My own draft theory of learning

How do I personally learn best?

I learn best in a friendly, comfortable and stimulating environment. I need a stimulating activities and prefer the use of multi media. I like to figure out problems by myself and usually learn by mistakes.

How do pupils learn best in your own classroom?

Pupils in my classroom learn best by having a mixture of stimulating activity. It is best if they are part of the planning process and are taken seriously on ideas. They responded well to competition and lessons with relevance to real life or topics which interest them. It is best if they get on well with the teacher and have formed a trusting relationship.

What is the difference between learning and performance?

Learning can be defined as the ability to obtain new information, performance is how students apply this new information.

How many different kinds of learning are there?

There are 3 types of learning:

1. Listening learners
2. Seeing learners
3. Touch / experience learners

Why is it important to study the learning process?

It is important to study the learning process so we, as teachers can cater for the needs of students and enable them to preform to the best of their ability.

My Theory

A teacher must maintain good relationships with pupils and be active and motivated, this will make learning a pleasurable experience for students and they themselves will be motivated. Lesson plans should be concise detailing when pupils will be engaged in activities as planning enables effective teaching practice, but a lesson plan must also be flexible to allow for discussions which might or might not lead off topic; but still be useful.

Pupils should be part of the planning process for a curriculum which creates good morale and increases motivation. They should be consulted and ask for feedback as to the effectiveness of a lesson or how things could be improved, this makes learners feel as though they are fully involved and in control of their own learning.

Learning should not be confined to the classroom, learners must have the chance to go on field trips where they learn passively through experience or be enabled to use a variety of multimedia. This makes learning relevant to real life and teaches valuable teamwork and management skills necessary for a career. Learning is more effective when it is student lead and the teacher acts as a facilitator, although careful planning must be done so pupils achieve the desired outcome of an activity or task. Students should create long term and short term aims and objectives and these should be reviewed regularly to make sure the student is on track; this allows the student to know what needs to be done to achieve to the best of their ability.

Assessment must not only be testing, some intelligent pupils don't test well and low exam scores will only create low self esteem and unwillingness to learn; therefore assessment should be a mix of tests, course work and continuous class assessment.

Students either learn by listening, seeing or experience, for individuals different styles are more effective although each method still drills information. For a pupil to learn effectively they must be stimulated constantly and have the freedom to enquire rather than be fed in formation; this enables students to have more control of the learning process. Students should be taught using these receptors through many different activities and these activities should only last a set period of time as learners start to lose concentration if activities are drawn out for a long period.