Module 2: Thoughts About Theories of Intelligence

(sorry, this is the missing information in my checklist )

How do you know if a person is intelligent?

A person is intelligent if he:

1. Thinks sensibly
2. Acts with a purpose in mind
3. Knows how to effectively adapt to the environment where he lives

How does an intelligent person behave?

I believe that being intelligent is more than answering trivia correctly or getting a perfect score in a test. An intelligent person:

1. Make smart decisions. He knows that his actions have corresponding consequences. It takes great focus and mastery for one to make smart decision.
2. Learn from his mistakes. Living a better and successful life is a matter of trial and error about the decisions that we make. However if we make mistakes, we learn from it by not doing that same mistakes again and we move on.
3. Personally seek for questions that he doesn’t know the answer. Most scientists exhibit this kind of behavior. Like Newton, by asking why that apple fall onto his head, he did research and experiments and discovers gravity and later come up with the three Laws of Motion.
4. Surrounds himself with intelligent people too.
5. He is imaginative and creative in making use of his environment to accomplish tasks.
6. Reason out. Due to his genes or upbringing, he has great skills in critical thinking, logical reasoning, scientific method and even cause and effect.

I have an observation though: most intelligent people are famous, businessmen, have high educational attainment and social status.

How does an intelligent person learn? An intelligent person:

1. Learns fast with minimum guidance and likes solving challenging problems.
2. Can readily understand what he reads and could recall and retain information.
3. Recognizes relationships and pattern.
4. Organizes his thoughts systematically.
5. Thinks critically and reflectively.
6. Can speak a language fluently or can speak several languages.
7. Curious about his surroundings, a keen observer, responds quickly and accurately.
8. Creative and has great interest in different subjects of learning.
9. Has a logical and systematic way of explaining things.

Do you regard yourself intelligent?  

Yes I do.

In what ways? I believe I am intelligent in aspects of decision making. Before I make a decision, I usually study the pros and cons of the matter and then become aware of the possible consequences of both possibilities. Sometimes I argue with my own argument J for the purpose of making the right decision. Second, I am curious about things and events that happen around me and so I search information and sometimes get involved in it. Third, I tend to ask logical questions to understand things better and if I cannot find answer to my questions, I end up reading books and searching information on the internet. Fourth, since I am a foreigner in my current location, I use my knowledge and skill to adapt the foreign culture but not forget my own culture. Fifth, I am creative in my work — keep on reading and thinking innovative ways on how to improve my craft. Sixth, I am aware that everyone is unique and so I know how to deal with different types of people based from their overt behavior.  Seventh, I don’t jump to conclusion impulsively. I listen to reasons, study hard and analyze factors that cause such behaviors. Eight, I am happy to where I am right now and always think positive amidst failures (though I cry at times L) and challenges and motivates myself to move on and try again.

How have your personal views about intelligence affected the way you approach learning (and teaching if you teach)

In my own standpoint, I view intelligence as a cognitive and social tool on how people live their life. In learning, I am goal-oriented; I create a timetable, a task list and used them to organize my learning schedule and work. I’m systematic in carrying out tasks and sorting information. I also do some note taking to help me recall past information quickly. I think thoroughly before making a decision and I organize my thoughts before expressing them.

As for teaching, it’s quite a bit different. First thing is that, I view my students as unique, diverse, dynamic and interactive individual. They possess different forms and levels of intelligence, different family background and social orientation and different ways on how they study. They are many with many varying characteristics —- and I am only one. I have to see the big picture and break them down into small, feasible and simpler way of addressing this variability. That is — differentiation in teaching techniques and learning process of the learner. I need to fully understand the need and characteristics of my students; set learning goals based from their abilities and guide them towards achieving learning goals. By using different activities that caters to different forms of intelligence in every learning session I can reach out the diversity of intelligence of my students. In this way, I am giving equal opportunity for my students to succeed in their learning and also discover what they are good at. Another thing, I also inculcate in them the value of learning from mistakes and accepting their weaknesses so they can learn how to cope with failure and successfully overcome it. Lastly, I don’t judge my students’ intelligence based from the numbers that they get in the test, but rather I value the processes that they do, attitude that they show and their interaction with other students in the class so they can perform a task.

Final Entry: Changing Perspectives?

Revisit your previous logs and blogs.  Assess how your perspectives on learning and teaching have become reinforced or revised. Cite how specific theories are relevant.

BEHAVIORISM THEORY

How does learning occur: A response is performed in the presence of three-term contingency: discriminative stimulus ==> Response==> reinforcing stimulus. A discriminative stimulus and is followed by reinforcing stimulus. The likelihood of response being performed in the future in the presence of that discriminative stimulus is increased. To build complex behavior, needs shaping which consist of the three-term contingency, where gradual estimate to the desired form is successfully reinforced. Also, developmental status and reinforcement history affects learning. Responses to given stimuli are strengthened through repeated reinforcement. So, when learners can transfer stimulus-response to more general and new situations learning has occurred.

Learners’ role: A blank slate; or passive learner to stimulus-response and need to participate in his/her environment and the process in order to learn.

Teachers’ role: Determine the right reinforcement that will increase the desired behaviors and learning. So teachers need to present learners with structured materials (stimuli) and prompts them for the right response.

Role of motivation:  Learners are motivated by extrinsic rewards. They are not held to be individually accountable for their learning, because they are simply responding to their environment.

Implication for Instructions: First, learning needs establishing responses to discriminative stimuli and practice is needed to strengthen response. Second, complex skills can be established by shaping progressive, small approximations to the desired behavior. Third, instruction should have clear, measureable objectives, proceed in small steps, and deliver reinforcement. Fourth, contingency contract is needed.  Contingency contract is a written or oral agreement between teacher and learner specifying what works the learner must finish to earn a particular reinforce is needed. Fifth, this is best for teaching task-based learning involving lower-order thinking skills such as remembering understanding and applying.

Behaviorism Theory is similar to Cognitive Information Processing Theory since it separates learning from the will of the learner. Behaviorism attributes learning and change to environmental influence.  Cognitive theory, learning is gained through sensory experience which is directly influenced by the person’s environment.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

How does learning occur: Learning occurs by doing (enactively) and by observing, reading and listening (vicariously). Observational learning involves four processes: attention, retention, production and motivation. We learn from our social environment; however, since learners learn through observation alone, learning occurs without a change in behavior.

Learners’ Role: Learners are active either by doing the task (where they serve as a model to others) or by observing other people. Similarly, they do not just observe the behavior but also the outcome of that behavior. Also, they need to believe that they are capable of accomplishing tasks (self-efficacy).

Teachers Role: Serve as a model and so they must model the appropriate behavior. The teacher must expose students to different types of models.  Use social learning theories to help learner self-regulate conversations and behaviors too. Lastly, teacher needs to set realistic expectations for learners’ academic accomplishments.

Role of motivation: For observational learning to be effective, the learner must be motivated to imitate behavior. In order to achieve this final step, reinforcement and punishment may be beneficial. These external motivators can be effective, but simply witnessing them may be enough; for instance, if a peer is given five minutes longer at recess for being on time, you may be motivated to come to class early.

Implication for Instructions: Begin with social influences such as models and gradually shift to self-influences as learners internalize skills and strategies. Second, determine how instruction affects learning and learner’s self-efficacy. Teachers’ self-efficacy affects instruction because efficacious teachers help promote student learning better. Third, learners should be encouraged to set goals and assess goal progress. In addition, reciprocal determinism is an important factor that affects social learning theory. It says that a person’s behavior, environment, and personal qualities all reciprocally influence each other.

