My Learning Philosophy
My Thoughts on Learning
According to Thomas Shuell (1986), "There is no one definition of learning that is universally accepted by theorists, researchers, and practitioners." This is a very true statement. Learning is as different as each unique person who learns something. Dale Schunk (2012) lists three criteria for learning:
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These three criteria are things we, as teachers, need to ensure happen in our classrooms. We want there to be changes in their behavior through the years. We want our students to be able to learn and remember the material for longer than just a little bit. We should want our students to have a true, hands-on experience with the things they are learning so that it becomes internalized.
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Teaching and Learning
Teaching is the act of showing others how to do something. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge (Kropf, 2013). A teaching philosophy is a statement on what types of actions you, as a teacher, are going to take in order to help your students learn. This usually includes: your ideal classroom environment, how you will address student needs, materials needed, and how to maximize the students' learning potential. Learning philosophies discuss how a student learns. We will be looking at a few of these later.
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How I Learn
As I look back at how I learned in my K-12 experience, it seemed to follow more of a behaviorism model. I have always been grade driven, desiring the best grades I can get. Those grades were my reward for the hard work that I put into everything I did. There was a lot of rote learning of facts in which Tony Bates (2014) said is a big part of behaviorism.
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Now, I am more of a constructivist. I see how things are connected, and how they all build upon each other. The DLL program has really taken me out of my comfort zone on how I learn. Instead of having everything told to me and just receiving the information, I now interact with my peers and the material to form my own understandings.
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Which Theories Would I Want to Focus on in my Classroom?
Cognitivism is the search for rules, principles or relationships in processing new information along with the search for meaning and consistency in reconciling new information with previous knowledge (Bates, 2014). Plato and Descartes were the first to look into cognitive behavior, but others like Wundt, James, Dewey, and Watson have all researched how the mind works (WGU Texas, 2020). In cognitive psychology, it's all about how the mind processes what's being learned and the conditions that influence the processes. The cognitivist approach focuses on teaching learners how to learn and develop better mental processes for the future (Bates, 2014). There is also a social portion to cognitivism. Schunk (2012) said that the acquiring of knowledge, rules, skills, strategies, beliefs, and attitudes all come from observing others in a social environment. Learning really complicated skills will come from a combination of observation and performance.
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Constructivism is probably the theory that I would focus on the most. Constructivist learning, as advocated by Piaget, Broner, and Vygotsky, is the theory that knowledge is constructed instead of acquired (Schunk, 2012). Individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand because they will be building upon pieces that they already have. There is a very big social piece to constructivism. The learning process is much more complex because students are seeking new knowledge, reflecting on their ideas, and testing out their ideas on teachers and fellow students (Bates, 2014). Schunk (2012) said that teachers shouldn't teach in the traditional sense of delivering instruction, but instead be a facilitator of the learners who are actively involved in the learning. According to Tan and Hung (2002), "Constructivist learning encourages the learner to engage in the active process of meaning-construction in real-authentic problems and situations, and where learners are able to socially construct knowledge with others." This type of learning is important in the learning of math. It is a subject that not many students are strong at, and they can help each other to understand the concepts.
A newer learning theory that branches off of the others is connectivism. George Siemens (2005) said that "Connectivism is the integration of principles explored by chaos, network, and complexity and self-organization theories." The learning will be focused on connecting specialized sets of information. Dorothy Kropf (2013) compared connectivism to having several "nodes" that connect to different networks in order to facilitate learning. Higher-order thinking skills are needed in order to determine what information coming in is reliable for use.
How Does This Relate to my Innovation Plan?
Sir Ken Robinson (TED, 2010) said in his TEDTalk Bring on the Learning Revolution, that big changes need to be made in education. Education needs to be transformed into something else. I have been a "sage on the stage" for far too long. My innovation plan is to have a flipped classroom so that I can have more time in class to bring in activities where my students can learn in a deeper way using the constructivist, connectivist, and cognitivist methods. I need to throw away my old teaching strategies and learn to let my students take up more of the learning responsibilities for themselves.
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Annotated Bibliography
Bada, S.O. (2015, Nov. - Dec.). Constructivism learning theory: A paradigm for teaching and learning.
IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 5(6), 66-70. https://vulms.vu.edu.pk/Courses/EDU201/Downloads/EDU%20201%20(Assignment%202).pdf
The author discussed the general basics of constructivism: the characteristics, pedagogical goals, and the benefits of the theory. He went on to compare a constructivist classroom with a traditional classroom and implications that installing a constructivist approach to learning will have.
Bates, T. (2014, July 29). Learning theories and online learning. Online Learning and Distance Education
Resources. https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/
In this blog post, the author discussed why it is important to understand learning theories. He then went on to discuss the following theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and connectivism.
Kropf, D. (2013). Connectivism: 21st century's new learning theory. European Journal of Open, Distance, and
E-Learning 16(2), 13-24.
This article discussed the learning theory of connectivism and how the internet is an information reservoir that can be a learning focal point.
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Schunk, D. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Pearson.
The book went over the learning process and how the different theories work. The author goes over all the major learning theories: behaviorism, social cognitive, information processing, constructivism, and cognitive learning. Each one was explained starting with who was behind the theory and the different components.
Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of
Instructional Technology and Distance Learning.
https://jotamac.typepad.com/jotamacs_weblog/files/Connectivism.pdf
The author discussed how the older learning theories of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism have not evolved with the changes in education due to technology. He defined connectivism and how it is focused on connecting specialized information in order to advance knowledge. Connectivism acknowledges that there will be shifts in society and provides insight on learning skills that may be needed for learners in the digital age.
Shuell, T.J. (1986, December 1). Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of Educational Research, 56(4),
411-436. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543056004411
The article examined learning within the framework of cognitive psychology. The author discussed similarities and differences between behavioral and cognitive conceptions of learning and the issues that come up.
Tan, S.C. & Hung, D. (2002, September-October). Beyond information pumping: Creating a constructivist e-
learning environment. Educational Technology, 42(5), 48-54. http://hdl.handle.net/10497/4735
This article discussed e-learning and the hype behind it all because of 24/7 access, ease of update, hypermedia delivery, self-paced learning, and the communication tools available. Instead of just having students just jump in, the authors suggested that a constructivist approach should be used in order to create a rich learning environment that engages higher-order thinking, promotes collaborative knowledge building, and enhances transfer of learning.
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TED. (2010, May 24). Bring on the learning revolution! Sir Ken Robinson [Video]. YouTube.
In the TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson talked about how there needs to be a radical shift in education. Change our schools from being so standardized to making them more personalized to the students. Reforming the school system is no longer enough. There needs to be a revolution.
Utecht, J. & Keller, D. (2019, Spring). Becoming relevant again: Applying connectivism learning theory to
today's classrooms. Critical Questions in Education, 10(2), 107-119.
This article went through, in detail, the eight principles of Sieman's Connectivism Learning Theory. It also provides examples of how these principles can be used in learning institutions.
WGU Texas (2020, March 12). What is cognitive learning? Teaching & Education.
This blog post gave a brief overview of what the cognitive learning theory is. It discussed the philosophers behind the theory and how it has changed over time.