Week 6- Schema Theory

What is learning?

Learning is an expanding set of connections held together and supported by a framework of knowledge and experience. Although each student has a unique set of expectations and perspectives, there are also commonalities between people. When communicating thoughts and ideas, it is possible to be misunderstood when someone has a different background or lacks the same experience as the speaker. I'm sure you have all had a funny misunderstanding like this before. The Fifth Dimension song "Age of Aquarius" has been mis-heard as the "Age of Asparagus". To an elementary school student that doesn't know what "aquarius" is or means, asparagus would make more sense! 

How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/ trainer?

A teacher needs to attempt to anticipate areas that could be misunderstood or confusing. When we know the subject inside and out, it is easy to forget that others may struggle at first. We must remember that what we are teaching wasn't always second-nature for us.  I had a college statistics class from a teacher whose first language was Chinese. When a question was asked, he was not able to re-phrase or elaborate. He only repeated the sentence that had confused the student and raised his arms like, "What is there not to get?" (That was a long semester due to the language barrier.) Being aware and available to clear up confusion or elaborate is an essential part of teaching.

Week 5- CIP/ Meaningful Learning

What is Learning?

My definition of learning is growing each week. This week I have been thinking about how learning is starting with a foundation and then building upon it. It's so important to connect new information to something concrete and meaningful. If the student does not see the value or future use, they will not retain the knowledge. There will be no need to. If they can connect new knowledge to something important to them or a previous experience, it will be worth remembering. They will more likely learn to know instead of learn to pass a test or because they are expected to. I think learning is making attachments. By connecting to your solid foundation (your previous knowledge) you build a higher plane from which to keep learning.

An example of this is in math, algebra in particular. Each concept you learn has to be well understood for the next concept to make sense. You really can't move on until you are solid with the previous information.

How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/ trainer?

A teacher can help the student make those strong connections to their foundation. I have learned a lot about concept maps this week. This has been new to me. They are useful for many things but I especially see their use in detecting incorrect or incomplete knowledge. A teacher can modify or enhance lesson plans based on information learned from the concept map. A small amount of time spent in correcting a misconception would be invaluable as a student continues to learn. 

In the math example, if a student truly didn't understand the concept of a variable, they would either be lost very quickly or just churning out answers based on memorization of the formulas. You could end up with a student that understood and a student that didn't understand a concept getting the same score on a test, but which one really learned and is prepared to continue building?

Week 3- Functional Behavior Analysis

What is learning?

Learning is about overcoming obstacles. These obstacles can be physical such as a learning disability or hearing impairment. They can also be non-physical such as having feelings of fear that cause you to procrastinate or just being overwhelmed. The point is, everyone has obstacles to overcome. One key is to break down a project or task into smaller, more manageable pieces. You enjoy a sense of accomplishment and reinforcement each time you complete a piece of the project. As you make it a habit to overcome your obstacles, your learning and confidence increase.

How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/trainer?

One of the "end goals" is for a student to be able to work independently and confidently while also being able to interact and contribute to the ideas of other students. This creates synergy in a classroom. A teacher can help students by giving them an example of how to break down projects into manageable pieces. The student will eventually be able to do this for himself. A few experiences of being successful will go a long way to keeping a student motivated. Feedback is also vitally important. It lets the student know they are on the right track, or helps them make small corrections before they go too far astray.