Personal Learning Theory

What?

I took the quiz that determines which one of the theories we are most in-line with. Although I scored something different for each of the categories, my scores were very close together: 46 for Humanistic, 44 for Cognitism and 42 for Behaviorism. I noticed that the elements I liked spanned across all of the different theories. I also noted however that based on the further readings attached to the test that explained the Humanistic theory, I find myself most in agreement with the 5 basic objectives of this theory which are:
1) promote positive self-direction and independence (development of the regulatory system);
2) develop the ability to take responsibility for what is learned (regulatory and affective systems);
3) develop creativity (divergent thinking aspect of cognition);
4) curiosity (exploratory behavior, a function of imbalance or dissonance in any of the systems);
5) an interest in the arts (primarily to develop the affective/emotional system)

As I reviewd my logs, these are some of the things I noted that I liked - I love the idea of intrinsic reinforcement, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. One of our responsibilities as teachers is to instill a love of life-long learning and I believe that one of the most important ways we do that is by fostering these 3 principals in our students. Another thing I liked was the idea of modeling . I believe that it is absolutely true that students learn from observing people around them. Along with that is the concept of a community of learners which is the idea that students work together and learn from one another and the teacher acts as the facilitator. I also have a firm belief that a large part of how successful our students our in learning material is based on the prior knowledge or schema they have and whether we as a teacher have activated that prior knowledge. I was fortunate enough to be in a class this semester taught by Axel. He demonstrated the importance of this principal in such a way that it really impacted me. He wrote the following sentence on the board: "The notes went sour when the seam split" and asked us to think about what it meant. We (the whole class) was totally clueless. He told us that once he gave us the "magic" word it would make perfect sense. The magic word was bagpipes. He explained that we weren't stupid people for not knowing what the word was, just as our students aren't stupid when they don't "get" something we are teaching. They simply need their prior knowledge or schema activated, just like we needed the "magic" word. His illustration of that principal really stuck with me and I came to see that students build new knowledge by connecting it with what they already know.

As for principals or concepts I didn't like, I honestly didn't see any that wouldn't benefit students if used in the correct way. I could see however where if misused, some concepts could be damaging or counteractive to promoting learning. For example, using a token economy as a means to reward conceptual knowledge based on a specific percentage or score. This would most definitely leave some students out because of the different levels of learning. Another bad example would be using a token economy to motivate students to do something they are already motivated to do. This can cause them to lose the desire to do it because they want to - which would impede us as teachers in our goal to instill in them life-long learning. However, I recognize that each student and each classroom will be different and what might work for one, may not work for the other. As long as the system or reinforcement that is established promotes learning for each student, and the class, while also encouraging students to be life-long learners, then I believe that the methods, practices, theories, discussed in the book can be beneficial.

So What?
Before I knew the theory I was officially most alligned with, I've always had an idea that self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, etc. are all things that lead to what I believe to be one of the most important goals we have as teachers - to encourage our students to be life-long learners. Knowing this theory will help me find appropriate and successful ways to develope and encourage self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, etc. in my students. I will also look for ways to incorporate the aspects from the other theories that I feel are important to learning, such as modeling and peer interaction, as I teach. As a teacher it will be important to show my students examples of intrinsic motivation. I loved the idea of teaching students to give themselves a pat on the back for a job well-done. This and other methods will be important for me to have in my classroom. Also, teaching students the steps involved for self-regulation - goal setting, monitoring, evaluation. Perhaps in the classroom this will involve setting some kind of system where I teach students how to self regulate by having each student set an individual goal for a specific subject, monitor their progress with some kind of online graphing tool or paper chart, and evaluate their progress over time. As I read more about the humanstic theory I also learned that promoting creative, using the arts and fostering curiosity will be important in my future classroom.

Now What?
After reading about the humanistic theory, and finding that I am most aligned with this theory, my task now is to learn what this theory is all about and how to incorporate it into the classroom. I need to learn which methods or teaching styles work best and the types of activities that will engage the students and promote the principals of self-efficacy, self-regulation and intrinsic motivation. Perhaps this theory is called by a different name in our book (as it seems to have some of the aspects of behaviorism and social cognitivism), or perhaps it is one we haven't gotten to yet. Either way, it will be important for me to find, develop and learn ways to promote the objectives of this theory which are to:
1) promote positive self-direction and independence (development of the regulatory system);
2) develop the ability to take responsibility for what is learned (regulatory and affective systems);
3) develop creativity (divergent thinking aspect of cognition);
4) curiosity (exploratory behavior, a function of imbalance or dissonance in any of the systems);
5) an interest in the arts (primarily to develop the affective/emotional system)
I still have so much to learn and hope that as I go throughout the rest of my classes and as I gain experience, that I will be an example of life-long learning to my students. I also hope that I will be able to be a teacher who "provides a foundation for personal growth and development so that learning will continue throughout life in a self-directed manner" - (from the "learn more" link on the determining your theory quiz).