I would like to respond to Jenny’s interesting post on reflecting in practice - where I would start with some of my interpretation of Learning Theories.
She writes:
I think it’s helpful once in a while to make our implicit ways of working explicit both for ourselves and for others. As teachers, it can prevent us from making assumptions – a problem that was highlighted all those years ago by Stephen Brookfield.Brookfield S D (1995) The Getting of Wisdom. What Critically Reflective Teaching is and Why It’s Important. http://www.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/facultypapers/StephenBrookfield_Wisdom.cfm
Learning Theories
When I reflected on the learning theories, I found something in common:
1. Most theories were based on a psychological, cognitive, and constructive perspectives. Connectivism is based on a connective perspective.
2. All learning theories are trying to explain how learning occurs, and to some extent try to explain why learning occurs, especially under different circumstances.
3. Most theories have made basic assumptions – which were centred around teaching and learning pedagogy – the science of teaching and human nature, with some consideration of the impact of technology in the learning process.
Can we look at these theories and re-think about what all these mean?
1. Do we want to clone another educator (expert) into another learner (who could become another teacher)?
2. What do the theories show us in the learning process? Would these theories help us in better understanding how learning occurs?
3. Are we on the verge of holding all the theories to our heart and proclaim that it could explain how learning occurs for EVERYONE?
4. How about a theory on learning development?
5. Are we experiencing such a learning development in our pursuit of life-long learning?
6. What works for us in our learning journey?
We are all different, and so our learning are all different. Can we settle by first building and repairing our house (our learning) first in the learning development?
Can we support our fellow educators and learners through interaction, collaboration, cooperation, with technology as enablers where necessary? Is that what learning is all about?
Learning – a continuous development journey where each of us have our own route, own pace and own destiny.
Is that the essence of connectivism?
Thinking
This Quiet Leadership by David Rock reveals the importance of thinking amongst employees in improving performance.
I would like to reflect on that:
As educators, we want to improve our learner’s performance (learning) and think we know what we should do in our teaching or facilitation. Unfortunately, improving human performance (learning) involves one of the hardest challenges in the known universe: changing the way people think.
Quiet leaders (teachers) are masters who could bring out the best performance (learning) in others. They improve the thinking of people (learners) around them – literally improving the way their brains process information – without telling anyone (learners) what to do. They empower the learners to pursue their learning journey, with encouragement and support.
Given how many people (educators and learners) in today’s companies (schools, universities) are being “paid” or “urged” to think and analyse, improving our thinking is one of the fastest ways to improve performance (learning).
Would “thinking” be the theory of learning development that we are looking for?
What does thinking mean to you – in your pursuit of life-long learning?
How would transformational thinking be valued in our learning journey?
Would this take into account the critical thinking process, the critical reflection as an educator and learner?
suifaijohnmak