Social Learning Theory is similar to cognitive theory wherein interpretation of human learning is in cognitive form. The awareness and expectations of future reinforcement or punishment have an impact on the behavior shown by the learner. So this theory serves as the bridge between behaviorism and cognitive theories of learning. Also, work like tutoring and mentoring reflect the social cognitive principles.

COGNITIVE THEORY (Information Processing)

How does learning occur: Encoding or learning occurs when information is stored in our long-term memory. Information initially enters the information processing system through a sensory register after it is attended to. It then is perceived by being compared with information in long-term memory and enters the short-term or working memory. This information can stay activated, be transferred to long-term memory or be lost. Factors that help encoding are meaningfulness, elaboration, organization and links with schema (organized memory structures composed of related information) structures. Also, memory is the key component in information processing system. The memory receives information and through associative networks links it with other information in memory.

Learners’ Role: As “information processor”; passive in acquiring knowledge and so there is a need to consciously look for connections between prior knowledge and new information by transforming, rehearsing, storing and retrieving them. This information is received through their senses and the environment determines what the learner is exposed to. Since learners are passive in acquiring knowledge so they can choose what knowledge can they gain; their actions are a consequence of their thinking.

Teachers’ Role: Create an organize environment where learning is facilitated through the use of many senses and structured practice. Teacher must provide learners with strategies that allow them to connect new knowledge to existing knowledge.

Role of motivation: Uses both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  Intrinsic is shown by the active role played by the individual.  This includes such things as concept mapping and prior knowledge. Those who are externally motivated are more likely to use strategies that work for short-term performance (like cramming the night before a test), but do not lead to understanding and effective information processing over the long-term.

Implication for Instructions: The transformation and flow of information is through cognitive system. Information must be presented in a way that students can relate the new information to known information (meaningfulness) and that they understand the uses for the knowledge. Likewise, learning must be structured so that it builds on existing knowledge and can be clearly comprehended by learners. Moreover, teachers should provide advance organizers and cues that learners can use to recall information when needed and that minimize cognitive load. Lastly, this theory is best applied in teaching problem-solving involving higher-order thinking skills such as understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating.

Cognitive Theory or Information Processing Theory is similar to Schema Theory that explains how learners organized memory structures which are made up of related information. So, both have stages of memory that stores and build information based from previous knowledge. Cognitive theory relates learning to the learners’ exposure to his environment while in Schema Theory it’s the learners’ previous schema that affects learning.

CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY

How does learning occur: Learners form or construct their own understandings of knowledge and skills. The environment and social factors affects learners in constructing knowledge.

• Piaget’s theory emphasizes equilibration or the process of making internal cognitive structures and external reality consistent.
• Vygotsky’s theory places a heavy emphasis on the role of social factors and learning.

So, learning occurs when learners used their knowledge in a real-world situation.

Learners’ role: An active participant in building interpretations of the world based on individual experiences. Learners use the tools of their culture such as language and symbols to construct meaning.

Teachers’ role:  To structure the learning environment so that learners can construct their own understandings. Teachers help learners in exploring topics that depend on dialogues consisting of open-ended questions to encourage learners to analyze, interpret and predict information to create new meanings.

Role of motivation: From Piaget’s perspective, learners are intrinsically motivated because they must be self-directed and actively interest. While in social constructivism, values and attributions can vary by culture. As we grow and develop as members of our community, we adopt the cultural norms, attitudes, and beliefs. As a result, what may be intrinsically motivating to one individual may hold little interest for another.

Implication for Instructions: The provision of instructional support or scaffolding assists learners to maximize learning in their zone of proximal development. ZPD is determined by our prior knowledge. As we gain knowledge, our ZPD is raised to a new level and we work to succeed at more challenging tasks.  This theory promotes on using curricula customized to the students’ prior knowledge and hands-on problem solving which involves higher order thinking skills.

Piaget’s schema theory that explains how learners develop organized memory structures that consist of related information is similar to cognitive theory since both deals with memory about previous knowledge to build a new one. Also, it explains that our cognitive development evolves through time.

In conclusion, learning theories provide a pedagogical basis for understanding how learners learn. As McLeod’s says “Each theoretical perspective offers benefits to designers but the perspectives must be taken into context depending upon the situation, performance goal(s), and learners. And since the context in which the learning takes place can be dynamic and multi-dimensional, some combination of the learning theories and perhaps others should be considered and incorporated into the instructional design process to provide optimal learning.”

Describe how the activities (discussions, blogs, etc) have facilitated (or hampered) the evolution of your perspectives on learning and teaching.

In the first two week of learning EDS 103 I was so engaged and at pace with my learning. I can attribute my working schedule and the weight of the activity in this class result to my engagement in the discussion fora and e-journal. However after that, I really struggled since the pressure of my work and my study time are at a clash. Ironic to say, I have to read my EDS lesson after my afternoon class but the quality of my reading wasn’t so high that I have to repeat reading when I get home. In my goal to write a better output, I encounter difficulty on how I can organize my thoughts and incorporate it to the topic that we are learning. I feel sad that I take my working hours to have an extra time in my study. Meaning to say, I spend more time studying than work at school.  The good thing is, as I study the more I apply my learning in my teaching that even my foreign co-teachers have observed; but still my performance as a learner with regards to speed and schedule lags 😦

How have my perspectives changed (or been affirmed)?

Ever since this class opens,  my perspective as a teacher has changed. Some of the changes that I made were:

• Redecorating my classroom, starting from the door, to the bulletin boards, and cupboards — they all signifies motivation for learning. This was influenced by my understanding of classical conditioning. By doing this redecoration I’m setting the mood of my students for learning.
• Posting agreed upon classroom rules. This was influenced by operant conditioning and modeling. For every rule followed comes a reward either a plus mark or praises and other students practice this behavior. While for breaking rules, a minus mark or negative consequences that hinder the behavior to happen again.
• Conduct priming when some of the physics problems like vector resolution were so complex for them to understand, this result in students getting high marks in the exam.
• Emphasis on collaborative activity in the formative stage whether the activity calls for a problem solving, reporting or experiments. This result in learning where weak students got more understanding and confidence than they do the activity alone.
• I become aware of the term cue sheets, scaffolding, ZPD, reciprocal determinism which I unknowingly been practicing as a teacher J I also become aware of the term “verbal thinking” that before I considered it as noise and annoying especially when I let the class do an individual task. However, now I understand that they are just saying out loud what they are thinking so they can be comfortable in solving the given problem.
• Emphasis on primacy-recency effect. Unlike before, I usually spend the first 10 minutes of the time either reviewing previous lessons and unfinished task, but now I use the first ten minutes to give emphasis on what we are going to learn and give the important points of the topic, then I proceed to the activity whether it is individual, pair or group and last is the closure or conclusion about we’ve learned. I also learned to divide my 80-minute class into series of learning episodes to break the boredom and pressure of learning on the part of the students.

What views do I continue to weigh?

I feel like I didn’t understand much about the application of multiple intelligence and learning styles in my teaching. I tried to integrate some of those characteristics in my teaching but for it to be effective I have to redesign my lesson plans and extend the learning time. Considering that I have six different subjects in a week, it will be too taxing on my part. Sad to say, this is the topic that cause a domino effect in my performance and speed of accomplishing task. 😦

What reasons push me to ponder about my views?

I feel like and I observed that most of my students from Grade 7-9 have different types of intelligence and learning styles and so the idea of integrating these two principles in my teaching would be very helpful so I can help them reach their potential in learning.

What good reasons may there be to justify the shifts in my perspectives?

