Final Learning Log

What?

After taking the theorists quiz, I scored highest in Humanism and Cognitivism. I tried to research Humanism in both the book and on line. From what I understand, Humanism is a theory of individual growth and development. Humanism facilitates collaborative learning, emphasizing the learner. In humanism, learning happens through reflection on one's own experiences. As I've read about Humanism, I identify with it more and more. I learn best by reflecting on my own experiences, by understanding why I did or acted a certain way I can better understand myself. I reflect on situations to see how I can improve, and learn from them.
I think students learn in a variety of different ways. I think each student has their own unique way of learning. I think that each child has things they are good and excel at like in Gardner's intelligences. I think that Piaget's stages of development are continually recycling as we mature and develop. I think that Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is extremely important when teaching students. The students need to be challenged but in their ZPD so they can succeed with scaffolding form the teacher. I think that the students prior knowledge and environments play a huge role in how they look at school and learning and succeeding. The students have to have a basic understanding of a topic in order for the teacher to build upon their knowledge. Family and peer relationships can help students in school if they are good, but can hinder them if they are bad. Kolhberg's levels and stages of moral development shows the logic behind why students follow rules or make decisions. By helping students progress through these stages their moral reasoning will become deeper. It is also important for students to learn emotional intelligence. By being emotionally intelligent the student will be able to identify and control their emotions, and identify the emotions in others. They will also be able to wait for gratification. So I look at learning as a combination of all three theories, used in conjunction as needed by the students.
So What?
Using the humanism theory in conjunction with the other theories, and developmental stages, I will be a facilitator to my students, coaching them through difficult tasks to help them succeed. I will have a cooperative learning environment, where the students work in pairs and groups to complete assignments and solve problems. I will assess my students so I can get an idea of where each is function. I can then cater my lessons to the students in order to help them learn in the most effective way. I will ask stimulating questions to help my students make connections and uncover information they already know. I will use Inductive discussions, to get the whole class involved in the topic. I will do debriefing sessions to summarize the assignments and projects. I will encourage the students to self assess and evaluate allowing them to learn on their own how they can improve. I will provide a comfortable and safe learning environment, so that my students feel secure and respected. I want to have a classroom environment where the students can take responsibility for their learning where they can elaborate and interpret information. Becoming a better human being will be the learning goal in my classroom.
Now What?
I really enjoyed researching Humanism. I would love to learn more about it and the theorists Rogers, Maslow, Knowles, and Vella. I would like to learn more ways to incorporate behaviorism, constructivism, and cognitivism in my lessons and teaching style. I think it is important to learn more about all the theories because I will need to quickly identify the type of instruction that can best benefit the students I teach. If I have a good understanding of the theories I can better adapt my lessons to reach my students.