and Higher Order Thinking: I really the strategies which are discussed along with the constructivist theory. I feel that discovery learning, spiral organization and employing a community of learners are all very effective techniques. It seems as though a constructivist classroom would be a very effective place to learn. However, I also believe teachers need to focus on how to manage their classrooms as well. I think it is important to think about how to control your children before you teach them.
8) Behaviorism: I believe that being able to help students control their behavior is a big part of helping children being successful in school. Helping students pay attention, obey the rules, and work well with other students is a very important part of scholastic success. However, controlling a person's behavior is not the only part of successful education. It is necessary to also think about the brain, teaching strategies, etc, rather than just how your students are acting.
9) Social Cognitivism: This is another important theory which gives teachers strategies on how to model appropriate behavior to their students. The strategies presented help students learn how to regulate their own learning, help teachers learn how to model how to think and work, and provide great examples to help your students be successful. However, like the theory of Behaviorism, I believe that learning goes far beyond simply controlling your actions and behavior.
10) Group and Individual Differences: This is something which I believe all teachers need to take more seriously. Each student is different and each student learns differently. Teachers face students who have many different abilities. Some students are not able to read well, some students have problems paying attention, while other students are just bored. Teachers also face students who learn extremely well if there is a pattern involved, or if they are able to write something. I believe that different learning styles, such as Gardner's multiple intelligences need to be thought of as a teacher is preparing each lesson. However, the problem with trying to meet every student's needs is ultimately you can't. You just have to try your best with what you have and what you can do.
11) Motivation: How and why people are motivated is something which is very hard to pinpoint. It is sometimes hard to figure out why people are motivated to do certain things and how you help your students to be more motivated. I feel that motivation is a very important part of teaching. Obviously the best way to be motivated is to be intrinsically motivated. It is better for someone to have their own purposes for doing something rather than having to continuously give students reasons to complete their work. However, always maintaining some sort of motivation is key. Yet, motivating students is not the only part of learning. Just as I said before thinking of how the brain processes information and how to manage classroom behavior is also extremely important.
So what?
To me, people learn in a number of different ways. I feel that the only way to ensure a successful classroom is to take parts of all of the theories I discussed above. It is important to think about how your students are cognitively developing, it is important to think about how your students are emotionally and morally developing and it is important to think about how they process information. It is also vital to create a classroom in which the teacher has expectations for certain behavior and a certain level of respect for others. Teachers also need to think about the differences each of their students have and how they can help those students work with those differences. And of course, it is extremely important to motivate students to learn and excel. Therefore, if I cannot describe my personal learning theory into one concise statement. I feel what is most important is for a teacher to keep his or her mind open to change and to the thoughts and feelings of his or her students.
Now what?
As I become a teacher and start preparing lessons for my own classroom, I hope to keep in mind all the things which I have learned this past semester. I hope to employ strategies which will help my students achieve their highest potential and become well-adjusted people who can contribute to the world. It will be important that I always stay open to my students and to be prepared to adjust my teaching styles and strategies to help my students be as successful as they can be. I hope I can continue to improve on being more open to techniques which will help students with different abilities and different learning styles. I also hope that I will be able to have more experiences in which I will be able to refine my own personal learning theory.
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