I’m not actually shifting from one perspective to another. I realized that I’ve been practicing the theories that we are learning here in the class without my knowing due to my limited theoretical background about teaching. That’s why if you try to read my journal, most of my posts come to a realization and making connection of the theory or principle to the actions and behavior that I manifested in my teaching. So this time, I am matching the right principle to the actions that I practice and analyze why it works or did not work and how can I make it better. I feel excited about it and every time my realization works I am so enthused that I share it with my foreign co-teachers who have the same condition as me that sometimes we have an educational argument about it 🙂

Can I support my claim that I am evolving into a better learner?

In my personal view, learning EDS 103 opens my eyes to the importance of understanding different theories of learning, its pros and cons, and how I can apply it in my teaching. I thought before, anyone can be a teacher and it’s easy to be a teacher. Nevertheless, aside from passion to teach, it takes great knowledge and time to fully understand the concepts behind teaching and learning for a person to become a better teacher. Also, performance wise and beating deadline in this subject is where I struggled much.

Can I support my claim that I am evolving into a better teacher?

Now that I have the knowledge and the experience about teaching and learning, I’m proud to say that I am evolving into a better teacher. 🙂

What THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES UNDERPIN my perspectives, old and new?

Based from our study I discovered that I was more inclined in cognitive (information processing) and cognitive and social constructivism theory. Since I am teaching science, I usually give much emphasis on the process of building knowledge and relating that knowledge into the daily life activities of my students in their respective community. In my search for information to make my lesson I usually make examples that are present in the surroundings of my students so they can see the importance of what we are learning in the classroom to the life outside the classroom. Likewise, since I’m teaching using the second language, students find it easy to understand the topic if I will let them do “hands-on” activities whether its simulation, board work or experiment.

How do my views reflect on my PERSONAL EPISTEMOLOGICAL THEORIES—i.e., my personal beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowledge acquisition?

This time I’ve been thinking… Learning and Teaching is like baking. 🙂 Given the right recipe (from many choices of recipes), ingredient, materials and apparatus in baking, following the right process of choosing the ingredient, measuring, mixing, temperature and time we can make a delicious, fluffy and moist cake. Without the right process of searching for information about recipe in baking, reading and understanding its process, practicing how to do it and observing/ or experiencing its result, one cannot say that he/she bakes a cake. We can only be proud to say that we baked a cake if we undergo the process that I’ve mentioned. By showing the cake to other people to taste and give their comments about it is the fulfillment of that process. That cake can never be accomplished without the person’s motivation to bake. That— describes learning.

Learning is a continuous process of acquiring knowledge.  My surroundings, emotions, genes, previous knowledge, hands-on activities, motivation, learning styles are just some of the factors that affect the way I learn. If I can use that knowledge and brings improvement in my personal life, in my work and in the community where I live I know that I learned.

THANK YOU TEACHER MALOU 🙂 I may have a hard time in the course of my learning but I am happy that I “mentally” grow. I just hope that I can continue to use what I learned in this subject into my teaching…

Until next time… 🙂

Marie

Reference:

http://atibook.ir/dl/en/Others/Education/9780137071951_learning_theories_an_educational_perspective_6th_edition.pdf

My Brain and Computer

K COMPUTER

The K computer is named for the Japanese word “kei”, meaning 10 quadrillion (10¹⁶) is a supercomputer made by Fujitsu, presently installed at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for computational Science campus in Kobe, Japan.

The K computer is based on distributed memory which is a multiprocessor computer system in which each processor has its own private memory.

Computational task can only operate on local data, and if remote data is needed, the computational task must communicate with one or more remote processors.  It has over 80 000 computer nodes. It is used for different applications, including climate research, disaster prevention and medical research. It’s operating system (OS) is based on Linux Kernel with additional drivers designed to make use of the computer’s hardware.

In June 2011, TOP500 ranked K computer as the world’s fastest supercomputer, with computation speed of over 8 petaflops (floating-point operations per second). In November 2011, it became the first computer to top 10 petaflops.

In June 2012, it was superseded as the world’s fastest supercomputer by the American IBM Sequoia which has a performance of 16.32 petaflops, 55% faster than the K computer’s 10.51 petaflops, having 123% more cores than the K computer’s 705,024 cores.

Sequoia is also more energy efficient, as it consumes 7.9 MW, 37% less than the K computer’s 12.6 MW.The entire supercomputer runs on Linux.

As of November 2014, K is the world’s fourth-fastest computer.

Here’s a comparison between a K-computer and Human Brain:

The above statistics clearly give a glimpse of unparalleled potential of the human brain. The human brain like all the computing devices, too works on electricity. The electricity is produced in our body using the food as a fuel. It’s fascinating to know that our brain is 12000 K-computers combined together and yet takes only 25 Watts energy as compared to 100 000 000 000 Watts, that would be used by these computers.

HUMAN BRAIN

The human brain is perhaps the most complex living structure known in the universe. The human brain is the command center for the human nervous system. It receives input from the sensory organs and sends output to the muscles. The human brain has the same basic structure as other mammal brains, but is larger in relation to body size than any other brains.

• The human brain is the largest brain of all vertebrates relative to body size
• It weighs about 1.5 kilograms
• The brain makes up about 2 percent of a human’s body weight
• The cerebrum makes up 85 percent of the brain’s weight
• It has an estimated 100 billion neuronswhich is called the “gray matter”passing signals to each other via as many as 1,000 trillion synaptic connections
• It contains billions of nerve fibers (axons and dendrites) called the “white matter”
• These neurons are connected by trillions of connections called synapses

• Estimates of the human brain’s memory capacity vary wildly from 1 to 1,000 terabytes (for comparison, the 19 million volumes in the US Library of Congress represents about 10 terabytes of data).
• It continuously receives and analyzes sensory information, responding by controlling all bodily actions and functions.
• It is also the centre of higher-order thinking, learning and memory, and gives us the power to think, plan, speak, imagine, dream, reason and experience emotions.

ANATOMY OF THE BRAIN

 

The largest part of the human brain is the cerebrum, which is divided into two hemispheres (left and right hemispheres). The left and right hemispheres are connected by a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. The hemispheres are strongly, though not entirely, symmetrical.

• The left brain controls all the muscles on the right-hand side of the body;contains regions involved in speech and language (Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area), and is also associated with mathematical calculation and fact retrieval
• The right brain controls the left side.It plays a role in visual and auditory processing, spatial skills and artistic ability — more instinctive or creative things,

One hemisphere may be slightly dominant, as with left- or right-handedness.

Underneath lies the brainstem, and behind that sits the cerebellum. The outermost layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, which consists of four lobes: the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and the occipital lobe.

The cerebral cortex is greatly enlarged in human brains, and is considered the seat of complex thought. Visual processing takes place in the occipital lobe, near the back of the skull. The temporal lobe processes sound and language, and includes the hippocampus and amygdala, which play roles in memory and emotion, respectively. The parietal lobe integrates input from different senses and is important for spatial orientation and navigation.

The brainstem connects to the spinal cord and consists of the medulla oblongata, pons and midbrain. The primary functions of the brainstem include: relaying information between the brain and the body; supplying some of the cranial nerves to the face and head; and performing critical functions in controlling the heart, breathing and consciousness.

Between the cerebrum and brain stem lie the thalamus and hypothalamus.

• The thalamus relays sensory and motor signals to the cortex and is involved in regulating consciousness, sleep and alertness.
• The hypothalamus connects the nervous system to the endocrine system — where hormones are produced — via the pituitary gland.

The cerebellum lies beneath the cerebrum and has important functions in motor control. It plays a role in coordination and balance, and may also have some cognitive functions.

