My Style of Learning
Ever since I can remember, I have only been able to learn when I am actively involved in the learning process. It was more difficult for me to retain information or truly learn when I was taught through lecture that did not involve a hands-on component. I had to take action and make myself be a part of my learning. When I studied for tests, I also had to make an acronym for the content I studied so I had a tool to assist me in remembering the important facts. As a learner that needed to be a part of my learning and investigate in order to make meaningful connections. To this day, I still need to have hands-on learning for me to understand and learn what is being taught to me. I cannot learn through lectures. As I create lesson plans for my kindergarten class, I try to make sure I involve all of these learning styles. This ensures that my students are understanding content and making connections to what I am teaching them.
Ever since I can remember, I have only been able to learn when I am actively involved in the learning process. It was more difficult for me to retain information or truly learn when I was taught through lecture that did not involve a hands-on component. I had to take action and make myself be a part of my learning. When I studied for tests, I also had to make an acronym for the content I studied so I had a tool to assist me in remembering the important facts. As a learner that needed to be a part of my learning and investigate in order to make meaningful connections. To this day, I still need to have hands-on learning for me to understand and learn what is being taught to me. I cannot learn through lectures. As I create lesson plans for my kindergarten class, I try to make sure I involve all of these learning styles. This ensures that my students are understanding content and making connections to what I am teaching them.
Every Child Can Learn
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Relationship between Teaching and Learning
Teaching and learning are intertwined and depend on each other to succeed, they cannot be separated. Maoris describe it best when they use the term they call Ako. Ako means both to teach and to learn. It embodies a teaching and learning relationship where the teacher learns from the student. |
Constructivist Learning Theory I believe in the Constructivist Approach to learning and the research of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Loris Malaguzzi. Their belief that children are curious individuals that are capable of creating their own learning is exactly my belief. I know my students are capable and naturally inquire through exploration, experimentation, and discovery. |
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Jean Piaget believed that social factors influence cognitive development more than anything else. Piaget determinded that development in children occurred in four separate stages. The first two stages are what I base the first half of my teaching. The first stage, the sensorimotor stage, is when children experience the world through movement and their five senses. Since this stage is very important, I include the five senses in my kindergarten science unit because unfortunately many of my students do not have prior school experience until they walk into my kindergarten classroom. The five senses is my first unit and my favorite one. The students just love using all of their senses to experiment and explore new things. The second stage, the preoperational stage, is when the child learns to speak. This stage lasts from age 2-7. Since this age bracket includes my students and my class is mostly English Language Learners, I always make sure to give free choice in my class to promote language between the students. This allows the children to use language to navigate their play and communicate in English or their native language.
Jerome Bruner believed that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge and as far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active dialog. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned. Bruner's belief is exactly why I try to always connect real life scenarios to my teaching. Many of my students have not spent much time learning outside of their homes or neighborhoods. So when our science lessons focus on mammals, I know I need to show the students pictures of them because many of the students have not had the experience of attending a zoo to really see one up close. I insist on taking our students to the zoo every year as field trips provide authentic experiences for children to draw upon and make more learning connections. The looks on my students' faces when they see a real live tiger or bear up close is priceless and I know they will never forget that experience. Once we get back from the zoo, I always have them create their own type of living habitat to keep their zoo animals. They create them by using recycled material. During the planning and developing, I step back and facilitate the students as they work together to create their own habitats.
Loris Malaguzzi founded the Reggio Emilia Approach. It is an innovative approach to early childhood education. The approach views children as strong, resilient, and capable of playing an active role in their own education. It also recognizes that children have a great curiosity and interest in forming relationships with their environment. The environment is considered the third teacher. This approach was founded by parents therefore, the foundation promotes parents to be actively involved with the classroom, the students, and the teacher. In my own classroom I am consistently promoting parent involvement in the classroom. For those parents that cannot attended during the school day, I have created a webpage for our class that keeps them up to date with what is going on in our room and ways to help without coming into the classroom. In the Reggio Emilia approach teachers do not direct the children; instead, they act as partners, observers, and facilitators of the learning process. This is something I continue to work on in my class and eventually hope to be a great facilitator the more I give the students the opportunity to play an active role in their own education.
Learning Theories
Three learning theories that support my position are discovery learning, problem based learning (PBL) , and social development theory. I believe students come to kindergarten with a sense of discovery, questioning and an open mind to learn. The possibilities for exploration and learning are endless, as the current understanding of the educational system has not yet been ingrained in them. We all have had those teachers who remind us of the teacher from Farris Bueller's Day off. I do not want to be that teacher. I strive to use current research and best practices. This is the reason that I follow Vygotsky's social development theory. I promote learning in a way that will allow my students to play an active role in their learning. Our roles as teacher and students are switched. I believe my role as a teacher is to collaborate with my students to facilitate meaning in their work. This allows for a reciprocal experience between and my students and me.
