After only one week in my ED630 class, I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher and gained insight about my strategies from other classmates. I have also had the opportunity to review some of their theories of learning and figured out how I could utilize some of their ideas into my own person theory of learning.
After reading many classmates responses to their theories of learning, I saw one aspect almost all of us had in common. We all believed the having authentic and meaningful experiences was a necessary aspect to learning. We also discussed a time where we had learned something in our own lives and figured out that learning does not only happen at school. It also happens in all aspects of our lives.
One of our classmates just had a baby and she is learning to be a parent. Another classmate is learning how to use a blog for the first time. All of these are connected because it would be impossible for us to learn these activities without experience. We learn by "doing" and undergoing hands-on activities. Since we realize that this is the way we learn, why would we think it was any different for our students?
Lastly, I see myself as a progressive teacher and that is why I believe in learning through experience and inquiry. I believe that it is my job at the teacher to be a facilitator of learning rather than a dictator. My kids need to have meaningful learning in order to carry the knowledge I teach them into their schema or background knowledge. I also believe I have to meet the needs of the whole child and then I can teach. If I have a student who is hungry, I have to meet that physical need before they will be able to absorb what I am trying to teach them. If I do not do this, I am wasting my time.
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