Katrice Wright
Believing in my learning philosophy is most important for creating a significant learning environment. I fall under the constructivist learning theory. With that, I believe that individuals (students) consciously strive to make sense of their environment from their past and present experiences. The twist to my belief is that engagement works best for learning and teaching.
Providing opportunities for my students to understand why they are doing the groundwork, for example, the embracing and cultivating empathy in a visual digital world. explain or model why they are putting time and energy into developing a moral compass. Helping the learner to be engaged by giving them time to understand what the learning philosophy truly means. Truly having a solid belief in my philosophy gives me room to challenge the mastery of creating my significant learning environment for my organization.
What is creating a significant learning environment for my innovation plan?
Learning is defined as an active process gaining knowledge or skills to endure through the experience, study, or being taught.
I see learning as gaining knowledge in many methods. Whether it is through hearing, visual, or actions. I believe that modeling behavior is a fair standpoint. Teaching and learning either one are interchangeable from the teacher to student or student to teacher. I have the belief factor that learning is happening in your awake hours and even while sleeping. Learning can happen consciously or in the subconscious.
Having these thoughts was formed back in college and I studied under cognitivism were my professor required us study the works of Piaget and Kohler. I understood that teachers have to develop the capacity to learn and embrace the experience of learning. Now, being a facilitator of learning. I believe that constructivism theory, that learning must make connections inexperience. That learning comes from reflective practices and making a real connection to the experience.
I choose Constructivism. Why? “Constructivists argue that individuals consciously strive for meaning to make sense of their environment in terms of past experience and their present state. It is an attempt to create order in their minds out of disorder, to resolve incongruities, and to reconcile external realities with prior experience. The means by which this is done are complex and multi-faceted, from personal reflection, seeking new information, to testing ideas through social contact with others.” (Bates 2014). I have an understanding that students have several learning styles. Some students have more than one way of learning. As an educator in a middle school, I must tailor my lessons and learning experience to more than one learning style. I say that because a student will learn every day but just not the same way. Educators take a personal oath to provide quality education, therefore we must respect each individual (students) because they are unique. This can get “tricky” dealing with tweens meaning middle schoolers and their lack of embracing empathy. They are working to make meaning in their different experiences, they are searching to define their meaning and still be able to meet the expectations of the grade-level curriculum and pass the states standardize test. My… to be a kid again!
Relationships are part of human experiences and I believe that positive relationships will make it all better. Relationships for teaching and learning must be aligned with the trade-off concerning the situation that is happening. As an educator, I must respect that I am a teacher, but my learning is always happening. Speaking for myself when I wear the hat as a learner it truly is a work in progress. I am having to step into the role of student and at the same time manage the role of a facilitator to my students. Dealing with learning I am facilitating a new curriculum in a new environment and still work hard to manage my responsibilities as a student online. My former education was very traditional, lecture halls classroom, i meeting in a brick and mortar school setting, and face to face learning. Now, I have online classes virtual meetings and very unstructured study time. I must work hard to stay on track and discipline. I must embrace my empathy staying organized and care for my family. I am extremely proud of being a life learner, but it is one of the hardest things I have had to do in a very long time.
Having to believe in your learning philosophy and still practice education under district and state rules can be exhausting. Working under the learning environment and being able to make connections to ensure your students are successful can create a good teacher’s heartache and earthquakes. My innovation plan is to help my organization to emerge in situations where they will have to experience embracing empathy.
Constructivism looks at knowledge as values. My whole reason for wanting and desiring to have a significant learning environment is to focus on embracing empathy, really understanding the meaning of it. Creating a space for empathy in a visual digital world for middle schoolers is helping young learners to be secure in how they make meaning of their current learning environment. To be great students and to embrace empathy in what the entire plant is now experiencing. Having a reference to empathy in the current world, with managing and coping feelings and still be inspired to learn. And now having to create self-accountability, fostering self-drive, problem solving and taking ownership of growth mindset is more than just saying “yet”!
Do I see myself having a connection with more than one learning theory? Of course, I do! I can see how the Behaviorism theory with Pavlov and Skinner and the belief that change in the environment (stimuli) can create change in the behavior with rewards to get the desired result. We practice this when we give rewards to students for doing what is right. For example, telling students not to run in the hallways and when students follow the direction or norms, they are given more free time at recess.
Having a solid understanding of the learning theories will be a major part of creating a significant learning environment. Modeling the theory and understanding why I choose to believe in constructivism is important to how I aligned with the learning environment, and what I want for my students is key. Truly participating in my student development of a moral compass is also important, for them and the virtual world they now have been immersed in for depending upon their education.
Bibliography
Bates, Tony. (2014, July 29). Learning theories and online learning. Retrieved from https://kb.edu.hku.hk/learning_theory_history/
Smith, M. K. (1999-2020). ‘Learning theory’, the encyclopedia of informal education. http://www.learning-theories.com/ Retrieved: February 2020].
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity
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