Understanding Ones Personal Learning Style - Essay Example

Personal Learning Theory, what is it and how can it relate with Erikson's Theory and how would Personal Learning Theory with Erikson's Theory be usedin a classroom with ages 3 to 7 years old with autism and deafness In education and psychology learning and the understanding of the learning process helps to understand why people behave the way they do. Learning affects people throughout their lives: in school; at home or on the job. Understanding one's personal learning style or method can help a person organize their own learning activities. Actually there are two main perspectives in learning theories: Constructivism considers learning as a process in which the learner builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge. Constructivist learning is a very personal endeavor, where by internalized concepts, rules, and general principles may consequently be applied in a practical real world context. According to this theory, the teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to find principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems, usually in collaboration with others. This collaboration is also known as knowledge construction as a social process. Some benefits of this social process are: 1) Students can work to clarify and organize their ideas, so they can voice them to others. 2) It gives them opportunities to elaborate on what they learned. 3) They are exposed to the views of others. 4) It enables them to discover flaws and inconsistencies (Ormrod, 2003, p.232). Well, there are key points of this theory: constructivists believe that learning is constructed by a student through two processes - the resolution of conflict and reflection about theory. Discovery learning is preferred over expository teaching. The learner determines the best way of learning, and that learning should not be externally determined and controlled. Discovery learning increases motivation to learn, and also produces better long-term memory. Cognitive theorists such as Jean Piaget and David Ausubel, and others, were concerned with the changes in a student's understanding that result from learning and with the fundamental importance of the environment. Constructivism itself has many variations, such as Generative Learning, Cognitive Apprenticeship, Problem-Based (Inquiry) Learning, Discovery Learning, situated learning. Constructivism promotes a student's free exploration within a given framework or structure. So, this theory considers that learning must be meaningful. Cognitive learning is based on schemata or mental structures by which students organize their perceived environment. Schematic structures of cognitive development change by the process of assimilation and accommodation. Behaviorism is a system of thought which hold that only strictly observable phenomena are worthy of psychological study. Behaviorism in an educational theory grounded on the works of B.F.Skinner and Ivan Pavlov, both scientists well known for their studies in animal behavior. Behaviorists believe that organisms need reinforcements to keep them interested and that the use of stimuli can be very effective in controlling behavior. Due to this theory environment shapes behavior, and complex learning requires a series of small, progressive steps. In education behaviorism defines learning process as follows: a)diagnose student's behavior; b)establish a sequence of reinforces steps, or remove reinforcement that is producing negative behavior, to move the student to the desired behavior; c)wait for the desired response, and reinforce it ("Learning and Learning theory"). In behaviorism theory of learning concerned with observable behavior, learning is defined as nothing more than the acquisition of new behavior. A key to getting students actively implicated in learning lies in understanding of learning style preferences, which can positively or negatively influence a student's performance. It has also been shown that adjusting teaching materials to meet the needs of a variety of learning styles benefits all students. A personal learning style is a generalized description of the way you receive and process information. Not all people learn alike, of course. A variety of questionnaires have been developed over the years that help to assess your personality type or learning style preferences (appendix 1). In education it's very important to understand your personal learning style preferences, because this knowledge creates the most efficient way to comprehend and recall what you have chosen to learn (appendix 2). There are three learning styles in education: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual. Kinesthetic learning is tactile learning or learning by doing. A kinesthetic child learns best with hands on activities. Children who have a hard time sitting still are often kinesthetic learners. Auditory learning is learning by hearing. Kids who learn well when read to out loud, listening to tapes, etc. are examples of auditory learners. They often repeat back what they hear. Visual learning is learning by seeing. Kids who like to visualize things and like to learn by pictures or movies are considered to be visual learners. They often use the terms "I see", when they understand something. When they read something in a book, they can often remember which page it was on, and where it was located on that page. Some people grasp information best by reading, while others learn better through listening or discovering concepts in a hands-on fashion. The way that you prefer to learn is a major contributor to your personality and temperament. According to the questionnaire, my personal learning style is the following: Kinesthetic Learner - 20%, Auditory Learner - 41%, Visual Learner - 37% (appendix 2). As a teacher with such personal learning style it is very important