COMPUTER AND HUMAN BRAIN (AN ANALOGY)

Brains can be compared to computers as information processors, since:

1. Neurons are on/off devices that can represent digital information.
2. The brain has input/output channels (our senses) as a computer does.
3. The brain works by electricity as computers do.
4. As a computer has many transistors so the brain has many neurons (about 100 billion neurons) 

In contrast:

1. For computers to do what people do needs a different type processing.
   • While the brain’s design is relatively consistent between people due to genetics, a computer’s design is whatever its designers choose it to be.
2. Computers that work with people can combine the strengths of both.

Like a computer, the human brain inputs, processes, stores and outputs information. A comparison of human and computer information processing suggests basic differences in:

Nature’s solution to the information processing problem is the brain, an electro-magnetic information processor which is unpredictable but not random, complex but not slow, adaptable but not unreliable, structured but not unchangeable, receptive but not input defined, and not only responds to potentially infinite variability in real time, but can also conceive of itself and form social groups.

To try to design computers to do everything that people do seems both unnecessary and undesirable, as computers are not responsible for their acts. In the human-computer relationship people are, and must be, the senior partner. A readjustment seems needed in research and development, to move from technology centered computing to human centered computing. The future of computing lies in identifying significant human activities and designing computer systems to support them. We need not computer excellence, but human-computer excellence.

HUMAN BRAIN AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION

Just like a computer, the brain has many programs (software) like the ones that allow us to move, think and make decisions.To operate, a computer uses software, a set of instructions to tell it what to do. Our brains use instructions too. Those instructions are like software—bits of information that include our knowledge, attitudes and beliefs.  A computer’s working memory is the Random Access Memory (RAM). When RAM is overloaded, the computer takes a long time to process information back and forth between temporary storage and permanent storage. Adding more RAM which is expensive, the computer will get really fast. The human has a limited amount of RAM and so its processing (thinking) is always slow, needing much effort.

The “Environment” is continuously providing information and the short –term or working memory holds information that we are actively thinking about and is aware of the environment. The long term memory stores what has been learned. This knowledge resides outside of our awareness and is recalled into working memory only when needed.

Critical thinking process happens in the working memory when information from the environment is combined with knowledge from the long term memory to construct new knowledge. Critical thinking is slow, and needs concentration. For critical thinking to occur there must be sufficient space in working memory. Critical thinking becomes increasingly difficult as working memory gets crowded. A math problem requiring several steps is hard to solve in our head because the steps occupy so much space in working memory that it is difficult to keep the steps organized.

However, when new knowledge is fully understood and successfully stored it in long term memory, it has been learned. We remember what we actively think about. The application of knowledge is performance.

INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

Information processing models consist of a series of stages, or boxes, which represent stages of processing. Arrows indicate the flow of information from one stage to the next.

Input processes are concerned with the analysis of the stimuli.

Storage processes cover everything that happens to stimuli internally in the brain and can include coding and manipulation of the stimuli.

Output processes are responsible for preparing an appropriate response to a stimulus.

 In terms of your ability to learn, are there ways that you wish you were more like a computer? Or are you better than any computer in all aspects of processing information? Explain.

 Based from facts and points of comparison between computer and human brain, I can say that there are great differences between computer and human brain in terms of information processing. However, considering this question right now, honestly, I wish I am a computer so I can quickly finish and comply all the requirements needed here in EDS 103 🙂 . Computers work without getting tired and drained unlike me, as long as it is set to do a certain task. On the other hand, computers were made by human and it is obvious that our human brain is far way better than computer. Aside from speed and performance, computers have no emotional and social characteristics which are innate in human. For computers to be like human we first need to understand the very complex nature of our neurons and if they do, it will take hundreds of supercomputers to equalize the activities of one brain — not even a supercomputer like K and Sequoia. That’s how complex and fascinating our brain is. One more thing, if computer is worn out, it takes time to repair and a technician to fix it. For human if our brain is drained, it takes enough sleep to reset and we’re back in action. Therefore, as long as computers rely on sets of pre-installed instructions to perform tasks, they can’t be said to be more intelligent than humans. Only when computers can adapt and perform tasks outside their initial programming will they be truly intelligent. Until that time, computers are just very sophisticated computing device.

What is you remotest childhood memory?

I grew up with three brothers and one sister. The fact that I have three brothers I  play what they play; like flying a kite, making toy gun out banana stem and bamboo, making a slingshot, climbing trees and even fighting. We even play at night especially during moonlight nights wherein after dinner my eldest brother will tell us to go outside and play “patintero” or “hide and seek”. During summer time, we play and run along the rice paddies or sometimes go to the seashore to find some clams and mussels in the sand. When its rainy days, night time still is playtime. My elder brother will wear a long white t-shirt and imitate how a priest celebrates the mass, then me and my siblings will sing songs and act that we are in the church 🙂 . Sometimes we do charades too, by putting a white blanket on the wall, one of my brothers will use the flashlight as a spotlight to focus the action or sometimes use the flashlight to create a shadow.

As for learning, my mother taught us how to read, write, speak and listen in English. She would recite a poem or nursery rhymes like Hey Diddle Diddle, Jack and Jill, Humpty dumpty, London Bridge is falling down, Pussy cat and many more and we repeat after her. I also remember that when I’m finished practicing reading, she will ask me to teach other kids in the class to read and most of the kids that I teach with ended up crying… because they always get a snap for the wrong words that they’d read 🙂 (a very strict teacher huh…). When I was in Grade 1, my teacher let us memorize “Henny Penny” so at home I have to recite the poem very loud but I get upset every time I forget a line. However my mother listened to what I recited and she will fill in the line that I forget, she keeps on laughing while saying “I just listened to what you say and I’d already memorize it”.

Last, but not the least, every time I’m hungry, I usually show my tummy to my mother or father and tell them that it’s not bloated anymore. So, every time I do this, they already knew that I am hungry :); ironic to say, my son right now got the same habit as mine 🙂 Wow, this writing is like I’ m strolling down memory lane?

How long did it take you to retrieve those information?

That’s quite fast. As I started encoding, my childhood memories all come at a flash and I am smiling and telling myself that I was so naughty when I was a child.

What does that reveal about the nature of long-term memory? 

It means to say that my long-term memory is functioning very well regardless of time and condition that I am facing right now. I did not encounter any difficulty in retrieving the information about my childhood. As I am encoding it, thoughts of my childhood are so vivid and come spontaneously as if I was still in that time.

References and Image sources:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Keisoku-Fujitsu.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Distributed_Memory.jpeg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Sequoia6.1000pix.jpg

https://osuwmcdigital.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/ohiovalleypublic/images/usersmanual/braincom.gif

http://www.futuretimeline.net/22ndcentury/.jpg

neurons: http://scitechdaily.com/images/neurons-firing-tdcs.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_computer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Sequoia

http://techites.com/news/innovation/human-brain-the-impeccable-computer/

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/computer-intellectual-ability1.htm

http://crescentok.com/staff/jaskew/WebBased/brain.htm

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.117.691&rep=rep1&type=pdf

http://www.livescience.com/29365-human-brain.html

http://www.simplypsychology.org/memory.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/opinion/sunday/face-it-your-brain-is-a-computer.html?_r=0

Social Learning Theories on Distance Learning

An important behavior. In a distance learning environment, such as this course, what one particular behavior do you think is most important for learners to acquire?

Distance learning is a way of learning remotely without being in regular face-to-face contact with a teacher in the classroom. Its courses are equivalent to on-campus courses except that it is completed through an online learning management system. Students study in their own time; anywhere they are as long as there is a computer and an internet connection. Its main advantage is that it allows us to fit our learning around our work and family life.

