Customized Learning Theory Issues - Research Paper Example

? Customized learning theory Customized learning theory Learning is a complex and multifaceted task which begins at the time of birth and ends only at the time of death. In fact human life is a process of learning. The learning from the past will be helpful at present and the learning at present will help us in future. Even though all the people learn something every day in their life irrespective of the differences in intelligence, intelligent people may learn more things than the unintelligent people because of their superior intelligence and grasping power. No two individuals are alike either in appearance or in intelligence. Because of that, different types of learning methods are prevailing among people. Different scholars and psychologists have formulated different learning theories after comprehensive researches and studies. “Although there is no acceptable definition of learning, a generally accepted definition of learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience” (Chowdhury, 2006, p.1). Learning is a process and a product at the same time. Many of the psychologists defined learning as a change in behavior. It is a fact that all the people behave in a particular way based on their knowledge level. For example, a person who has completed college education may behave more diplomatically than a person who has not completed college education. In other words, learning makes lot of behavioral changes in a person’s life. Cognitive learning theories (Gestalt theory of learning or learning by insight, Kurt Lewin’s field theory, Tolman’s theory of purposive behaviorism, Bruner’s theory of cognitive development, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Gagne’s hierarchy of learning process etc.), connectionist theories (Thorndike’s theory of connectionism, Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning Hull’s reinforcement theory etc.), behavioral theories (Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning, JB Watson’s behaviorism etc.) and Social learning theories (Social Learning Theory of Bandura and Double Loop Learning of Argyris) are some of the useful learning theories of education. These theories may help the teachers and student immensely in the educational learning process. However, it is difficult or impossible for a student to adopt any single learning theory completely for enhancing his learning process. Customization of these learning theories is necessary for a student to learn the topics properly. In other words, every student should have a customized learning strategy or theory in order to learn the topics properly. This paper describes my ideas of “the best learning environment” and supports it using the theoretical perspectives of what defines the "best of" in education. Learning Theory and its importance “Learning is a personal act. We each place our own personal stamp on how we learn, what we learn and when we learn. How we learn is a question that begs the answer--based on learning theory” (Chowdhury, 2006, p.2). As mentioned earlier, no two individuals are alike in their learning methods. Different people use different methods for learning a particular topic. The awareness about different learning theories will definitely help the educators in providing customized learning environments for each student. For example, brighter students may require more complex assignments whereas average or below average students may require simple assignments in order to help them in their learning process. “Learning theories are the basic raw materials, which are applied in training activities. It is, therefore, essential that the trainer understand the learning theories so that he or she can design the effective training program” (Chowdhury, 2006, p.6). It is important for the educator to know how a particular subject can be taught well in a class. For that purpose different learning theories may help. For example, many learning theories suggest that motivation is required for the students to learn a particular topic well. In order to motivate the students, teachers may use different learning theories and motivation theories. Rewards and punishments are some of the motivation strategies used by the teachers in order to help students in their learning process. “Although all learning theories permeate all dimensions of training, none of them is most appropriate under all circumstances. Depending on the trainees and training approaches, different learning theories may apply” (Chowdhury, 2006, p.7). In other words, the knowledge about all the existing learning theories will help the teacher in determining which learning theory is better suited to teach a particular topic. For example, Gestalt theory can be applied while teaching mathematical topic such as area of a rectangle and parallelogram since this theory gives importance to insight learning. In other words, after teaching how to calculate the area of a rectangle, the teacher can ask the students to find out the area of a parallelogram. Some students may use the same length x breadth formula for calculating the area of a parallelogram whereas other may think about alternate methods to calculate the area of the parallelogram because of insight. At the same time this theory may not be useful while teaching historical events, languages or art subjects. In short, better awareness about different learning theories would help the teacher in teaching different topics effectively. Description of an effective teacher and learning environment The concepts about an effective teacher and learning environments were changed a lot in the past few decades. Earlier, good orators or lecturers were labeled as good teachers. However, lecturing methods lost its significance in the current educational system. In other words, teacher centered curriculum have given way for student centered curriculum at present. At present teachers are considered only as facilitators or guides. They are providing problems to the student and guide them to solve those problems. Earlier teacher did both. In other words giving and solving of problems were the duties of the teacher earlier. Students are more actively participating in the current problem solving oriented curriculum. So, the effectiveness of the current teacher is judged against the ability of the teacher in providing meaningful problems or assignments and helping the students in solving it. Technological advance brought tremendous changes in the teaching and learning environment. The introduction of internet and digital technologies has revolutionized the educational world. Earlier, students forced to use libraries more frequently to get new information whereas at present students use internet for everything. It should be noted that text books lost its significance with the introduction of internet and iPad like electronic equipment. So, a current teacher should be well aware of the technological developments and the possibilities of using technology effectively both in and out of the classroom. The ability to motivate the students is an essential characteristic of an effective modern day teacher. In the absence of motivation, students may become passive elements in the classroom and effective learning may not take place. The teacher should try to make the students active as much as possible in order to generate curiosity and motivation. For example, while teaching science subjects, the teacher should make sure that the students concentrate fully on the topic. In order to achieve that, the teacher should incorporate some interesting examples from daily life to the topic so that the students may get better awareness about the topic. For example, in order to teach Newton’s first law of motion, the teacher can ask the students- “what will happen to the students who are standing inside a fast moving school bus, when the driver applies a sudden break”. After getting the response, the teacher can ask why the students falling forward even though the driver applies the force (Sudden break), to the backward direction. Majority