to find the ways in education of 3-7 years olds children with autism and deafness, because for deaf children using of visual learning is the best for beginning. And children with autism also perceive educational process better with kinesthetic and visual learning, and with auditory learning a bit. So, it is very important to define the right ways of children's education and development, and Erikson tried to show these ways of child's development in his theory: children move through a series of stage as they develop. During each stage they encounter crises that need to be resolved. If not resolved, the children encounter difficulties later on. Erikson's Psychosocial Theory places more emphasis on social and environmental factors. Erikson's work emphasizes the importance of children's environments and the varying roles of the teacher and teacher's personal learning style, parent, and peer. Teachers can have significant impact on how students feel about themselves. An educational system provides all the aspects of learning included in Erikson's theory of personal and social development, this theory gives opportunities to provide many educational programs both in and outside the classroom. A school needs to have a safe and nurturing environment that allows each and every student to experience success thus helping develop his or her social, cultural and emotional identity as well as learning the necessary academic skills. Each teacher needs to find ways to insure that each child has the opportunity to be successful and continue their development. It is important for educators to keep in mind Erikson's stages of development and create activities that help each child move from one stage to the next, the learners to be willing to participate and play an active role in their education. Each child has his or her own learning style; they have their own strengths and weakness, so the educational process needs to have a variety of learning styles available to the learners. As having differences in learning styles, there are also many different assessment styles that can be used including formal, informal and authentic task assessment as examples. Teachers need to be just as creative in assessment as in teaching styles. According to the Erikson's theory it is useful for children work with other members of the community for developing of activities and to be a part of the community and the society, so teacher's personal learning style has to include collaborating and working with all members of the community (of the class) to insure opportunities to provide a well-rounded education for learners. Well, now about how personal learning style and Erikson's theory would be used in a classroom with children of 3 - 7 years old with autism and deafness. Autism (AW-tizm) is a problem in the way a child's brain has developed. It's not a disease, or an infection that can spread from person to person. Children with autism have trouble with: looking at other children, playing with other children, communicating, signing or speaking, showing imagination. These children like to do the same things over and over again. They can be very good at certain things, like Math or Music. Some people say that children with autism "act like they are deaf" because they do not look at you or answer when you call them. But hearing aids do not fix this problem for hearing children or for deaf children. For a long time, people thought that problems caused by autism were really caused by deafness. But deaf children use their eyes to learn about the world. They love to watch other people. Even before they start speaking or signing, they learn how to make people understand them (like by using gestures). But deaf children with autism don't do this well ("Autism"). In Erikson's theory stage III is Play Age, children at ages 3 to 5 years. During this stage children learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about efforts to be independent. They make up stories with Barbie's and Ken's, toy phones and cars. They begin to use the word "why". So, for children with autism and deafness, personal learning style of teacher needs include individual education program with classroom activities. For this age such classroom activities as games with toys (children need practical adoptions for common toys), pictures of toys, nature and different places which help learners to describe environment. Communicative situations with using toys and pictures can teach children with autism to smile and to say few words, such as "Good morning" and "Good bye". Music is also can be used in this process, it helps establish ear dominance. Listening music the child can draw, paint, play games, and work on puzzles, read, and do exercises to increase sensory awareness or to improve his or her balance and coordination. Deaf children are more communicative and they need more visual learning style in education: in playing activities they learn phone messages, with different signs draws and pictures these learners study world around them, with the help of dialogues with each other, their toys they learn to communicate. With Erikson's theory and teacher's personal learning style children learn to be a part of the world and society. Stage IV is School age: 6 to 12, Ego Development Outcome: Industry vs. Inferiority. Children of this age dedicate themselves to education and to learning the social skills their society requires of them, so there is a process of developing a sense of industry. Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior. Education in this age for learners with autism should be more communicative, it is useful for children to get opportunities for direct communication with peer, but not with toys, pictures and videos. Teacher's personal learning style needs to include methods for introducing and sustaining literacy through "hand-on" activities. It will be good to have the elements of auditory learning style, they needs to have their first knowledge in letters, word and books. Deaf children should continue the learning hearing aids, lip reading, and sign language, cued speech through communication not only with the parents and relatives, but with other children, with their friend in school, in the yards and so on. Education of the children with different disabilities takes more efforts and more time. But when families of these children, their teachers and peers, their friends, scientists try to help them to live happily, they feel themselves a part of society and can get top in this world. References 1. Ormrod, J.E. (2003). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. Fourth Edition. 2. Erickson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton. 3. Gordon, A.G. (1978). Rubella deafness and autism. J. Autism & Child. 4. Autism. What is autism From http://www.raisingdeafkids.org/special/autism/ 5. Boeree, C.C. (1997). Erik Erikson. From http://www.ship.edu/cgboeree/persontents.html 6. Learning and learning theory. From http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/leonb/learning_and_learning_theory.htm 7. What Is Your Personal Learning Style From http://www.howtolearn.com/lsinventory_teacher.html/ Appendix 1 Click on the statements you agree with: 1. I prefer to hear a book on tape rather than reading it. 2. When I put something together, I always read the directions first. 3. I prefer reading to hearing a lecture. 4. When I am alone, I usually have music playing or hum or sing. 5. I like playing sports more than reading books. 6. I can always tell directions like north and south no matter where I am. 7. I love to write letters or in a journal. 8. When I talk, I like to say things like, "I hear that sounds good or that rings a bell." 9. My room, desk, car or house is usually disorganized. 10. I love working with my hands and building or making things. 11. I know most of the words to the songs I listen to. 12. When others are talking, I usually am creating images in my mind of what they are saying. 13. I like sports and think I am a pretty good athlete. 14. It's easy to talk for long periods of time on the phone with my friends. 15. Without music, life isn't any fun. 16. I am very comfortable in social groups and can usually strike up a conversation with most anyone. 17. When looking at objects on paper, I can easily tell whether they are the same no matter which way they are turned. 18. I usually say things like, "I feel, I need to get a handle on it, or get a grip." 19. When I recall an experience, I mostly see a picture of it in my mind. 20. When I recall an experience, I mostly hear the sounds and talk to myself about it. 21. When I recall an experience, I mostly remember how I felt about it. 22. I like music more than art. 23. I often doodle when I am on the phone or in a meeting. 24. I prefer to act things out rather than write a report on them. 25. I like reading stories more than listening to stories. 26. I usually speak slowly. 27. I like talking better than writing. 28. My handwriting is not usually neat. 29. I generally use my finger to point when I read. 30. I can multiply and add quickly in my head. 31. I like spelling and think I am a good speller. 32. I get very distracted if someone talks to me when the TV is on. 33. I like to write down instructions that people give me. 34. I can easily remember what people say. 35. I learn best by doing. 36. It is hard for me to sit still for very long. Appendix 2 Click on the statements you agree with: 1. I prefer to hear a book on tape rather than reading it. 2. When I put something together, I always read the directions first. 3. I prefer reading to hearing a lecture. 4. When I am alone, I usually have music playing or hum or sing. 5. I like playing sports more than reading books. 6. I can always tell directions like north and south no matter where I am. 7. I love to write letters or in a journal. 8. When I talk, I like to say things like, "I hear ya, that sounds good or that rings a bell." 9. My room, desk, car or house is usually disorganized. 10. I love working with my hands and building or making things. 11. I know most of the words to the songs I listen to. 12. When others are talking, I usually am creating images in my mind of what they are saying. 13. I like sports and think I am a pretty good athlete. 14. It's easy to talk for long periods of time on the phone with my friends. 15. Without music, life isn't any fun. 16. I am very comfortable in social groups and can usually strike up a conversation with most anyone. 17. When looking at objects on paper, I can easily tell whether they are the same no matter which way they are turned. 18. I usually say things like, "I feel, I need to get a handle on it, or get a grip." 19. When I recall an experience, I mostly see a picture of it in my mind. 20. When I recall an experience, I mostly hear the sounds and talk to myself about it. 21. When I recall an experience, I mostly remember how I felt about it. 22. I like music more than art. 23. I often doodle when I am on the phone or in a meeting. 24. I prefer to act things out rather than write a report on them. 25. I like reading stories more than listening to stories. 26. I usually speak slowly. 27. I like talking better than writing. 28. My handwriting is not usually neat. 29. I generally use my finger to point when I read. 30. I can multiply and add quickly in my head. 31. I like spelling and think I am a good speller. 32. I get very distracted if someone talks to me when the TV is on. 33. I like to write down instructions that people give me. 34. I can easily remember what people say. 35. I learn best by doing. 36. It is hard for me to sit still for very long. Your Learning Style Preferences: You are a... 37% Visual Learner 41% Auditory Learner 20% Kinesthetic Learner Read More