How can a teacher effectuate learning?-Schema Theory Week Six

A teacher can effectuate student learning by bringing to the students' minds an existing schema that will help them learn new information, perform tasks, or learn new skills. For example, I teach multimedia classes where my students learn how to create digital media and digital presentations. If I wanted my students to create a digital presentation on an some sort of debated issue such as universal healthcare, I would have to present this project in the light of an issue paper that the students would have done in English class. Since most of my students would have had to write and issues paper at one time or another for English, we might start this project discussing as a class, the experiences the students had in writing that paper. We could discuss how they researched the topic, where they found sources, how they organized their information, and exactly what information their paper contained. We could then discuss the expectations for their digital presentation and how it is similar and how it is different from their English paper. Hopefully, by doing so, the students will have an existing schema in their head that will help them learn how to create a digital presentation on an issue.

What is Learning?- Week 6 Schema Theory

In discussing learning in the context of schema theory, I would suggest that learning is evaluating how you see or perceive things around you based on the experiences you have had and using existing perceptions to develop new perceptions and ideas about things that you are unfamiliar with. To illustrate, if I have used a dishwasher my whole life to wash dishes, and my wife makes me learn to wash dishes by hand, I would evaluate what I know about how the dishwasher washes dishes. I would consider the facts that the dishwasher uses soap, sprays jets of water on the dishes, rinses after washing, and then drys the dishes. Based on this schema, I would then assume that in order for me to wash dishes by hand, I will have to learn to perform those same steps. In this instance, I am using a predefined schema to learn a new information and skills.

Week 5-Meaningful Learning: How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/trainer

A teacher should constantly be making connections between students' existing knowledge and the knowledge needed to learn something new. A teacher can do so by learning as much as possible about what each student already knows and has experienced. Instruction should then be adjusted accordingly in order to make meaningful connections between existing knowledge and new knowledge. Once these connections are made, the teacher should allow the student to use these connections in a number of different learning contexts. For example, if I want to teach my students time management and organizational skills for school, I need to find out what experiences my students have had in the past in managing or organizing something. Most students have had to clean or organize their room at home. Using this knowledge, I can make a connection of how organizing a room can be similar to organizing and managing school work, projects, and activities. I can then expose my students to different situations, where they can practice using what they have learned about time management and organizational skills. Examples of such situations could include having them create a calender of their upcoming week at school or creating a plan breaking down a big project into tasks and setting due dates for each task.

Week 5-Meaningful Learning: What is Learning?

After studying the theory of Meaningful learning, I would say that this theory supports my original idea of learning. I have always believed that learning is connecting existing knowledge with new knowledge, and I might add to that definition, the idea that learning being able to use these connections in different contexts leads to a higher level of learning such as mastery. To illustate, if a car mechanic knows how to replace a clutch in a car that has five gears, and he is able to connect that knowledge with how to replace a clutch in a truck with six gears, he has learned a new skill that he did not know before. If he takes that new skill in a new context such as replacing the clutch in a big tanker with seven or more gears, he is moving towards mastering the skill of replacing a clutch in any type of vehicle.

Monday, August 31, 2009 How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher/trainer

As a teacher, I am constantly asking myself how I can get more of my students to succeed in my classes. I have many students who do well naturally. They work hard, turn their work on time, and they seem to enjoy being in class. Among those students, I have others who really struggle throughout the whole school year. These students have difficulty getting motivated to even start on their course work. I find that these are the students who are usually late to class, and who have a hard time staying on task. I teach classes in a computer lab, and this alone creates a lot of challenges. Some students would rather play on the internet than learn with the rest of the class. Those who struggle are often on my mind. After studying Behavior analysis this week, I realize that I have been focusing on negative behaviors of these students, while I should be focusing on teaching them productive behaviors for my classroom. Maybe there are some of them who have never been taught how to succeed or get things done, and this is why they exhibit behaviors that appear to be negative. While I teach them positive behaviors, I can reward them when they exhibit these behaviors. By doing so, I may eventually be able to replace those negative behaviors with positive behaviors. This would in turn lead to these students learning, and being a productive part of the classroom.

I still am asking myself, how I can effectively recognize and reward good behavior in my students. Verbal praise is an option, but will that be enough? What other rewards systems could I implement? Anyone have any ideas?

What is Learning-Week 3 Behavior Analysis

After studying behavior analysis this week, I would add to my definition of learning by presenting the idea that learning is refinement of your thinking, attitudes, and behaviors. We should all be striving to better ourselves each day and try to become valuable and productive members of our community and society. Our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors determine who we are and we should be evaluating those constantly to see if they are inline with what we see ourselves being in the future.

In the few years that I have worked with teenagers in the classroom, I have noticed that those who struggle with school and with life in general are those who don't know who they are, who they want to be, and they aren't able to recognize that their current ways of thinking are holding them back. Those students who do know who they are and what they want to become also seem to understand what personal attributes, such as behaviors, they need to develop in order to be successful. Book smarts are important, but if a student doesn't know how to interact and work with others, or how to get things done on time, they may not be very successful. I would say learning these type of behaviors and attitudes are just as important as learning what's in the books or the curriculum.