PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY REVISED - AM

PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY REVISED

Alexis Mauricio Student #: 92717974 Course: ETEC 512 Section: 64D

PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY REVISED - AM

After studying the numerous theories of teaching and learning, I confirmed that the developmental teaching perspective best fits my pedagogy. However, I discovered that this perspective relates to theories beyond constructivism. I apply constructivism most often to my practice; I provide authentic learning experiences that enable students to build on prior knowledge to form new understandings. Prior knowledge is an essential foundation for learning in Ausubels meaningful learning theory and cognitive information processing theory; new information will only be significant if it has a strong connection to previous knowledge. Furthermore, it is beneficial if this knowledge is activated through the use of advanced organizers such as concept maps (Novak, 1998), which is an effective tool to construct new meanings. For example, the process of constructing meanings in my concept map was continuous and active, and I had to evaluate the meanings I was creating through links by accepting them or rejecting them (Matthews, 1994). Ausubels theory encourages critical thinking, which is another important element of the developmental teaching perspective that I use with my students. Critical thinking can be applied to the creation of a concept map, as it involves making connections between and amongst ideas and concepts; thus, it is a process which guides students to more complex and sophisticated forms of reasoning (Pratt, 2002). Connectivism promotes critical thinking as it is crucial in the process of connecting nodes or information (Siemens, 2004), which is essential in evaluating the credibility of online sources. I also believe that learning should be facilitated and mediated by the teacher (ONeill & McMahon, 2005), another tenet of constructivism. A teacher should provide a supportive learning environment where student autonomy, initiative, collaboration, inquiry, and ongoing

PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY REVISED - AM

dialogue are embraced and highly encouraged. Students ongoing development of ideas and their understanding of the world, along with continuing inquiry into significant content in real-world contexts should also be recognized; this will help to lead to enduring learning in students (IBO, 2008).

PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY REVISED - AM

REFERENCES
International Baccalaureate Organization (2008). MYP: From principles into practice. (2nd ed.) Retrieved from: http://www.ibo.org/

Matthews, M. R. (1994). Science Teaching. New York: Routledge, chapter 7. Novak, J. D. (1998). Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations (pp. 49-78; ch 5 Ausubels Assimilation Learning Theory). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. ONeill, G. & McMahon, T. Student-centred learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers? Retrieved from: http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-1/oneill-mcmahonTues_19th_Oct_SCL.html. Pratt, D.D. (2002). Good teaching: One size fits all? In Jovita Gordon (Ed.), An Update on Teaching Theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from:
http://www.teachingperspectives.com/PDF/goodteaching.pdf

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved from: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm