A Learner and Learning according to Piaget, Heidegger, and Gardner - Literature review Example

A Learner and Learning: Case Study Name: Institution: Date: A Learner and Learning: Case Study Introduction Learning involves acquiring new, or reinforcing and modifying, existing behaviors, knowledge, skills, preferences or values and can entail the synthesis of various types of information. Progress over time follows learning curves. Jean Piaget (1936) was the first to assert that learning involves a developmental cognitive process where students or learners create knowledge as opposed to receiving knowledge from the teacher. Students construct knowledge according to their experiences and this is related to their physical, biological, and mental stage of development. Learners are found in diverse contexts and include babies who have just been born, children below the age of 10, or might be elderly woman still learning above the age of 80. According to Piaget’s developmental theory, learners comprise of children from birth to even years to adulthood. Piaget described four stages of learning which are Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete operational and Formal operational. During sensorimotor learning starts prior to learners starting school, they learn from body movement as well as the environment. In the Pre-operational stage, learners are described as children from the age of 2 to 7, learning using symbols like words or signs (Piaget, 1936). Learners from the Concrete operational stage are children from 7 to 11 years old, learning through personal response to subject and experience. The stage of Formal operational stage comprises of learners who are 11 years and above, learners at this stage involve logical thinking and systematically explore. Learning takes place everywhere, experiencing with tools or equipment, or the physical environment, consequently learners can be found wherever learning happens. Learning happens where experiencing occurs. Learning happens when carefully dealing with problems and experiencing issues to solve (Brown & Ryoo, 2008).). Learning occurred when people interact with others and the environment through movements and activities. Learners can be found where mistakes appear. Mistakes play a significant role while learning providing a new angle of perspective to the world and society (Heidegger, 1968)). Making mistakes make learners to learn more, learn better and lead learners to a more satisfactory solution to the problem when it occurs again. Moreover, learners can be found where practicing happens. Practicing in a problematic situations provides an opportunity of coming up with a solution to the problem (Wadsworth, 2004).). Therefore, learners learnt by the process of practicing and coming up with the solution a particular problem. From my personal perspective learning occurred when encountering mistakes, practicing the solving of problematic issues and engaging the use of equipment and tools. If something does not meet expectations, there are high chances of mistakes being made. Mistakes open a new angle to the problem that then needs to be reconsidered, re-evaluated and reformulated. We learn from mistakes, bypass them or encounter with no knowledge of the solution next time. Learning is means of developing a sense of familiarity. Learning occurred in the course of the process of engaging with issues, solving them and practicing, they getting familiar with the issues. The sense of familiarity offers the background for our activities so that we learn the ability of handling many functions at the same time. People learnt and knew the world through using different equipment and tools. In this regard, learning how to use and how to understand are the fundamental ways of learning the characteristics of equipment related to various assignments in life. Consequently learning happened when engaging with equipment (Willingham, 2009). Learning happened through the use of different equipment, understanding objects in their actual connection and engaging with everyday activities. Learning is by the process of experiencing, engaging with equipment, and providing our reflection of how we understand it (Brown, B. & Ryoo, 2008). In Experiential learning we experienced objects systematically and offered critical reflection on it in that everyday process became a way of study about which to systematize and theorize. Heidegger (1968) applied the illustration of the craft and the apprenticeship to support his perspective. In his illustration, the apprentice learnt by experiencing-which involve answer and response to different kinds of wood. Learning took place through the actual working process between equipment and assignment according to Heidegger (1968). Learners learnt through learners’ experiences by reflecting on problematic situations and experimenting with the assumptions concerning their actions and ideas. Heidegger (1968) highlighted the practical knowledge is more constructive before learners get engaged with equipment. Heidegger and Schon acknowledge the significance of experience with equipment; equipment played an important role from Schon’s point of view. Heidegger (1968) believed learning by the use of tools and equipment while Schon held the opinion that learning being a process of constructing knowledge. Individuals’ reflection on the equipment is subjective. Learners reached a better solution with adequate knowledge-in-practices if equipment does not act as expected and learning through constructing knowledge. Analysis of the case study In the case study the teacher specifies what the learners are going to learn or what learning is going to involve. The teacher says they going to look at how and why the castle design changed overtime. He volunteers to take the learners through the targets. He explains that the topic will be covered later on. The teacher further explains that the year 7 class has to look at the strengths and weaknesses of two