Saturday, March 23, 2013

Assessment 1


Blog Task 2



Learning Theories and Teaching Philosophy

There are several Learning Theories developed by certain theorists. Following are the details of Learning Theories.
·         Behavioral Learning Theory
There are two main areas which explain the Behavioral Learning Theory.
1. Classical Conditioning developed by Ivan Pavlov, where there is conditioned response to conditioned stimulus after certain number of repetitions.
2. Operant Conditioning developed by B.F.Skinner, where the behavior is strengthened or weakened by reward and punishment.

Behavioral learning theories are mainly teacher-centered instruction method where learning occurs through conditioning.

·         Cognitive Learning Theory where construction of knowledge is through prior knowledge and experience.
1. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development Theory explains that children need scaffolding in their learning situations.

2. Four stages of  Piaget’s Developmental Theory [ (sensorimotor; birth-2years old) , ( pre-operational;2-7years  old ) , ( concrete operational; 7-11years old) , (formal operational; adolescence – adulthood )] describe how knowledge and its application  changes by cognitive, environmental and behavioral factors.

As there are different ability level students in one particular classroom too, Cognitive Learning Theories give a correct picture of how we can deal with those different children in the same place and at the same time.

·         Social Cognitive Learning Theory developed by Albert Bandura, where individuals learn from one another through modeling. The types of modeling can be classified as direct, symbolic and synthesized behavior.

·         Constructivism is a theory about the learning style of students.
J. Piaget
Knowledge is processed by accommodation & assimilation.
D.A.Kolb
Experiential learning - learning by actively participating in the activities.
J.Biggs
Constructive Alignment - outcomes, activities & approach should be clearly known.

The constructivists’ theories draw conclusions that students learn by themselves and through social interactions by relating to prior knowledge.


·         Theories of Motivation direct goal-oriented behaviors through extrinsic or intrinsic motivation.
1. Behavioral view of motivation is through reinforcement and external rewards.
2. Cognitive views of motivation includes cognitive development, need for achievement and attribution theory.
3. The Asch Experiment developed by Solomon Asch, describes the Social Cognitive View of Motivation where an individual’s ideas are subjective to the group’s decision.
4. Maslow’s theory of growth motivation describes the Humanistic Theory of Motivation.

Knowingly or unknowingly each teacher has a teaching philosophy based on these theories.


My Teaching Philosophy
Being a teacher is like doing multi-talented tasks simultaneously and doing the task in each second of the life by guiding, encouraging and facilitating.  Teaching and learning is an on-going process.  It is vital to understand the students positively and impart maximum knowledge through different teaching-learning strategies accordingly and learn from each class.
To cater different learning styles (visual/auditory/kinesthetic) of the students, direct and indirect teaching methods are used while creating a better learning environment which will result in holistic education. So, observation, giving feedback and evaluation of student and own self performance should take place.
Teaching is the foundation for all other professions.  So, making a better country is the success of ideal teaching.

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