What is Learning: Learning is to use new concepts in a new way to solve a problem or accomplish a task. People learn in many different ways. One powerful way starts as a child whereby they learn by observation and copying what they have seen or heard. Apprenticeships are basically learning the same way. Learning has to be meaningful to the student so they will desire to learn it.
How is learning best effectuated by the teacher: In every new theory we learned that in order for the students to master the new material with have to tie it into their past knowledge or schema. When we can successfully help student connect to past knowledge and make the lesson applicable to their lives they will be more likely to acquire the new knowledge. Our goal should be to get the students to desire knowledge as an intrinsic value, and get them to take responsibility for their own learning. A teacher should guide a student's learning and help them when they become confused. Teaching is like explaining how to read and understand the symbols and layout of a road map. Our lesson should be the map that they follow from point A to point B. If they know how to use the tools we teach them then they should be successful in mastering the content.
It really is all about connecting to past learning and existing schemes. I love breaking down people's existing schema to incorporate new ideas and ways of thinking. In that respect, we really are like psychologists. So much of what a psychologist seems to do is help us see the world from a different perspective so that we are able to cope and adapt to the world around us. No wonder so many learning theories have been developed by them.
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ReplyDeleteGreat response to Toni's post. You are so right that learning is really connecting past learning with exsisting schemes. I never though of teacher as a psychologist before but after reading your comments I do now.
Toni - great blog you have really hit on what learning is and how it can be effectuated by a teacher!
I agree with you about learning is connecting past learning with exsisting schemes. I mean learning would be meaningless when it doesn't depend on any former knowledge or schemes. When I was a student, I always try to find the connection between learning and real life, that worked well. And now I am trying to think at the angle of student, which would help me to understand them better.
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