Week 1 Wrap Up
Please record your reflections in the comment section of this post.
Analysis of Resource 6
From the reflection cycle, I extracted the following characteristics that distinguishes a reflective writing from a descriptive one: 1. Description vs. Reflection. 2. Reinterpreting from different points of view (others’ point of view). 3. Exploring the impact of events on her emotions and behavior. 4. Exploring the event at a different time. 5. Relevant past and present experiences not compared. 6. Willingness to be critical of own actions, behavior and motives. 7. Evidence of ‘standing back’ from the event and reconsidering the event objectively. This list is not exhaustive and I am sure that you can easily come up with more criteria to add to it, but this set o...
The following are my learnings from week 1:
ReplyDelete1. The most commonly adopted theory of learning styles is a myth. It is has gained popularity as it categorizes individuals as per their learning preference: visual, auditory etc. which makes each one “unique”. However, there aren’t any evidences to support these styles. These styles are loosely based on the concept of metacognition which involves various approaches to knowledge however unlike learning styles, it does not recommend any sole approach.
2. Meaningful learning V/S purposeful learning. Meaningful learning is based on the past experiences and prior knowledge (experience + theory) which help to form new connections whereas purposeful learning implies an intention to learn, to acquire some new knowledge for future utility.
3. Resistance is the first reaction to change. Integrating changes in the existing, already formed connections (schema), requires changes in the cognitive structures. In order to accept change which is nothing but learning requires motivation or willingness and to able to make connections or sense to the situations.
4. Social Learning Theory (1960) by Albert Bandura sheds light on how children observe and imitate the actions and reactions modelled by adults particularly of the same sex. This is termed as “Learning by Observing”.
5. John Dewey presented his views on experiential learning where an individual learns by reflecting on his personal experiences.
Classroom Practice:
1. After having understood the myth of learning styles, I would like to emphasize on the content learned through different approaches rather than learner’s preferences.
2. Activating prior knowledge in order to gauge the learner’s attention at the start of the class and to build on the existing knowledge to fill in the gaps is an essential learning. Enquiry or critical questioning would help to peel the onion in other words this method can be useful to get to the core of the content.
3. Activities like CSI: Color, Symbol and Image can be utilized to understand the different perspectives and perceptions of the learners. These activities also require reflection which can lead to learnings. Similarly the activity give one, take one can be deployed to summarize the content learned.
4. It is significant for the learners to experience and discover connections in order to learn. Hence, the strategies must be intended to create situations to give experiences and to train the learners for reflective thinking.