John's+Page

My reflection about the article, __How People Learn__...

Theories about learning have changed over time, from the idea that people were empty vessels that needed to be filled with information (instructivism) to the theory that people need to take an active role in their learning and that new learning is constructed from previous learning (constuctivism). Science has contributed to the new ideas about learning and has helped teachers understand how their students learn and how to facilitate learning. I am glad to be a teacher at this time because teaching/learning is so much more engaging and effective than it used to be. Students come to our classrooms with a passion to learn and it is our job to help them find their passion and get the tools to help them learn.

My reflection about how I understand learning to occur...

Learning is the aquisition of knowledge, experience and attitudes that wasn't realized before. Constructivist theory suggests that as students learn, they do not simply memorize or take on others' conceptions of reality; instead, they create their own meaning and understanding. Learning can occur cooperatively or by oneself. People can learn things in different styles and actually have a preferential way, such as auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learning. As well, Gardiner proposes that people have different intelligences that make them predisposed to learning things easier- talents. After watching the video, 21st century learning, I agreed that in this age of rapid change, students need to learn how to learn cooperatively and competitively and be able to learn, unlearn and relearn to respond to change. What struck me was that we are now learning with a global community, thanks to the internet and easy sharing of information. The challenge for teachers is to teach students __how__ to learn collaboratively and competitively and take an active role in their learning.