In a distance learning environment, such as this course, what one particular behavior do you think is most important for learners to acquire?

 One particular behavior that I believe is the most important for learners to acquire is “Self-Efficacy”.

As a participant in this class, use social learning theories as basis to make recommendations on how students in distance learning can help other acquire this behavior.

Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to successfully perform a particular task. This concept of self-efficacy always remind us of the saying “If others can do it, I can definitely do it too” (verbal persuasion) or by seeing other people do things successfully (vicarious learning) we tell ourselves that we can also be successful in doing a specific task since we did a task before  and we become successful (past performance). If we believe that we can do things, our self-confidence and self-motivation is boost and it results to success of doing a certain task. Similarly, with self-efficacy it identifies our great effort and determination to do the task amidst the challenges that come our way. In terms of failure we have the capacity to regain our motivation and self-confidence and tell ourselves to try again having that great new enthusiasm to pursue in doing task until we succeed. Moreover, with self-efficacy distance learning is like learning at school — we are engaged, we interact with our classmates and teachers, we do  our test, do our assignments together,  and we have fun learning  (physiological state) despite of our individual differences, learning style, virtual distance and time differences.

Therefore, with distance learning we learn by observing and imitating our classmates on how they do work; we model our teachers’ techniques and strategies so that we can independently learn without much hassle and struggle. Also, we think and share our ideas and abilities to our group so we can all learn successfully. Besides, we need to stick to the semester plan and schedule of activities so that we can finish the task on time. Furthermore, we need to monitor our progress by checking the checklist in our course site to ensure that we respond to the given task promptly since we are the only one who can enhance our self- efficacy.

Image source:

http://www.ksouoel.com/assets/plugins/parallax-slider/img/3.png

http://distanceeducationinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/dep.png

References:

http://eeeducation.org/images/uni/97de5128faa24b8e1940ce9e767cc66b.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_education

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/distance-learning/what-is-distance-learning/

On Behaviorism

What are predominant practices in your home with respect to reinforcing behaviors and for modifying behaviors?

Since I have a pre-school child, practicing reinforcements is important so that at an early age he can understand its effect as he grows. The following are ways on how I reinforce behavior at home.

• I praise my child for doing a job like understanding how to keep his toys in box, throwing his soiled diapers in the rubbish bin, button and unbutton his shirt and doing a simple errand like wiping the table dry due to spilled water. I deliver the praise during the time that he is actually doing the task since I am guiding him to do the task and after he finishes the task. I speak with an enthusiastic voice to sound that I am thrilled of what he did. Sometimes I hug him or do high five or we smile together as he finish doing the task.
• I use fun time as a reward for good behavior. If he is moody and grumpy or very naughty, I usually say that he cannot get a new “Baymax robot” or “lego toy” or “go to the park to play” or “cannot watch his favorite TV show” if he remains like that.
• In the morning before he goes to school, I always tell him to be a friend to everyone in the class and share his toys with them so he can play with his friends’ toys too.
• I do prompts for him to do things or follow direction like:
  • When we are going on a travel, I usually do prompt like: “Paul, Please fasten your seatbelt we’re about to go.”
  • If I see his toys all scattered on the floor: Please collect your toys and put them in the blue box.
  • When he finishes eating: Please put your dish in the sink.
  • When we are at the restaurant: You can have your strawberry juice if you will not play with utensils and condiments.
  • To apologize: “When we hurt someone, we say, ‘I’m sorry.'”
  • To receive a present or treat: What do we say when someone gives us a treat or a present? We say “Thank You”.

So, I try to be consistent with the rules that I set to my child, reinforce the behaviour that I want to see and I give an immediate feedback as soon as the task or behaviour is carry out. In this way making compromise or explaining may sound simple for him to understand and remember.

The scenarios described above emphasizes operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behaviour is controlled by consequences. It entails the use of positive and negative reinforcements as well as positive and negative punishment. It likewise involves voluntary behaviors and is maintained over time by the consequences that follow those behaviors.

Recall your past experiences where behaviorist approaches have been used to modify your behaviors.

Which experiences do you consider positive (helpful and pleasant)?

• My mother usually reads us a story or recites a nursery rhyme during bed time. So, when it’s bedtime it means that it’s story time or nursery rhyme. This also influences me to become fond of literature.
• My primary and secondary school learning opens my mind in the wonders of science and traveling. This time I’m teaching science as a profession and I travel with my family (though locally) every time we have the opportunity to travel.

In the attempt to modify your behavior, can you cite behaviorist approaches that successfully modified your behavior/s but turned out to be unpleasant experiences?  When I was in high school I wasn’t really confident in any mathematical exercise. My Math teacher gave us homework which consists of five problems. I only solve 4 out of 5 since I don’t know how to answer the other one. Come the next day she roam around the class and check each of our homework. When she noticed that my homework was incomplete she gave me a pinch in the ear. It wasn’t me only, my classmates who had incomplete homework too. Missing number of homework is equal to the number of pinches that the teacher gives. So I associate incomplete math homework with pinch. From that incident, I tried my best to completely answer my Math homework by asking the help of my elder brothers who are good in math and I never got a pinch ever again.

Were there occasions wherein your behavior/s became more undesirable rather than improved?

Experience 1: When I was in Grades 1, 2, 3 and 6. I was very good in Math because my teacher has a unique way of teaching math in a simple way that I can understand. Also, she sets a desirable learning environment by using visual aids and flash cards, hands-on materials like the abacus, cubes and sticks for counting. I had a positive impression about Math and I find it easy to solve and analyze problems causing my grades to be high. However, when I was in Grade 4 and 5, my teachers’ technique in teaching seems difficult to understand causing me to struggle in learning. My teachers tend to discuss the lesson with less demonstration of the process on how to solve problems. These scenario also happen when I was in Grade 7 and 8. When I reach Grade 9, my math ability improved. I even qualified for the top ten in the class for Math quizzer however when it was cut for the top five I started to doubt myself and compared my ability to the rest resulting for a failure :(.  Even when I reach College, similar case happen, that is — I always doubt myself whether my solution to any mathematical problem is right and I only tried my best to answer questions when pressured to do so. Until now, I always have that negative feeling that learning Math is hard.

Experience 2: Considering my previous example, sometimes if my brothers didn’t help me in my Math homework, I usually ask my friend to help me complete my homework but if she’s lazy to teach me she will just let me copy her answers. So, I and some of my classmates who have incomplete answers will tend to copy our friends answer just to avoid the punishment given by the teacher.  These are not good at all because it never measures our true potential due to the anxiety and fear that was brought about by the punishment.

Experience 3:  When I was a kid my father was a disciplinarian. He practices corporal punishment by using a bamboo stick.  Every time we are naughty or stubborn, and we didn’t listen to his three warnings he will always hit our bottom with a belt. So, every time we hear him starts counting we actually stop our misbehavior to avoid the punishment. As I grow up, I associate his counting 1, 2, 3 or his holding of a bamboo stick as an upcoming punishment even though sometimes it’s not what he meant :).

Experience 4: Once every year, I have to travel to Thailand-Myanmar border to renew my visa. The road going to this area is winding and sometimes rugged. When it was my first time to travel I remember that I ate fish for dinner a night before the travel. On the day that we travel, I got car sick. So, every time we are scheduled to travel to the border I make it a point not to have fish for dinner and even for other long travel I avoid eating fish.

The experiences that were described above explain about Classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning process in which something (conditioned stimulus) that had previously produced a specific response becomes associated with something (unconditioned stimulus) that produces the response. As a result, the conditioned stimulus will create the response that the unconditioned stimulus produces. Similarly, classical conditioning involves automatic or reflexive responses.

