Gather Round', I'm Gonna Learn Ya Somethin' Today! (Module IV)
Ah, the holiday season, isn't it wonderful? Just as with the Thanksgiving module, it was hard to find time to cram everything in, with all of the festivities of this wonderful time of year. Nonetheless, I bring you the newest edition in this blog, as I sit in my room/office, listening to football and enjoying cup of coffee. Enjoy!
Week 4 came with three more interesting chapters of reading from our Woolfolk text; chapters 9, 10 and 11 to be exact. Chapter 9 was Complex Cognitive Processes and this chapter most held my attention, which I will elaborate more on later. This chapter explained metacognition, learning strategies, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking and transfer. Chapter 10 titled, The Learning Sciences and Constructivism, did not cover as many topics as the chapter before, but went into more detail on its topics. Learning Sciences are defined as, "an interdisciplinary science of learning based on research in psychology, education, computer science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, neuroscience, and other fields that study learning. As a current science-guy of sorts, this is something that really captivates me! Also covered in this chapter was constructivism which, "emphasizes the active role of the learner in building understanding and making sense of information." From what I've learned in my current coursework in this program, I would say that constructivism is definitely prevalent in today's educational scene. Finally, Chapter 11 was on the Social Cognitive Views of Learning and Motivation. Here more discussion on learning took place, namely Modeling and Self Regulated Learning. Chapter 11 was a nice tie-in with Chapter 9, because the latter covered learning methods.
As I mentioned earlier, Chapter 9 really grabbed and held my attention. The topic of "How to Learn" has always intrigued me. I've tried a ton of different study methods like memorization, flashcards, recording lectures and taking notes later, reviewing in-class notes, re-writing in-class notes, taking written notes while reading the textbook, and annotating the textbook. Anybody is capable of learning, it's just a matter of finding the right method of learning, teaching and testing. Heck, I've finished my undergraduate degree and I'm still looking for the best way to learn, for myself. I may continue researching this topic, well after my time in Trinity is done.
Week 4 came with three more interesting chapters of reading from our Woolfolk text; chapters 9, 10 and 11 to be exact. Chapter 9 was Complex Cognitive Processes and this chapter most held my attention, which I will elaborate more on later. This chapter explained metacognition, learning strategies, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking and transfer. Chapter 10 titled, The Learning Sciences and Constructivism, did not cover as many topics as the chapter before, but went into more detail on its topics. Learning Sciences are defined as, "an interdisciplinary science of learning based on research in psychology, education, computer science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, neuroscience, and other fields that study learning. As a current science-guy of sorts, this is something that really captivates me! Also covered in this chapter was constructivism which, "emphasizes the active role of the learner in building understanding and making sense of information." From what I've learned in my current coursework in this program, I would say that constructivism is definitely prevalent in today's educational scene. Finally, Chapter 11 was on the Social Cognitive Views of Learning and Motivation. Here more discussion on learning took place, namely Modeling and Self Regulated Learning. Chapter 11 was a nice tie-in with Chapter 9, because the latter covered learning methods.
As I mentioned earlier, Chapter 9 really grabbed and held my attention. The topic of "How to Learn" has always intrigued me. I've tried a ton of different study methods like memorization, flashcards, recording lectures and taking notes later, reviewing in-class notes, re-writing in-class notes, taking written notes while reading the textbook, and annotating the textbook. Anybody is capable of learning, it's just a matter of finding the right method of learning, teaching and testing. Heck, I've finished my undergraduate degree and I'm still looking for the best way to learn, for myself. I may continue researching this topic, well after my time in Trinity is done.
How to learn is a huge question. I tried almost the same thing I've even audio recorded some lessons unbeknownst to the staff. They are deleted immediately after the Class is over because I like to keep space on my phone but what helps me the most is listening to the lectures over and over kind of like a flipped classroom in flashcards. Sometimes they go to fast for me to do in note class taking so I don't always get all the notes in. I remember in tech class, many times she would move onto the next topic before I was able completely or near done with what we were just doing so I missed the beginning of the whole new topic. I get a fast-paced program I didn't realize exactly how fast-paced it was. So I've come to record lectures and then later take notes and flashcards from there.
ReplyDeleteJay, I feel constructivism could be something we could use in our classrooms. Science is the perfect subject to have students be the active learner and observer. Lab time, especially in high school, is the perfect opportunity to accomplish this. Constructivism is great since it allows each student to personally interact with the material with no hovering of the teacher. Science is a discipline that has to be learned through experience and this will do just that.
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