Karl Kapp says, "The issue many forget is that “learning” is not one thing…it is a multi-layered word that tends to get treated as if it were just one thing…and it’s not. It is multi-facetted and that is why developing new models for “learning” is so difficult…there are too many levels for one school of thought or one model to do it all. "I believe this is the best statement from what we had to read from the blogs. What I am starting to realize is that it may not be the teachers responsibility to create this learning environment. I am thinking this burden is on the administration and county education administrators. I have a master's in education and I have not been introduced to these theories and ways of learning. I have been taught how to teach my discipline, not necessarily individual students. Why does it take this long in my educational journey to learn these things? I then begin to think about how each classroom at my old school was like their own world with different practices, rules, expectations, learning styles, and discipline. We all know that students learn differently but who is preparing teachers to meet these needs.I am loving learning about the different theories and I know there needs to be a balance. I will be able to look at my students individually and know which theory would benefit them the most, so I have an advantage. I just think things are currently done backwards. We have all these state rules telling us to meet every students needs but the big question is HOW.I personally think schools or classrooms should be set up for the different learning styles. And then the other theories can be incorporated to promote balance. Teachers just are not trained on these theories and therefore they are kinda doing what is best for them in the classrooms. These reads are showing me how unprepared teachers are to meet our students needs these days.
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html
http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html
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I remember my first year of teaching when I had similar complaints. I can even remember being ticked off about no-one showing me how to use my roll book. Forget learning theories or methodology! Where do you go when the fire bell rings! You have to view all this from a distance. Not so long ago most of this world was at war. Millions were learning how to destroy other millions - and they did. This kind of thing continues in all kinds of human drama. There are people who are very well informed of the learning process. They might not want you to know about it though! Silly? Childish? Of course it is, yet it clouds the issues and makes it hard for everybody. It's still a rough world in many ways and difficult to gain the human knowledge needed to help our fellow humans to learn optimally.
ReplyDeleteI think it might have been very very hard to teach people to read at one distant point in time, and I think that learning the best way to help them do it was even harder!
LaToya,
ReplyDeleteLike you I am wondering why it took me so long to start learning about learning. In my master's program (nursing education) we discussed the different types of learners, verbal, auditory, etc. The theorists that were discussed were nursing theorists. Although it was interesting learning nursing theorists ideas about being, knowing, seeing, etc., that hardly prepared me for the teaching role.
I love the idea of having classrooms set up to suit the different learning styles of students in the classroom, that sounds like a wonderful idea.
Neena
I can see in your post that most of us are arriving at a common theme. There are no silver bullets and the training that has been afforded to teachers may not be adequate to handle all of the different learning styles that exists now. It may be a case of the paradigm changed while teachers were learning, so it becomes irrelevant when it is time to apply it in the classroom. It would seem that this type of instuction has a shelflife similar to IT, where it is obselete almost at the end of every day.
ReplyDeleteAs Bill commented above, I think our first year of teaching is simply about survival. Where do we go, specifically what do we turn in, what do we teach our students, what textbook, and so on, are essential bits of knowledge. It is the same with students. The first thing they wanted know is what seat do I sit down in, do I need a textbook, what supplies do we need, and most importantly, when is lunch!
ReplyDeleteIt's only after we have mastered these basic skills for just being there that we begin to consider why and start to understand beliefs about what we're doing. We all must achieve that basic comfort level first.