How would you prefer behaviors to be regulated and/or modified at home or in school?

I prefer to use a mix of classical and operant conditioning in terms of behavior modifications. When and how to use each? It’s a case to case basis and so depends on the type of situation. Nevertheless, I will give more emphasis on the use of positive and negative reinforcements which I believe is the most powerful and useful method of changing or developing behavior both at home and at school.

Moreover for behavior modification to be effective I have to decide and tell what specific behavior do I want to observe and try to reinforce these behaviors in case that they occur.

Image source: http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/607827-3211-56.jpg

Learning Styles, Multiple Intelligence and Their Implications to Learning and Teaching

What are the potential implications of learning styles and Multiple Intelligence theories on teaching and learning practices?

Learning style is the mental, emotional and psychological behaviors of learners that serve as a stable signs of how they understand, interact and respond to different learning situations. It correlates with preferred gender and culture and very much concerned with differences in the process of learning.

Apparently, learners have different ways of learning while teachers have a specific way of teaching and so it’s the students who adapt to the teaching style rather than the teacher adapts to the learning style. This tends to creates teacher-centered learning instead of student-centered learning causing students to struggle in their learning.

On the good side, with the right orientation our preferred learning styles may change and develop as we grow.

We can classify learning styles into three distinct types:

1. perceptual learning styles
2. cognitive learning styles and
3. personality learning styles

A: Perceptual Learning Styles or sensory learning style – learners use sense organs (such as eyes and ears) in learning. There are five styles that belong to this group:

1. Visual learning (learning by seeing)
2. Auditory or verbal ( learning by hearing)
3. Reading and writing (learning by processing text)
4. Kinesthetic learning ( practical learning or learning by doing)
5. Tactile learning (learning by touching)

Visual learners choose to learn by seeing words, or looking at some teaching tools like charts, graphs, diagrams, mind maps, illustrations, handouts and pictures. They like to look at the written words on the blackboard than to only listen to the teacher. Therefore they like the teacher to write more than to talk more in classroom. The powerpoint presentation together with video clips is suitable to these learners because it presents words, and pictures or charts.

 Auditory learners choose to learn by listening. They like talking with others.  Speaking exercise, lectures, stories and classroom discussion and music are best ways to cater this type of learners. They are good at remembering things that they are told.

 Read/Write Learners choose to learn through text-based materials like books, handouts, pamphlets,   and other reading materials including the internet and writing and re-writing notes.

Kinesthetic learners choose to move or learn by doing, exploring and discovering. In this modality, learning occurs as a result of what was done or by direct experience.

Tactile learners choose to learn by feeling or touching things though their hands.

Tactile and Kinesthetic learners feel comfortable when teacher use the total physical response approach.

B: Cognitive Learning Styles  these includes the analytic learner in the class that focus on the details of the lesson by breaking down information into small parts so they can make sense of what they are learning. They like analyzing reading passage.

C: Personality learning style consists of two types of learners.

1. Reflective learners
2. Impulsive learners

Reflective learners are careful learners and choose accuracy and caution in learning. They think thoroughly first before they speak and try to avoid speaking skills.

Impulsive learners choose fluency in learning and like taking risks by responding quickly.

These types of behavior greatly influence learners’ responsiveness in the class, in taking the test and even in how they carry out their homework. So, as teacher it is our role to balance these behaviors in our learners so that their learning will be successful.

D: Multi-Modality Learners

Multi-modal learners choose more than one learning styles. It is possible that a learner may be a visual learner and an impulsive learner at the same time.

Nearly all learning style models have two things in common:

1. They focus on process. Learning-style models tend to concern themselves with the process of learning: how individuals absorb information, think about information, and evaluate the results.
2. They put emphasis on personality. Learning-style theorists generally believe that learning is the result of a personal, individualized act of thought and feeling.

However, I believe that learning the learning style that we choose depends on the subject matter that we are leaning. So it changes as the need arises and the “one-size-fits-all” approach is not the best option if we want to achieve high-level learning.

By incorporating learning styles to teaching:

1. Teaching and learning become interactive, collaborative and engaging. The traditional form of teaching where teachers give information and students receive will no longer exist since the role of the teacher would be more of a facilitator or guide that lead students to what concept to learn but it’s the students who will work hard to attain the desired goals of the subject matter. Also, by giving prompt feedback students will learn how to be in control of their own learning. Moreover, by creating opportunities for students to learn (individual, pair or group work) and developing their critical thinking and creativity we are motivating them to be in focus of their learning goals and thus promote learning. These characteristics must be exhibited in our lesson plans, worksheets and homework that we prepare for our learners.

2. We are addressing the diversity of learners and their preferences of learning. As the size of the class increases, the types of student learning styles also increase. Therefore, it is apparent that learners are diverse, not just in aspects of culture and gender but also in age, nationality and up-bringing. So, they learn differently and process information differently than others and it is just right to use different teaching styles to address this diversity so that learning can be effective for them.   We need to use both visual and verbal information (learning by seeing and hearing). We need to use numerical and graphical examples to discuss abstract concepts (inductive and deductive learning). We need to include theories and models with demonstrations and examples (intuitive and sensing). We need to allocate enough time for our learners to actively participate and reflect on what they are learning (active and reflective learning).  However, though how hard we try we can only address this diversity one a time in the learning journey of the learners. In this case, we are maintaining the balance of teaching strategies based on the diversity of learners and we are creating meaningful experiences in their learning journey. As we know our learners’ different learning styles we are helping them to become aware of their own preferences and strengths.  If mismatch occurs between the students learning style and teaching style there is a possibility that learning may not be totally effective for the majority of the class. However, we can help those learners to develop their own techniques so they can succeed in lessons which we taught differently and doesn’t match their learning abilities.

3. We can communicate our message. We can do this by using different teaching methods that can address the wide range of students learning styles so that the important points of our subject matter can be transferred to our learners in a way that they can understand and relate to their daily life.

4. It makes teaching more rewarding. By working hard of integrating different learning styles, we may be able to gain equal fulfillment from strengthening our teaching practices. It also encourages and motivates learners to personally reach their learning goals with fun rather than struggles. A teacher who can understand his/her own teaching styles and use his/her knowledge about students’ learning styles to present information can greatly improve their teaching profession. In short, it fulfills our mission as a teacher.

HOWARD GARDNER’S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE

Gardner defines intelligence as “the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting” (Gardner & Hatch, 1989). Using biological as well as cultural research, he formulated a list of seven intelligences. This new outlook on intelligence differs greatly from the traditional view which usually recognizes only two intelligences, verbal and computational.

Multiple intelligences center on the content and products of learning. It implies that are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees. Gardner proposes seven primary forms: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (e.g., insight, metacognition) and interpersonal (e.g., social skills). He later suggested that existential and moral intelligence may also be worthy of inclusion. He also emphasizes the cultural context of multiple intelligences that each culture tends to emphasize particular intelligences.

The following are three underlying principles of MI:

1. Individuals should be encouraged to use their preferred intelligence’s in learning.
   • So, learning/teaching should focus on the particular intelligences of each person.
2. Instructional activities should appeal to different forms of intelligence.
   • This is due to the fact that each individual possesses a unique blend of all the intelligences. Also, Gardner emphasizes that multiple intelligence should “empower learners”, not restrict them to one modality of learning.
3. Assessment of learning should measure multiple forms of intelligence (not just linguistic and logical-mathematical).

