Learning Theory
This is the more technical bit for those who are interested.
The below is my personal teaching / learning philosophy. It is an adaptation from my research done for the final semester of my MEd studies at NIE.
In short, before teaching students, we need to first understand how they can learn optimally.
Learning Theories
Sawyer (2006) highlights that students “gain a deeper understanding, more generalisable knowledge, and greater motivation” when they “actively participate in constructing their own knowledge”. This should be done with scaffolding that provides help in a way that contributes to learning, such as providing “prompts and hints that help learners to figure [the knowledge] out on their own”.
Furthermore, the importance of reflection in learning for deeper understanding as well as thinking out loud during the learning process have been repeatedly demonstrated (Sawyer, 2006).
Additionally, students must gain knowledge of the language, not just knowledge about it. As Scardamalia and Bereiter (2006) put it, knowledge about a topic would consist of “all the declarative knowledge you can retrieve when prompted to state what you know” about it, whereas knowledge of the topic “implies an ability to do or participate in the activity” i.e. it is “activated when a need for it is encountered in action”.
We also bear in mind that what is learnt is specific to the situation in which it is learnt. We want to ensure that what goes on in the classroom can be applied and transferred outside the classroom, and this transfer is “enhanced when training involves multiple examples and encourages learners to reflect on the potential for transfer” (Anderson et al., 1996). Theory is still important, of course, but learning becomes more powerful when theory is combined with concrete examples because “abstract instruction can be ineffective if what is taught in the classroom is not what is required on the job” (Anderson et al., 1996).
Furthermore, learning is “more likely to transfer if students have the opportunity to practise with a variety of applications while learning” (Shepard, 2000, citing Bransford, 1979). By getting students to relate classroom lessons to real-life applications, their “learning can improve quite dramatically” (Bransford and Schwartz, 1999).
All these are in Preparation for Future Learning. We seek to equip students with skills that they can use to learn for themselves once they graduate from ‘formal’ classroom lessons so that they become effective learners who can “assimilate and critically evaluate new information and change their views when necessary” (Bransford and Schwartz, 1999).
One final factor for optimal learning is that students “must have a clear understanding of the criteria by which their work will be assessed”, and these assessing criteria must be “so clear that students can learn to evaluate their own work in the same way that their teachers would” (Shepard, 2000), such that students are left with no doubt of the exact level of achievement expected of them.
Pedagogical Model
The pedagogical model I use is an adaptation of Kolb’s Experiential Learning (1984 and 2005), using it as a framework to incorporate the learning theories mentioned above in addition to incorporation of principles derived from various methods in language learning. I refer to this as Modified Experiential Learning (MoExL) to distinguish it from Kolb’s model.
Why Experiential Learning?
Language is best learnt through experiencing it. Experiential Learning views learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience” (Kolb, 1984).
In suggesting this model, I bear in mind that these students are not new learners – they already know English at varying proficiency. The goal then is to refine their skill further rather than teach them from scratch.
As Kolb describes, different learners start off at different stages depending on their individual learning style, and since each individual is different, they are “encouraged to develop dexterity in determining which approach… is appropriate under [their individual] circumstances” (Gutiérrez and Rogoff, 2003). It is the skilled teacher who will facilitate the student in understanding what he just went through and crystallising the experience into new knowledge and learning.
Results
I’ve been using the MoExL model for a while. Students who pay attention and do their homework have always made significant improvements in their learning, with some scoring distinctions in less than six months when previously they had been barely passing.
Those who are already quite good to begin with should have no problem achieving even better results.
References:
Anderson, J. R., Reder, L. M., & Simon, H. A. (1996). Situated Learning and Education. Educational Researcher, 25 (4), 5-11.
Bransford, J. D., & Schwartz, D. L. (1999). Rethinking transfer: A simple proposal with multiple implications. Review of Research in Education, 24, 61-100.
de Guzman, Allan B.; Albela, Emmanuel Jeric A.; Nieto, Deborah Rosalind D. (2006). English Language Learning Difficulty of Korean Students in a Philippine Multidisciplinary University. Asia Pacific Education Review. 7 (2) 152-161.
Huang Jinyan (2006). English Abilities For Academic Listening: How Confident Are Chinese Students? College Student Journal; Mar 2006, 40 (1), 218-226.
Park, Sang Soon (2006) The impact of English language and cultural variations on Korean students in Australian undergraduate programs. [Unpublished PhD Thesis]. Retrieved 20 November 2008 from http://eprints.usq.edu.au/1480/2/Park_2006_whole.pdf.
Sawyer, R. K. (2006). Introduction: the new science of learning In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 1-16). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge building: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 97-115). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Shepard, L. A. (2000). The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture. Educational Researcher, 29(7), 4-14.