castles, to point out how they transformed Motte and Bailey to Stone Keep Design. However, the teacher asks the students to come up as many reasons as to why the presence of castles is important. The teacher gives the students five minutes to discuss and write down reasons of having castles. This is the case that is going to be analyzed using theories of learning. In this case multiple intelligences theory, information processing theory, and self-determination theory have been used. The students have demonstrated some level of intelligence from the manner in which they participate in the class discussion. It can be concluded that learning has taken place in this case study. Intelligence is the capacity to understand and acquire knowledge. It is the ability to think and gather information or profit from experience to determine what to be done (Phillips & Soltis, 2009). The definition of intelligence is influenced by the place, time and culture. The multiple intelligence advanced by Gardner (1983) explained eight personal abilities such as logical mathematical, linguistics, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, naturalist and intrapersonal. There a further ninth intelligence known as existentialist still under research. Gardner’s view of multiple intelligences focused on the viewing of intelligence behavior and proposed ranges of educational and assessment practices of encouraging students’ effective learning. For example, educational practices like apprenticeship and mentoring; learning material should be learnt in environment that is authentic and learning should be firmly connected with practices and institutions of society (Myers, 2008). All the suggestions points to the fact that education has to be fostered in the environment, with encouragement, stimulation and extensive practice. Multiple intelligences offers a structure of what kinds of things to educate that assist teachers in exploring different potential of their students and develop their full range of intelligence like attitude to school, personality factors, attribution styles and perceptions of parenting styles, and ability. The acknowledgment of multiple intelligences is a way of attaining educational goals as opposed to an educational goal of itself. Information processing theory studies the minds of learners and researches what and how mental processing happens during learning (Phillips & Soltis, 2009). The main emphasis of this theory is the evaluation of mental processing of inputs and eventual output or outcomes. More concern has been put on exploration of the processing of learning and how learners organize and select the experience of knowledge. In the case study the students give a variety of answers when asked to discuss the importance of castles. From this discussion, it can be noted that from their experiences and environment the students have gathered a lot. The teacher introduces the class discussion and participates in it in order to encourage learning. The behavior of the students shows that they are ready to learn and actively participate in the class discussion. Based on multiple intelligences the teacher can use various skills in making the students to understand the subject. The teacher at the end of the lesson evaluates what the students have gained through the discussions. The students are able to give the outcomes as a result of participating in the class discussion. The students have learnt various reasons for existence of castles and they gladly share when asked by the teacher at the end of the discussion. The students are able to use some of the personalities described by Gardner (1983) to discuss the reasons for importance of castles. The teacher is able to direct the students to achieve their goal of learning more about the significance of castles. The teacher is able to use the images of the castles to engage the students in the class discussion. In terms of education information processing theory is emphasized since researchers use it in studying how learners learn, remembered and how people encoded, processed stored or retrieved information, which are crucial for educators to understand. Forming perceptions, sensory receptors, working memory and long-term memory are main components of human information processing system. Individual interact successfully, learners may learn and store information for long-term memory. Often, meaningful material-information or ideas connected to knowledge stored in long-term memory is easier to approach (Myers, 2008). Encoding happens while information is still in working memory. Information processing theory encourages retrieval of information. Learning and creative thinking require knowledge that is deeply embedded in the long-term memory. In spite of information processing theory having several limitations, it has successfully combined all possible elements of learning into a theory (Willingham, 2009). It is the duty of teachers to assist students to acquire knowledge, concepts and skills efficiently and accurately. The students in the case study are able to retrieve the information they have stored in their short-term memory at the end of the lesson. From the long-term memory and experience, the students discuss various reasons for significance of castles. The long term memory has what the students have known for a long time and that is why they can give various for the existence of castles. The students are able to encode what is required of them and actively participate in the class discussion. The students could not take part in the class discussion if they were not able to decode what the teacher was asking them to do. The students are able to retrieve what they have discussed in the group and share it with entire class at the end of the discussion. The students are able to retrieve what they already know about castles and share it with the entire class or the group discussion. The students have to process what they teacher is telling them in order to