Understanding Learners-Me
Assignment 2
Understanding Learners: Me as a Learner
Being a father of four gorgeous children I have always felt that I was an educator, a teacher, a leader, a mentor, as well as a learner long before I entered the teacher preparation course. I never realised how much children could teach me, especially about myself. When I would see the reflections of myself in my children I would, at the time, just consider them to be cute imitations. I would love it when my four year old would run his fingers through his ‘beard’ when he washed his face in the morning just as I did. But I would not be so pleased when my three year old would raise his voice to tell his older brother off. I would even have the nerve to admonish him after my wife telling me that he is only copying me. Through my children I have learnt a lot of behaviour management, especially my own behaviour, and they have taught me to be a ‘reflective father’. After only a semester into the course I now see everything in a different light. When things happen now, similar to the examples I have just mentioned, I cannot help relating them to Bandura’s social learning theory, or Vygotsky’s social constructivism (Churchill, 2007). In fact Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Piaget, Vygotsky and others now all live with me in my interactions with my children.
The educating or teaching I performed on my children were only limited to my superficial understanding of the roles. I believed education to be the process of growing or increasing, through teaching, the individual’s knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities in things that were required to equip the individual for life. Teaching was the main means of this process for the actualisation of the desired growth, and learning, to me, was simply the acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities; the end result of teaching. I did not deny, of course, the fact that a person can learn things without a teacher or being specifically taught. In a nutshell
Understanding Learners: Me as a Learner
Being a father of four gorgeous children I have always felt that I was an educator, a teacher, a leader, a mentor, as well as a learner long before I entered the teacher preparation course. I never realised how much children could teach me, especially about myself. When I would see the reflections of myself in my children I would, at the time, just consider them to be cute imitations. I would love it when my four year old would run his fingers through his ‘beard’ when he washed his face in the morning just as I did. But I would not be so pleased when my three year old would raise his voice to tell his older brother off. I would even have the nerve to admonish him after my wife telling me that he is only copying me. Through my children I have learnt a lot of behaviour management, especially my own behaviour, and they have taught me to be a ‘reflective father’. After only a semester into the course I now see everything in a different light. When things happen now, similar to the examples I have just mentioned, I cannot help relating them to Bandura’s social learning theory, or Vygotsky’s social constructivism (Churchill, 2007). In fact Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Piaget, Vygotsky and others now all live with me in my interactions with my children.
The educating or teaching I performed on my children were only limited to my superficial understanding of the roles. I believed education to be the process of growing or increasing, through teaching, the individual’s knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities in things that were required to equip the individual for life. Teaching was the main means of this process for the actualisation of the desired growth, and learning, to me, was simply the acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities; the end result of teaching. I did not deny, of course, the fact that a person can learn things without a teacher or being specifically taught. In a nutshell
References: Churchill, R. et al (2011). Teaching: Making a Difference. Queensland: John Wiley & Sons. Crawford, J Dewey, J. 1916, Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. New York: The Macmillan Company Eggen, P, Kauchak, D Harmer, J. 2007, The Practice of English Langauge Teaching. 4th edn, London: Routledge. Holt, J. 1970, How children learn. New York: Penguin Books. Kauchak, D, and Eggen, P. 1998, Learning & Teaching: Research-Based Methos. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Noddings, N. 2003. Happiness and Education. Cambridge University Press, New York. Ormrod, J. E. 2004, Human Learning. 4th edn, Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. Ormrod, J.E. 2007, Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. 6th edn, Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education. Thompson, P. 2002, Schooling the rust Belt Kids: Making the difference in changing times. Crows Nest, NSW: Allan & Unwin,. Winch, C, Gingell, J. 1999, Key Concepts in the Philosophy of Education. London: Routledge, Woolfolk, A., and Margetts, K