Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

School of Education
EDUCATION 24 – Facilitating Learning
Amparo Vedua-Dinagsao, PhD

The EDUC 24 Experience

by: Alton Melvar Madrid Dapanas
BS Secondary Education – English 1

Introduction

As an adage goes, “Teaching is not filling up a vessel. It is lighting a lamp.” This

maxim, I think, is one of the major factors why I chose to take up the Education
course, why I chose to be in line with the noblest people in the most noble
profession. I felt the desire to help uplift the country's standards of education, to
get rid of mediocrity, and rise above, be competent and reach the zenith of the
dreams we always wanted. My country needs me more than any country does, I
am molded in this country,therefore I should serve it as long as it needs me.
Sense of patriotism, isn't it? Why seek for greener pastures from foreign lands,
when you have worse situations here. Our country needs us, our service, our
commitment, our loyal pledge.

To educate is to make people easy to govern and difficult to enslave. And since
the classroom is the precursor to real life, one must conclude and realize that
students ought to have the freedom, the autonomy to learn on their own. Since
they are responsible for their own learning, the facilitator may serve as a guide for
all those investigating, searching and exploring-stuffs. So therefore, Learning has
to be Active!

Questions

A. What will I remember about how my students learn best?

Students will learn if their needs are met, and if they realize the effort the
facilitator gives in order to meet those individual, various needs. Students will
then feel their importance and presence in the classroom and gradually, learn to
coexist with their classmates harmoniously. Pertinent needs that has to be
attended are as follows:

1. Learning and Thinking Styles

Students learn on their own ways, sometimes unique ones in rare circumstances.
So, the facilitator's task is to encourage the students to formulate/conceptualize
their own learning strategies based on their own preference, which might come
from experience, or from given tips.
2. Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner)
Nobody is perfect, and we all could attest to that. But everyone could be perfect
in their won ways, in their own intelligence. Therefore, the facilitation has to come
up with myriad activities which promotes each intelligences and accommodate
them. With these, students will realize that no intelligence is above another one;
neither superior nor inferior. This is one of the major differences between the
traditional old school and the 21st century teaching priciples.
3. Reinforcement (Burrhus Frederick Skinner)
“if there's a will, there's a way,” a famous saying tells us. If students love to learn,
then they will do it, whether there is the presence or absence of any form of
rewards and punishments. Misbehaviors in minute degrees and frequencies has to
be tolerated, as much as possible. If there is consistency on the misbehavior,
then, there could be punishments. Same goes with achievements, the task is just
to weigh things between the blurred boundaries of positive and negative
reinforcements.
4. Consideration of the Exceptionalities
With the diversity of learners, the facilitator has to put into consideration that
there are certain disabilities and disorders (NOT DISEASES) that students might
have. The facilitator, therefore, has to be open to all possibilities and to strategies
that would most likely fit the situation and help her/him to handle these students
with special students.

B. What will I keep in mind about the development of my students?

Certain factors may help facilitators see what is lacking in there that has to be
filled up. Like inability to read a sentence in a proper way or comprehending what
was given to be read. These maybe problems that will be encountered by a
language teacher like me (hopefully, someday) but it also is a problem of some
other teachers, especially in Mathematics (a problem solving), Sciences
(experiment papers), or in Values Education (reading some passages in the Bible).
As we know, the academe is an interrelated network. So therefore, everyone
should be made aware that there are different stages in a learner's ability to do
things; developmental tasks help us to picture out whether this student know the
how-to's. Not all learners get to step at that stage and there are different intervals
and range of time to stay at that stage, very unique in each one of them. Students
have to be developmentally ready in order to accept new information there is, and
that has to suit her/his level of understanding (Piaget) whether it be in enactive,
symbolic, or iconic forms (Bruner). And with that prior knowledge (Ausubel) and
cognitive structure (Bruner), students will have to complete the missing links of
the puzzle with the newly acquired information. This may enrich the concepts that
were conveyed in the past. Also, learning has to be acknowledged not only
innately but also from the social milieu which also plays a major role in the
development (Erikson) and put into mind that learning is also favorable when the
environment is so inviting (Bandura).