It's been a long while since I posted something on my webpage, so hello again! This semester, I endeavor to attain two goals - 1) accomplish a professional teaching certificate - I'm finally in the last stretch with only two courses to finish, and 2) take a refresher TESOL. I don't stop learning. I don't like studying but I enjoy learning!
Just a few days ago, I started working on the first module in one of the two courses. It's called, "Theories of Learning." Oh, the other course I'm taking is Education Professions.
I thought it would be nice to share a few thoughts and reflection after finishing module 1, "About Learning". No further ado, in this journal entry, I raise two seemingly simple questions, a) "What constitutes learning?" and b) How we best "learn" in the context of education?
What constitutes learning?
Schunk [2012] defines learning as “an enduring change in behavior, or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of experience” (2012, pg. 3)." This definition carries at least three components that make an event, process, or outcome a valid "learning" experience. These are change, endurance over time, and consequence of experience.
The first element puts emphasis on the behavioral aspect of learning i.e., the learner moves from non-ideal, unfavorable, unlearned, to ideal, favorable, and learned. In gist, from being incompetent to being capable. The second one implies the ability to sustain what has been acquired. Finally, experience is identified as a conduit of learning. One may safely assume that this underscores the significance of practical experience over theory.
Simply put, learning involves change - it's only a matter of how behavior has changed, how learning is sustained, and how impactful an experience is that it results in significant change i.e. learning.
For clarity, I'd like to contextualize this discussion by sharing my first two "definitions" which I shared in our thoughts-sharing exercise in the module.
We were asked to share our a) very personal definition and after reading other students' definition, we were to provide a b) refined version.
Personal definition - Learning is a continuous process of acquiring knowledge and skills that will supplement one's inherent abilities through formal or informal education.
Refined definition - "Learning is a continuous process of acquiring knowledge and skills that contribute to enhancing one's abilities and understanding of the known and the unknown."
For one, I see implicit similarities between Schunk's and my personal definition such as "change and continuity" albeit continuity could involve changes or not, enduring change in behavior and continuity are rather intertwined, while experience is a word that encapsulates the process through which acquisition of knowledge and skills enhances one's abilities. Given this, I would identify three important elements so that an event, process, or outcome may be counted as "learning" learning i.e. a valid, acceptable, and reasonable. These are a) change, sustained process, and constant development.
I'm quite reluctant to add "positive" to change because I am not sure as to whether all learning experiences are "positive", are they? For example, when a kid learns how to lie, it's learning but not necessarily a positive one. Nevertheless, a change in one's mindset, behaviour, or ability is necessary to make that experience a learning experience. Second, a sustained process makes learning learning because, akin to Schunk's "enduring change in behaviour" analysis, learning is a continuous, sustained, enduring process. Whether trial or error, stable, or shaky, the essential qualifier here is that a process is sustained to produce change and results in "learning." That brings us to the third element, constant development. It changes - just because one has changed once does not necessarily mean it will be forever as such. It will constantly evolve and that's where knowledge, skills, and abilities are also enriched - learning.
Based on my reflections on Schunk's elements and my definitions, I'd define learning as a "sustained process of acquiring knowledge and skills that contribute to the constant development of a person's abilities and understanding of the known and the unknown.”
How do best learn? - Theories vs. practical experience
We were also asked this question - "Why is it important to understand and apply theories to guide education practices, when it may be argued that the opinions and advice of more experienced and senior teachers or educators are easier to access, observe, obtain, and practice? Is one more valid than the other? Support your position."
Higgs argued that "theory seeks to emancipate teachers from their dependency on practices that are the product of ideological and political constructs while at the same time allowing teachers to critically reflect on their practice in the classroom. (2013). This very statement may sufficiently respond to the argument that opinions and advice from more experienced and senior teachers are more accessible. Indeed, experienced (and usually senior) educators have acquired a plethora of significant knowledge and experiences that they have and can share in the classroom or workplace. However, theories provide a comprehensive approach or sets of various approaches through which varying or different perspectives from different teachers may be explained. Practices may or may not be appropriate given the changes in paradigm, methodology, methods, practices, or even circumstances that surround the educational landscape even in any given spatial scope - geographically or ideologically.
Is one more valid than the other? I don't think so. I argue that both theory and practical knowledge or practices from experienced educators complement each other rather than contradict or outdo one another, or even be considered better than the other. Practices contribute to enriching theories - which are after all, theories - sets of scientifically observed and tested hypotheses. They are merely theories, even through they are tested by professional groups or institutions. They are not laws as we know it - such do not apply to education. There is no law of guidance, law of educational psychology, or law of behavioral discipline, or law of curricular development. On the other hand, theories, when understood well, may serve as significant guide or reference for teachers, whether experienced or novice.
This is just the beginning of the semester. A lot of theories to read in the coming weeks.
References
Higgs, L. 2013. Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, Paper presented at the Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (11th, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, May 14-17, 2013)
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