How It All Comes Together
After reviewing my learning philosophy and my innovation plan, I see that they fit perfectly together. In my innovation plan I want my students to try challenging themselves and take ownership in their learning through STEM activities. My learning philosophy is consistent with the innovation plan. I want my students to discover on their own and learn through their successes and failures while I facilitate their learning journey. In the Godfrey-lee School District, I am responsible to teach the Common Core Curriculum, Haggerty Phonologoical Awareness, Open Harcourt, Dolch sight words, Fountas and Pinnell running records, Maisa, Georgia Math, and Battle Creek Science. I assess using a baseline assessment as well as using MAP and Dibbles. While required to meet these standards and requirements, I balance theories and best practices to allow my students the ability to navigate their environment and form learning experiences that are developmentally appropriate. Children are curious individuals that are capable of creating their own learning as long as you provide the opportunity.
Jerome Bruner believed that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge and as far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active dialog. Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned. Bruner's belief is exactly why I try to always connect real life scenarios to my teaching. Many of my students have not spent much time learning outside of their homes or neighborhoods. So when our science lessons focus on mammals, I know I need to show the students pictures of them because many of the students have not had the experience of attending a zoo to really see one up close. I insist on taking our students to the zoo every year as field trips provide authentic experiences for children to draw upon and make more learning connections. The looks on my students' faces when they see a real live tiger or bear up close is priceless and I know they will never forget that experience. Once we get back from the zoo, I always have them create their own type of living habitat to keep their zoo animals. They create them by using recycled material. During the planning and developing, I step back and facilitate the students as they work together to create their own habitats.
Loris Malaguzzi founded the Reggio Emilia Approach. It is an innovative approach to early childhood education. The approach views children as strong, resilient, and capable of playing an active role in their own education. It also recognizes that children have a great curiosity and interest in forming relationships with their environment. The environment is considered the third teacher. This approach was founded by parents therefore, the foundation promotes parents to be actively involved with the classroom, the students, and the teacher. In my own classroom I am consistently promoting parent involvement in the classroom. For those parents that cannot attended during the school day, I have created a webpage for our class that keeps them up to date with what is going on in our room and ways to help without coming into the classroom. In the Reggio Emilia approach teachers do not direct the children; instead, they act as partners, observers, and facilitators of the learning process. This is something I continue to work on in my class and eventually hope to be a great facilitator the more I give the students the opportunity to play an active role in their own education.
Learning Theories
Three learning theories that support my position are discovery learning, problem based learning (PBL) , and social development theory. I believe students come to kindergarten with a sense of discovery, questioning and an open mind to learn. The possibilities for exploration and learning are endless, as the current understanding of the educational system has not yet been ingrained in them. We all have had those teachers who remind us of the teacher from Farris Bueller's Day off. I do not want to be that teacher. I strive to use current research and best practices. This is the reason that I follow Vygotsky's social development theory. I promote learning in a way that will allow my students to play an active role in their learning. Our roles as teacher and students are switched. I believe my role as a teacher is to collaborate with my students to facilitate meaning in their work. This allows for a reciprocal experience between and my students and me.
How It All Comes Together
After reviewing my learning philosophy and my innovation plan, I see that they fit perfectly together. In my innovation plan I want my students to try challenging themselves and take ownership in their learning through STEM activities. My learning philosophy is consistent with the innovation plan. I want my students to discover on their own and learn through their successes and failures while I facilitate their learning journey. In the Godfrey-lee School District, I am responsible to teach the Common Core Curriculum, Haggerty Phonologoical Awareness, Open Harcourt, Dolch sight words, Fountas and Pinnell running records, Maisa, Georgia Math, and Battle Creek Science. I assess using a baseline assessment as well as using MAP and Dibbles. While required to meet these standards and requirements, I balance theories and best practices to allow my students the ability to navigate their environment and form learning experiences that are developmentally appropriate. Children are curious individuals that are capable of creating their own learning as long as you provide the opportunity.
Bibliography
Jean Piaget. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/jean-piaget-9439915
This is a biography of Jean Piaget and his theories on the stages of mental development among children. Piaget believed that there were four stages of mental development that chronicled young people's journeys from basic object identification to highly abstract thought.
Play: The Work of Lev Vygotsky. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html
Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development theory stresses the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition. He states: “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)”.
The Reggio Emilia Method Compared to Other Schooling Approaches. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.noodle.com/articles/the-reggio-emilia-approach-and-its-school-of-thought
The Reggio Emilia Approach is a philosophical approach to teaching that was founded in Northern Italy by a man named Loris Malaguzzi. Unlike some approaches that are named after the person who most influenced it, The Reggio Emilia Approach is named after the town where it was founded. It is an innovative approach to early childhood education.
The relationships between teaching and learning. (2017, March 05). Retrieved from https://smartprimaryed.com/the-relationships-between-teaching-and-learning/
In New Zealand, Maori have the term ako, which means both to teach and to learn. The word ako describes a teaching and learning relationship whereby the educator is also learning from the student.
Culatta, R. (2015). Constructivist Theory (Jerome Bruner). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/constructivist.html
Jerome Bruner believes that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so.
(2013, April 21). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/EWKyGa5emwQ
These are photos of students learning in a constructivist setting. Students are able to take ownership of their learning through hands on learning and exploration.