of the students may not have any answer to this question and they may become curious to know about this topic because of the introduction or the presentation of the topic by the teacher. On the other hand, if the teacher directly starts the theoretical aspects of Newton’s first law of motion, the students may not concentrate actively in the class. In other words, they will only act as passive elements inside the class which is not good for the transfer of knowledge from the teacher to the students. Classroom management is another factor which determines the effectiveness of a teacher. There are plenty of teachers who have better teaching skills, but poor classroom management skills. In my opinion, a teacher with good classroom management and poor teaching skills may become more effective than a teacher with good teaching skills and poor classroom management skills. I know the story of a successful teacher who has tremendous skills in classroom management. His first assignment was in a high school where the headmaster directed him to a class which was labeled as the most problematic in that school. No teachers were ready to teach in that class because of the problems created by the naughty students. The headmaster told him that if he can manage that class well, he will be successful in managing any problematic classes in the world. When the teacher entered the class, students greeted him with loud voices of different kinds. Some of them imitated the voices of cats, cows, dogs etc. The teacher stayed there for a while and allowed the students to make as much voice as possible. When the students got tired, the teacher started his class by enquiring about the hobbies them. Majority of the students in this class were football lovers and in fact they were the football champions in the school competitions. The teacher asked them whether they know how Maradona scored the controversial goal against England in a world cup semifinal. He demonstrated how the Hand of God helped Maradona in scoring a decisive goal against England in that match. The class remained silent till the end of his demonstration. In fact the students started to trust him more and they never made any noises or disturbances in his classes. It should be noted that while all the others teachers struggled to manage this class, the above teacher exploited the weakness of the students in football and captured their trust and respect. No educational or learning theories may help the teacher in such instances. The teacher should have the ability to adapt with the situations and he should make custom made teaching strategies to handle the classes effectively. It should be noted that the same strategy may not work in another classroom. However, knowledge about the members of the class will definitely help the teacher in devising effective methods both for classroom management and effective teaching. Learning Characteristics As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I do believe that different strategies are necessary to teach different classes. Apart from individual differences, the overall nature of the classes may also be different. For example, some classes may have more bright students whereas some classes may have more average students. It is difficult to teach same way in both the classes. In a heavily globalized current world, each class may consist of students from different nations, communities and cultures. In short, the teacher should consider the tastes and general nature of the class while formulating teaching strategy for each class. As mentioned earlier, each class may consist of gifted students and average students. The educational requirement of these children could be entirely different. “Gifted children have a critical need to: understand the nature of their thinking, understand the quality of their information, and understand the uses of information”(Eide & Eide, 2004). On the other hand average students may not have such requirements. So while allocating assignments, the teacher should provide complex assignments to the gifted children and simple assignments to the average students. In other words, the teacher should consider the abilities and intellectual level of students while distributing assignments. Personal Reflection We all know how greatly music affects our feelings and energy levels! Without even thinking about it, we use music to create desired moods. In the 20th century the western scientific community has conducted research to validate and expand our analytical knowledge of music. Music greatly affects and enhances our learning and living!(Brewer, 1995) I have a strange habit of learning topics with the help of music. In other words, while studying something, I will switch on the music player first. Music helps me in avoiding the shifting of attention because of unnecessary noises from outside, while learning. Moreover, it provides the necessary mood or environment for learning. I always study in capsules. In other words, I never study topics for more half an hour at a stretch. Study without a break may not help me in learning the topics, especially the science and mathematics topics well. In my opinion, our brain or memory has certain capacity to accommodate things. Trying to over fill it with so many things may result in fatigue or exhaustion. In order to avoid such fatigues while learning, study schedules should be divided into small periods of 30 or 45 minutes duration. Conclusions To conclude, learning is an individual act which depends primarily on the abilities of the students, teacher and the learning environment. The teachers should identify the learning requirements of each student and adjust his teaching methods so that each student may be benefited from it. Instead of relying too much on lecture methods, it is better to adopt problem solving method for effective teaching. The teacher should act only as a facilitator in the learning process. He should help the student in arriving at conclusions. It is better to devise a suitable method for learning topics by the students. Music helps the students immensely for providing the necessary mood and climate for learning. Summary Learning is a complex task which is difficult to define. Broadly speaking, learning is a process which brings behavioral changes to the learner. Learning is highly subjective and personal. Different people have different learning methods because of the differences in their intellectual abilities. There are different learning theories formulated by different scholars and psychologists. However, each individual may opt for their own methods while learning a particular topic. The concept of teaching and learning is changing rapidly. Earlier teacher centered education was in place whereas at present student centered education is getting more prominence. Technological advancements and changing life styles have brought huge changes in the teaching and learning processes. In any case, the basic things such as the ability to motivate students, class room management etc are important for a teacher to become successful in his/her profession. A successful teacher may not stick with a standard method while teaching in different classrooms. References Brewer C.B. (1995). Music and Learning. Retrieved from http://home.blarg.net/~building/strategies/arts/brewer.htm Chowdhury M.S. (2006). Human Behavior In The Context of Training: An Overview Of The Role of Learning Theories as Applied to Training and Development. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Vol. 7, No. 2, June 2006. Retrieved from http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=learning%20theory%20and%20its%20importance&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEUQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unlibrary-nairobi.org%2FPDFs%2FHumanbehavior.doc&ei=TE-qTrvGB87trQez3ezqDA&usg=AFQjCNE9wRWKFp3aq5ftRTfvCrxpDV4M0g Eide B & Eide F (2004). Brains on Fire: The Multimodality of Gifted Thinkers. Retrieved from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Exceptional%20Learners/Gifted%20Learners/brains_on_fire.htm Read More