Theory of Learning Revisited
Transcript of Theory of Learning Revisited
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Many of my beliefs about learning are rooted in Developmental theories and Constructivism, as was
shown in my TPI results of Developmental and Apprenticeship. Looking back at my personal theory of
learning, my concept map and the readings, activities, and discussions of this course, I feel I can clearly
see how many of the theories presented not only relate to one another , but help to reinforce my
teaching perspectives and converge to form my theory of learning.
Learning is about making connections... (Anderson, 2008, p.49) I believe that this can best be achieved
when learners are able to make meaningful connections between new and previous knowledge.
Information needs to be appropriate to the learners level of understanding and activities scaffolded to
best meet their abilities thereby allowing them to operate in their Zone of Proximal Development.
Learners need to have ownership of their learning and learning goals, as well as opportunities to reflect
on these.
Learning is a social enterprise. (Driscoll, 2005, p.234) The influence of ones culture and community
cannot be ignored, as they dictate what concepts and skills are valued and important to learn. Learners
need to be afforded the opportunity to collaborate with others and to participate in discussion and
activities that will help create meaningful connections. Through this participation and collaboration, a
community is created in which all learners are members and learn from one another.
As a teacher, my job is to know where my students are and what they still need to learn. I need to guide
learning through questioning and examples that allow them to think critically and discover or create
their own connections, while remembering each learners culture and community. Tasks and activities
should be as authentic as possible and based in a real-world application. While I believe that there are
concepts from other theories that are important to learning, I feel that those presented by
Constructivism and Developmental theorists are most prevalent in my teaching and my beliefs around
learning.
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References
Anderson, T. (2008). Toward a theory of online learning. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.) Theory and
Practice of Online Learning, Chapter 2 (pp. 45-74). Retrieved November 10, 2011 from:
http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/02_Anderson_2008_Anderson-Online_Learning.pdf
Driscoll. M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 227-244; Ch. 7 Interactional Theories
of Cognitive Development). Toronto, ON: Pearson.
Driscoll. M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 384-407; Ch. 11 Constructivism).
Toronto, ON: Pearson.
Miller, P. H. (2002). Theories of Developmental Psychology, 4th Ed. (pp. 367-396; Vygotskys Socio-
Cultural Approach). New York: Worth.
Pratt, D.D. (2002). Good teaching: One size fits all?In Jovita Gordon (Ed.),An Update on Teaching
Theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Retreived September 8th
, 2011 from:
http://www.teachingperspectives.com/PDF/goodteaching.pd
Wenger,E. McDermott, R. and Snyder,W.M. (2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to
Managing Knowledge - Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. Retrieved from:
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html
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