IMPLICATION OF THE THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teachers need to address the different intelligence of the learners and develop teaching techniques and activities that will empower students learning so they can reach the full potential of the learners. In this manner, learners feel more engaged and competent to learn. In my case, I have to incorporate several “intelligence” in my lesson but I guess it’s impossible that I can cover the seven or eight intelligence in 50-minute duration of learning. So, the easy way is to incorporate one or two intelligence per lesson or depending on the topic to learn in the whole duration of the semester. In this case I am broadening the scope of learning based from the topic that we are learning.

Example: last term my Grade 9 class learned about “natural resources and conservation”.  I let them do a group report. Each group consists of 4 members and they were given a specific topic to discuss like types of natural resources (water, air, soil, minerals etc.,). They need to also identify the importance of that natural resource and cite possible ways that they can actually do to conserve them.  This activity covers the

• Kinesthetic (physical abilities/body smart) this is involve from planning, organising, working with a team and class presentation of the group
• intrapersonal (self knowledge/self smart) because a student need to ask his/herself about what he/she actually knows about the topic and how can he/she share this knowledge to his/her group mate. Their self- confidence was also developed.
• interpersonal (social-knowledge/people smart) students develop teamwork as they plan and deliver the report
• lingusitic (language ability/word smart) students use technical terms and they simplify them by giving a concrete example, they also learn how to correctly pronounce them; they organise their thought, put into words and verbally discuss it in the class
• naturalistic (nature smart) with the topic given it gives them the idea to be aware of the their surroundings where they live and be connected with it in a simple way
• spatial (picture smart) students report were literally filled with pictures and diagrams to convey and visualize the meaning of the topic that they are discussing and they also include pictures found in their own community. Similarly, through the 4R’s concept I gave an individual activity by letting them create a DIY product that gives emphasis on either “reuse or recycle”. The DIY product comes with a written report that includes the picture of the material that they reuse or recycle; the process or steps on how they create the DIY product and the picture of the product. Each of the students was given the time to present their work of art out of old and supposedly useless materials.
• Musical – they learn a possible way of conserving natural resources through 4R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle and repair) though songs and they also give their interpretation of that song as a group and presented them in the class.
• They also learn how to use multimedia by incorporating animation, sound and clipart in their powerpoint presentation.

These activities described depth of learning where students get totally engaged since each member needs to play a part for their presentation to be successful.Their critical thinking skill were also develop since they answer the key questions present in their report. However cover about nine (9) hours which is equal to six (6) sessions or meetings.

Another option, if we want to reach the full potential of the learners using the theory of multiple intelligence it is understood that we need to know the intelligence profile of our learners and modify the physical arrangement of our classrooms. We need to divide that into seven to eight centers or booth and each booth will empower one intelligence. To integrate these sets of intelligence, teaching and learning should be thematic and duration of learning will be longer instead of regular 40-50 minute duration for each subject. I think that it will take half day learning to cover all seven or eight intelligence if we will create activities that will enhance students’ intelligence. Besides, students need to be given enough time to work in each intelligence station. What if the class has big numbers of students? How can we cater to this form of learning? I believe that for this to be feasible, it will need a total reform in the structure, mission/ vision and curriculum of the school. However, in reality teachers are just one part of the school. Most of the decision making process happens in the administrative department. Thus, only the school administration can have the power to do this change if and only if they value the essence of multiple intelligence.

Lastly, the theory also implies that teaching and learning involves personality. The personality of the teacher and the learners affect the way we learn.

In learning about this theory I came across with this quote by Margaret Mead: If we educate to engage the “whole gamut of human potentialities” in the classroom, society will benefit by enabling “each diverse human gift to find its fitting place.”

I believe that the integration of learning styles and multiple intelligence theory may enhance the strengths of learners that will help them develop their self-efficacy. Best practice and full support from the school administration teaching and learning will involve a whole new paradigm which can address and accommodate multimodality and multi-style of teaching. By putting the concept of learning styles and multiple intelligence into action we understand the essence of individuality and as teachers it is our commitment to help each individual to do his/her best so he/she can be successful in their learning. In this way, students find fulfillment in their learning, so are we in our teaching 🙂

On account of what you have learned from this module, in what specific ways will you modify how you learn and how you (will) teach?

As a learner (and a teacher) I will discard techniques that won’t work and enhance those techniques that suits best.

As a teacher I have to thoroughly guide our learners to the right path of learning by using the appropriate learning tools and letting them be engaged in their learning by creating learning opportunities either individual, pair or group. Also, I need to personally know the unique profiles of my learners so I can address if not balance their preferred learning styles. Since learners are diverse and they have diverse learning preferences it is a must for me to incorporate this diversity in planning my class lessons and activities including the assessment that I will give to them. So, lessons, activities and assessment are aligned to the course goals but try my best to likewise align it to the learning styles and abilities of my students. This is easier said than done, so it’s a matter of trial and error of repeatedly presenting information in as many as different ways as possible throughout the learning journey as long as it is exciting and challenging to the students that I can actually match learning styles and teaching styles.  In this manner I am creating a sense of wholeness rather than pigeonholing only one type of learning style.

Other ways to support learning with different learning styles:

• By using appropriate video clips, music and interactive websites to support the topic that I am discussing.
• Encouraging my students to ask questions when they can’t understand. So, this emphasises thought which is an important part of learning.
• To model that even though I am a teacher I am also learning and that I do not know everything under the sun and I find ways on how I can understand things better.
• By encouraging my students to be wide readers and to take down notes during lectures and class discussion.
• Help them visualize abstract and complex information by breaking them down into simple but understandable information with the use of mind map, charts, graphs and diagrams.
• Promote cooperative learning to allow students the opportunity to process information with the help of their classmates and to share responsibilities for a task.
• Lastly, I have to integrate my lessons with situations and events that students can relate with in their everyday life thereby emphasising the true purpose of learning.

Through these, I am developing my students to use their strengths rather than their weaknesses to be a life-long learner and in control of their learning whilst enjoying their learning journey.

References:

http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol01/04/15.pdf

http://vark-learn.com/

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/mineralogy/xtlsymmetry/kinesthetics.html

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept97/vol55/num01/Integrating-Learning-Styles-and-Multiple-Intelligences.aspx

http://www.crlt.umich.edu/sites/default/files/resource_files/CRLT_no10.pdf

http://www.loving2learn.com/Goals/Charts/LearningStyles.aspx

http://ericae.net/digests/tm9601.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/multiple-intelligences.html

http://www.context.org/iclib/ic27/campbell/ 

image source:

http://www.telescopesolutions.in/images/multiple-intelligence.jpg

http://infed.org/mobi/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/howard-gardner-aspen-institute-ccbync-nd2.jpg

https://bmhstudentwellness.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/l4.png

Module 1 Insights

How have I myself (i.e., the teacher candidate) learned in school, and how do I learn most effectively? Why do some people learn better than I and I better than others?

As a middle school science teacher I study and work three times (3x) harder than my co-teachers. Since I am an English Program Teacher, the textbook that I am using is written in Thai. First, I have to talk to my co-teachers to help me translate the lesson in English; this covers the topic to be discussed and the experiment or exercise to conduct. Second, I have to use other references, search the internet to organize the content of my lesson because not all translations are appropriate to the topic that I will discuss. Sometimes we’re lost in translation, so to speak.  Third, I have to make a powerpoint presentation, handouts, worksheets and prepare the lab for experiments. Sometimes, I even find some videoclips and interactive websites that I can use to support the content of my lesson. This takes me long hours of work. I usually prepare the lesson a week in advance. With these steps, I can deeply understand the lesson that I will teach and so I feel confident to teach. In this case, studying the lesson that I will teach seems like I’m following a scientific method so I can make my class to have an activity-based lesson where every student will have the chance to be engaged.

