What is Learning? (Revisited)

I think after class I found myself more confused about what learning is rather then informed. after reflecting on it for a bit I have decided learning is really an individual action. As individuals we have different life experiences that shape our idea and cognitive ways of learning.

I thought it was interesting how many students cited dictionary definitions of learning in theirs blogs, while others chose to go straight into their own definition of learning. In the reading of "How People Learn" the author spoke about ethnic groups view of learning styles. I believe this was shown in the assignment, maybe not by ethnicity but definitely culturally. The author made an example of African American teachers being more susceptible to students telling a story and relating it to something they had learned in class, and a white teacher viewing the same students as a weak student and vice versa. I think the has shown through the assignment by some students going straight for the dictionary to define learning and then expanding on the idea.

Teaching Philosophy Reflections

I will have to admit even after reading others philosophies I there is still not much I would change about my own. that is not to say over time my philosophy would evolve to something different then I have written originally, but at this point I would not change much.

I think the biggest reasoning for less change as I have reflected is because we teaching philosophies and disciplines are very different. I guess you could say to each his own! As a class we all have different interests and aspirations so it makes sense that teaching philosophies are very different. I think the larger problem would be is if we all had similar philosophies we could then say we are programed like robots rather then individuals.

What is Learning?

Learning is a process of combining skills with resources and knowledge obtained from multiple sources about a given subject. When most people think of learning it is usually associated with school at all levels, but learning should be occurring on a constant basis. Learning is simply obtaining information from environment and external sources that is constantly being processed and associated for future reference. For example, it would be foolish to pick up a log that is glowing red with ambers from a bonfire, but this only seems foolish because we have learned we will be harmed if we were to attempt this. If a very small child attempted this it is assumed they "did not know any better" or did not learn of the consequences.

Learning is a constant function happening sometimes unknowingly. I struggle with learning only being associated with school because on a daily basis I hear people state "oh, I didn't know that", in fact I use the phrase a lot myself. I have also herd many people make the statement that television just rots the mind, apparently these people have never watched the National Geographic Channel or the show MANswers. The point is that information can be useful no matter what the medium is, and we will disseminate weather the information is useful or not on an individual basis. For example, is it imperative to my survival that I know how to sing itsy bitsy spider? or that I know Lindsey Lohan had court today?

Learning is simply processing information at an individual level and making the decision; is the information I just received useful enough to be retained. Using the bonfire as an example again, we take away a life long lesson that grabbing an amber filled log will burn us as useful information. We could later build upon that same information by using tools to move the same log instead of our hands. This concept is no different learning in an educational institution. We learn at a young age about biology. We learn that when we get cut the wound needs to be taken care of, it is not until later in life we learn the importance of wound care, yet we know how to care for the wound before we know why. In biological sciences we learn in elementary years of distinguishing between living and non-living organisms, to middle school learning about the cells within living organisms, then in high school the interaction of cells and the processes occurring within cells. At the college level of learning cell biology there are many avenues to apply the base information and then funneling the scope of information to a specific area such as medicine, microbiology, or even zoology. The important point of learning is the decision made by an individual; what information is useful to retain? and how to retain the information presented.

Teaching Philosophy

I find that teaching must be an evolutionary process similar to evolutionary theory in biology. I have learned from past experiences as an adjunct college professor and a middle school science teacher that there are not parallels in class dynamics. I feel a teacher must evolve to each class setting by selecting class traits and niches for individual students so they can retain useful information that can be built upon.

As in biological evolutionary theory phenotypic traits are recognized and passed on through generations. I think as a teacher this same theory can be applied by recognizing what students have retained from previous learning and build upon that knowledge. This type of approach gives me the ability to adapt because I feel that even though I could teach the same course a thousand times, it should have a thousand different dynamics while covering the same material.

I have had the experience of learning from excellent instructors, but inversely extremely bad instructors as well. I am not a “worksheet person”, meaning I do not retain any information I read and then fill it out on a piece of paper. I have learned that discussion through lecture and reading material work best n my learning, so I have developed my teaching philosophy based upon this. I think if theory and concepts can be discussed in real world examples, or applied in a personal way to a student they are more likely to retain that information by making a connection within their mind.

I feel this approach has helped me to retain information in my education but it is not a concept I can take credit for. While at an internship in Washington DC I found a poster at the museum of natural history of Albert Einstein and it quoted;

 “Imagination ... is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world”

This quotation has always resonated with me because I think as an instructor it is our job to embrace and initiate imagination for a given subject. Imaginary thinking allows the student to view a concept from several views and thereby retaining the information through personal connection. This is also a useful for research purposes by grasping concepts and teaching the student that it is ok to think outside the box.

This style of teaching can be assessed in several ways but is directly dependent upon class size and the number of sections being taught. I think it would be difficult to assess this style of teaching and retention in a large lecture hall setting, but not impossible. The best practice would be essay questions that probe critical thinking and imagination. For example, in a wildlife management class an exam question may be; if you encountered an over population of deer what management strategies would you use to lower the population? This type of question has the student think about what they have learned and discussed in class while using their imagination knowing that there are multiple answers to this question. The limitation to this type of assessment is a very large class size. This is where the evolutionary process for an instructor would be relevant.

For an instructor to be successful I think the student needs to be able to walk away from a course still thinking about the concepts that were covered. Evolving as an instructor and constantly changing instruction methods for each class is essential and making a connection with as many individual students as possible is key. I have recognized that not all students come from the same background or social setting; this is where divergence in evolutionary theory comes into play.

 When I recognize a cultural divergence I apply an environment where all students will thrive. Providing an equal environment can sometimes be challenging so as a professor it is important to play upon the thoughts of the students, perhaps by playing the “bad guy” and imposing a theory or concept that makes absolutely no sense to anyone. This could be viewed as a cat and mouse game because it brings the students on a united front against one person, me, so as a class they can bring ideas together and nullify a statement I have made. I feel this empowers the student as an individual, and provides inclusion with the majority thinking within the classroom, there by creating convergence as a community rather then competing individuals. 

Interesting Points of Reading

I found it tough to reflect on one particular point I found interesting from the reading, mostly because I could directly self identify with the material. Coming from a cultural perspective I have presented personal viewpoints about this subject  to Native American serving institutions so they could better understand how to effectively communicate and teach.

Many Native American Students are easily identified as dualists, as I have been, and still am at times. Cognitively as children, many Native people are taught concepts in a hands on setting using examples and displays for learning. This style of learning is nurtured in tribal K-12 schools and creates many difficulties in large university settings because the learning style is drastically different.

Cultural differences also contribute to dualism characterization because many Native Americans are raised  with common teachings among tribes. A large one that I personally have trouble with overcoming is making direct eye contact with people. For many Native Americans making direct eye contact with someone is an act of aggression, which is why many times when I speak to people it is respectful to sit and listen or look else where when speaking. In western society this is not the case and most people are taught to look people in the eye when speaking to them.

A second characteristic among Native people is to remain quiet and listen respectively unless asked to speak. This makes learning and asking questions for Native students difficult to overcome. This was the point I found myself in the reading material of Chapter 8. For myself I have learned to separate my professional life and my personal life to accommodate two styles of learning as well as teaching.