Teaching and Learning

What is Teaching and Learning?

       As we talked about teaching and learning in class, we compiled various definitions for each concept. To answer the question, "What is teaching?", our class said it could be instilling knowledge to others, planning lessons that will engage students to learn about a specific topic, conveying knowledge so that students can understand, and encouraging thought provoking thoughts. Each of these definitions is definitely part of the overall concept of teaching. Although, I believe compiling an accurate definition of teaching would require more than a few sentences.
      
       As an Elementary Education student, I believe that all of my classes help to build my teaching skills. Each new class will likely bring something new to my individual definition of teaching. This definition will continue to grow even after I graduate from school because my strategies will evolve through experience. I hope to convey knowledge to my students, but this is not the only factor of teaching. I would include the topic of teaching to a diverse group of children into my definition for "What is teaching?". As I have learned in my Human Relations class, planning for diversity in each classroom is incredibly important because children will likely have differing gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or disability status. Teaching to a diverse group, and keeping each students interests in mind can be incredibly difficult. Our class definition should thus also include appealing to a wide variety of children.
      
      Our class definition for "What is learning", included definitions such as acquiring knowledge, gaining a new perspective, and coming to understand something you did not understand before. Of course these are all parts of learning, but I would also choose to address how students will be learning. Children learn in various different ways, which is why it is essential for teachers to vary their teaching styles on a day-to-day basis. The class definition for learning may have included absorbing knowledge by using all five senses.

Faces of Constructivism Reflection

       I found the article "Faces of Constructivism" by Laura Henriques incredibly interesting. I had previously learned the general concept of constructivism but was not aware that there are four different types of constructivism. As I was reading about the Information Processing, Interactive-Constructivist, Social Constructivist, and Radical Constructivist approaches to constructivism, I was reminded of two distinctive styles of teaching. There are two styles of teaching, direct and indirect. Direct teaching, also called teacher-centered, is a structured process where the teacher presents information to the students to direct their learning. Indirect teaching or student-centered relies heavily on the student to work on their thinking skills. The teacher plays less of a role in this style of teaching as they guide their students to develop their skills.
    
      Teachers who have extensive knowledge of their subject matter will more easily be able to use both direct and indirect thinking. Young teachers typically concentrate more on how they are teaching rather than how their students are learning. This leads them to teach-to-the-test and often skills such as learning morals and values are lost. Experienced teachers develop a better understanding of pedagogical knowledge, or what happens when the teacher starts teaching.

      As I began to read about the four approaches to constructivism learning,  I became aware that they can be separated into groups based on direct or indirect teaching. Information Processing could be placed in the direct teaching group because a child's learning in this approach is centered on the teacher. The main goal of information processing is for children to learn facts pertaining to certain subject matters and be able to apply them to similar situations in the real world. Interactive-Constructivism on the other hand, could be placed in the indirect teaching group because it relies heavily on the role of students in their learning. The teacher remains an integral part of the classroom but they take on the role of facilitator and allow their students ideas and thoughts to be the main concern. Our Applications to Biological Sciences class would fit into the Interactive-Constructivism group because we have a teacher who facilitates class discussion while also allowing the students to develop their own understanding of the material. Social Constructivism and Radical Constructivism would also fit into the indirect teaching group because they are student-centered through interaction with society and creating personal knowledge through experience.