successfully engage in the class discussion. Self-determination theory is a theory of personality and motivation that involves three innate, universal and biological needs: autonomy, competence, and psychological relatedness. Self-determination theory is a significant theory of motivation that covers the issues of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Taylor, 2008). Motivation as driver of learning translates to learner’s creativity, internal curiosity and high-order thinking all assist and contribute to learning. Students are willing to try and attain their goals f they experience the task as interesting, useful and important. Students learning in autonomy surrounding became more intrinsically motivated; demonstrate higher self-esteem and more likely leading to better learning or performance. For each learner to be motivated in learning three elements are highlighted: curiosity, level of challenge, a choice and control of activity. Fantasy, simulation games and make-believe can also contribute to motivational learning. It is important for the teacher to apply proper strategies to help students in motivation learning. There is a positive correlation between the teacher’s use of relevant strategies and the students’ behavior (Hilgard & Bower, 1975). Strategies involving reinforcement and punishment were losing effect while teachers reportedly obtained unsatisfactory results. Show demonstrate better performance at interpreting the useful feedback they receive, and become more adept as compared to others. Children are more likely to be intrinsically motivated in activities or activities of parents are more autonomy supportive. In the case study the students are given the liberty to discuss the many reasons for existence of castles. The students are given the opportunity to be in charge of the class discussion. The students are given five minutes to discuss the topic and to write down why they think castles are important. Students are able to give different reasons for existence of castles. Some of the reasons given are defense, show authority, look powerful, and protection. There is a level of change that is involved in the case study. The teacher challenges the students to think of and discuss some of the reasons why we have castles. The students feel motivated and their curiosity is aroused to what to know more and share what they know about castles. The teacher remains the moderator of the discussion and he calls for their attention when he realized they have had enough brainstorming. Self-determination theory is evident in this case study. The teacher raises the interest of the students by making them to participate in class discussion. The teacher asks the class to use colour pens in trying to differentiate between Motto and Bailey Castle by looking at the presented image. The students are eager to take part in the class discussion. They give various reasons for the existence of castles. The teacher takes part by trying to elaborate some of the points or seeking further clarification from the students. The students give various reasons as to why they think castles are significant. Cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes owing to biological maturation as well as environmental experience. Children conjure up an understanding of the world around them, and then experience discrepancies between what they discover in the environment and what they already know (Phillips & Soltis, 2009). The cast study shows the ability of the students to give various answers according to the environment they have been brought up into. They have various understanding of what existence of castles means to them. Conclusion Learning entails the acquisition of new, reinforcing and modification, existing behavior, knowledge, preferences and skills or values. Learning involves a developmental cognitive process where learners or students create knowledge and not just receiving it. It has been noted that learners exist in diverse environments. Learners can be found wherever learning takes place. There are various theories of learning that explain how learning takes place. Information processing theory enables the learners to process what they have learnt. Information is retrieved from both the long term and short term memory. Multiple intelligences enable learners to use different abilities in the acquisition of knowledge. Self-determination theory encourages the use of curiosity, challenge and control of activity in the learning process. The students the case study are able to employ various theories of learning. The teacher takes in charge of the class during the class discussion and getting the feedback from the students. Learning is universal and takes place anywhere. Environment and experience influence as well as biological and psychological factor affect learning. References Brown, B. & Ryoo, K. (2008). Teaching Science as a Language: A "Content-First" Approach to Science Teaching, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 45 (5): 529–53 Gardner, H (1983). Art, mind and brain: A cognitive approach to creativity. Basic Books: USA. Heidegger, M. (1968). What is called thinking? (J. Gray, trans.). New York: Harper & Row. Hilgard, E.R. & Bower, G.H. (1975). Theories of learning. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, Inc. Myers, D.G. (2008). Exploring Psychology. New York, New York: Worth. p. 222. Piaget, J. (1936). Origins of intelligence in the child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Phillips, D. C., & Soltis, J. F. (2009). Perspectives on Learning (Fifth). New York: Teachers College Press. Taylor, E.W. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Jossey-Bass. pp. 5–15 Wadsworth, B. J. (2004). Piaget's theory of cognitive and affective development: Foundations of constructivism. Longman Publishing. Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don't students like school? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Read More