Why do some people learn better than I and I better than others?

Sometimes I feel bad every time I hear my co-teachers saying that they’re done discussing the coverage of the upcoming midterm exam or final exam the fact that I’m just halfway there. So I feel that they’ve got more knowledge about the topics that we need to cover and so they finish the lesson in a short period of time. We’ve got the same number of topics to discuss and the same timeline, the only difference is that they finish ahead of time. Sometimes we’ve got a 1 month difference while in my case I use the allotted time to fully cover the coverage of the test. After the exam, we start at the same time and same thing will happen again at the end. 😦

However, I discovered the reason why my co-teachers are doing that way… most of the time they follow the traditional way of teaching — teacher teach, students listen, simulate the result of the experiment and answer the guide questions and end unit questions. Then move on to the next chapter. In my case, if I follow the scientific method in planning, preparation and class discussion I also usually follow this method in doing experiment. I take time to do experiments because I believe that that’s the best explanation to the topic that we are learning. Students don’t just understand the concept but they also experience how that concept was formed. I also give emphasis on the appropriate process skills involved in the lesson.  In this technique, students were more engaged and they can relate to it. The only drawback is that I have to set more time for each lesson.

How do we know if a person has successfully learned? 

A person has successfully learned if the change in behavior is positive and active. So it shows the direction of progress and that the person is actively trying to make changes to reach the course goal. Also this change is effective and functional that even he/she benefits from that change.

Can you suggest a “fairer definition” of learning and academic achievement?

“Learning is a process of permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of practice and experience that help us make sense and understand the reality of life.”

Learning must manifest progress in the:

• mental (general intelligence, attention, memory, problem solving ability, language functioning) aspect of the individual based from the criteria or learning goals
• pace of acquiring new information or skills with regards to factors like cognitive skills and interest
• adaptive behavior of the individual that deals on how he/she copes with the social demands of his/her environment and how he/she makes decisions
• Individual’s daily living skills

Christa McAuliffe’s quote: 

Christa McAuliffe was a popular teacher known for being enthusiastic and skilled at making difficult subjects understandable. She liked to take her students on field trips.  She greatly believed in experience-based education. Her students conducted mock trials to learn more about the law. She developed a class on the role of women in the history of the United States. At first, she encountered trouble getting her course accepted, but she wouldn’t give up. Eventually it was placed as an elective and her students were inspired. One of Christa’s students wrote, “Mrs. McAuliffe’s course on the American woman changed my outlook on life. It was like she discovered something new every day, and she was so excited about it that it got the rest of us excited, too.”

In 1983, NASA chose her as ‘citizen-observer’. While in orbit, she was planning to teach two 15-minute lessons to be broadcast by PBS covering what life was like inside the Space Shuttle and highlighting the technological advances made by the space program. In addition she was to film lessons about gravity, magnetism and hydroponics.

In 1986, she died along with six other crew members in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster a mere seconds after its launch. President Reagan broadcast a message of condolence to the shocked nation. Aware that a number of school children had watched the historic launch, he addressed them by saying, “I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them”

McAuliffe was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Today there are many scholarships and grants established in her memory and at least 40 schools around the world named in her honor.

McAuliffe and the other crewmembers each had carried cherished keepsakes on board the Challenger’s final mission. McAuliffe brought with her a class ring belonging to Steve McAuliffe, a necklace belonging to her daughter, a stuffed frog from her son, a pennant from Concord High School, a photograph of her high school class, and a personal T-shirt that read, “I touch the future. I teach.”

She touched the future by being the first teacher to fly in space. She portrays a teacher who is innovative, creative, diverse, imaginative and unique. The teaching styles that she used greatly sparks the interest and curiosity of her students to learn which would be the future leaders, teachers, engineer etc., of the country.

Put on your creative-thinking hat and come up with one or more brief statements that describe positive aspects of teaching.

 Positive Aspects of a Teacher:  A teacher is

• A facilitator that leads the learner to reach the course goal by providing new information, assistance, guidance and supervision in the course of the study.
• A person that lights the spark of curiosity and creativity in the life of the learner thereby helping them become an independent learner.
• A person that excite the power of imagination. As what Albert Einstein said: Imagination is more important than knowledge; knowledge is limited but imagination encircles the world.
• A person that understands how learners learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.
• A person that understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.
• A person that inspires motivates, engages and opens up the mind of learners to the endless possibilities of which the learner can achieve.
• Also human like everyone else with strengths and weaknesses but try his/her best to fulfill the mission of a teacher in order to bring change, joy and self-worth in the life of the learner making their learning journey colourful and exciting.
• A person who continues to seek knowledge whether he/she is in or out of the school

After some thinking, write a personal statement about the following: What kind of teacher do you want to become? What strengths do you want to have?  What kinds of potential weaknesses might you need to overcome?

I want to be that teacher described in the “positive aspects of a teacher”.  And to be a teacher I must possess the following strengths:

• Curiosity– taking great interest about the things that I am learning and discussing to the class, also I need to be aware of what’s happening around me whether I am at work, home or traveling
• Creativity – I need to think of innovative and productive ways to conceptualize and do things especially when it comes to teaching a difficult subject matter to the class
• Vitality – to approach life with excitement and energy like feeling alive and activated.
• Love of learning – I need to master new skills, topics, lessons whether it’s for personal development or work-related
• Open-mindedness – I need to think things through and examine them from all sides  and try to weigh evidences fairly and objectively
• A teacher with great perspective – by being able to provide wise counsel to learners. Also by having ways of looking at the world that make sense to myself and to others.
• Persistence – to finish any task that I started and continue the task in spite of obstacles
• Brave – not to walk away from challenges that arise in teaching but instead face them with eagerness and believing in oneself to overcome such challenges
• Leadership – to encourage learners to get things done while maintaining good relationship with them
• Fairness – to not let my personal feelings bias decision making
• Sense of Humour – to see the bright side amidst the difficult task and bring smile to the face of the learners

I need to overcome the fact that I am occasionally not as patient as I should be especially in dealing with very naughty and stubborn learners. Also, I need to loosen a bit my being strict in the class so learners can say that I am with them to help them reach their course goals not the other way around.

(From what you have experienced in this introductory module, what do you anticipate for the rest of the term? How do you envision the course will proceed?)

I expect that I will gain more knowledge about the different characteristics of different learners and address ways on how I can effectively engage them in their learning journey. Also, I want to learn more ways, scientific research and studies that help improve the quality of an effective teacher and how I can integrate them in my life as a teacher.

What phenomena (events, situations, or conditions) might you be interested in to investigate? How does color affects our memory? How does it help in learning?

How would you state your hypothesis? Colored learning materials help increase the ability of our brain to retain and retrieve information.

What research method do you think will be appropriate?  Questionnaires and survey

 

References and Image Source:

http://www.legacy.com/news/legends-and-legacies/christa-mcauliffe-teacher-astronaut/462/

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/christa-mcauliffe

http://susanlucas.com/it/dissertation/introduction.html

http://divinesparkignites.com/2015/01/29/i-touch-the-future-i-teach-christa-mcauliffe

http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0205375669.pdf

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley

http://exiledguild.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/progress_report.jpg

http://avisocoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/progress-report1.jpg

http://www.cliparthut.com/clip-arts/22/preschool-teacher-clip-art-22759.jpg

https://ratnaworldblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/212006-royalty-free-rf-clipart-illustration-of-a-confused-sun-face-thinking-with-a-question-mark.jpg