FIELD II

Personal Theory of Learning Reflection I

As a future educator, I personally think that some of the factors that contribute to effective learning are the recognition of different learning styles that individuals possess, respect for that individuals culture or background and awareness of whether some basic needs of human beings, such as, eating has been met and the emotional well being is in a stable state. It is very wrong for an educator to assume that all students have the same learning abilities. Each student is his or her own person and sees things from a different perspective, depending on how much exposure he has had thorough his or her life. Only when the teacher comes to the realization that every single student has his or her own style of learning, then he can consider his classroom to be on the perfect canvas to draw how successful the class will be. After attending ten plus hours at a local high school and seeing with my own eyes teaching at that level, my views for respecting students learning styles has not changed. It actually reinforced my view in regards to this issue. I saw how cognitively diverse students are and how important it is to keep track of every specific need as a teacher. I had a chance to speak with a student who is fifteen years old and expecting a baby. I immediately picked up by the look on her eyes and realized she is not happy, which led me to believe it is affecting her learning capabilities. As a future teacher, I saw the need to provide her with as much help as I could to make sure she continues to be motivated to continue with her studies. That one specific student had developed her own learning style as a consequence and teachers should respect that. I feel more engaged into wanting to help students succeed. After being exposed to the students for one week I feel more passionate than before to embark on my teaching journey. I still feel strongly about this, because I was a student who needed help in high school for not speaking the language one hundred percent. Unfortunately, there werent that many programs available to help diverse students with the language. I was stuck in regular classes and I had to overcome the obstacles by myself, the teachers just assumed I was getting the contexts just like the rest of the students. I think my experience has turned me into more of an advocate for respecting students learning styles, which could be applied to everything else not just language barrier. Knowing how cognitively diverse your students are will not only give you the opportunity for better planning your lessons, but will also give the students a positive learning experience by raising their motivation and creativity levels, which are essential tools for learners to possess. Without motivation there is no purpose to want to learn something and without creativity, it becomes more difficult for students to think out of the box. Before attending the high school, I had the notion that the classroom would have the same ambiance as the classrooms at the university where I started my teaching baby steps, and was I in for a reality check. I know that students have

different learning styles, but I had forgotten about maturity on the students side. It is still a question to be answer and analyzed, whether I want to teach kids in high schools. I experienced a sense of motherhood inside the classrooms at the high school, something I dont feel at the college level, because everybody seems to be on track. The next contributing factor is for students with different cultural backgrounds to feel respected and not be seen as a group of aliens from another planet, because their families and themselves speak a different language, or because they dress differently or worship a different God. Educators and the whole school should embrace their differences as well. The school is in charge of instilling empathy in the minds of our future leaders. The schools should provide ongoing training to educators in order to prepare them to handle diverse students. When students feel welcome in a classroom, their guards go down and they feel in a comfortable environment, which makes the learning experience more fructiferous. When students feel unwelcomed and alienated, it makes it difficult for them to focus on learning, because they have to embark on a surviving task to be accepted, by creating a double identity to fit in. The other contributing factor is for educators to be aware if students emotional well-beings are stable and also if they are having a proper nutrition. Students who are depressed, or going through some personal trauma, like parents divorce, the death of a loved one or not having a home can hinder effective learning. Along with this comes the fact that if students are starving, they cant learn. Their brains will not be able to focus, because it will indicate to their bodies the need to be fed, thus distracting the students attention to get food instead of learning. All these factors also contribute to effective teaching as well. As a future educator I would add a few more factors, like being patient, understanding and also welcoming diverse students families to be involved, since many times they are absent because they dont speak English. As I explained above, being aware of students styles of learning is important, but if there is lack of patience from the educator, then it is a recipe for disaster, since effective learning will not occur. The lack of patience from the educator will only indicate to the students that it is the teachers way or the highway and they will fail. With patience also comes understanding. By taking time to know the needs of your students on an individual basis, will help teachers create better lesson plans and a better learning environment that will take every student into account as supposed to just a handful of students. The aim of an educator should be to help every student succeed; there is no question about it. On the other hand, it is also known that when parents get involved in what goes on with their children in schools, students are more successful. As a future educator, I think it is critical to get to know your students parents. It is a great liaison for teachers and a great benefit for students when parents and teachers are on the same page and know what is going on. If a teacher communicates to the parents that some students are failing, it gives the parents a chance to step in and grab their kids from a falling abyss. I think it is vital for communication to exist between parents and teachers. In fact, it is a vital tool for our world to function.

The lack of speaking the dominating language hinders Many times this communication process, and sometimes teachers give up and parents feel apprehended. An educator should find the resources needed to be able to communicate with those parents. In todays world inter-cultural communication is a necessary part of everyday life and it is also crucial for effective teaching and learning in diverse school environments. An educator should always have in mind that we are all humans, regardless of our cognitive, physical and background differences. What does it all translate into? We are all the same and no one student is better than the other. I think educators have the tools to create that type of environment in their classroom and what will come out of it is nothing but great human beings. We want to create leaders who are humble and humanitarian and not the other way around. An aspect of teaching I did not consider when previously describing my theory of learning is the importance of speaking the language you are teaching at least ninety percent of the time. I know can see how important it is for students to have a sense of stepping into another world when attending foreign language classes. I didnt consider it before and I bring up the importance of speaking the target language, because it is the responsibility I have as a future educator. If I am going to teach a language it must be spoken continuously throughout the entire period with parenthesis of English to give explanation of terms and grammar and instructions, that would otherwise prove to be a catalyst to the students positive learning. I have selected this particular aspect of teaching because it is not commonly performed in classrooms of foreign languages, due to the overwhelming use of mechanical and direct performances by the students. My observations, have been transforming as a human being as well as a future teacher. Every day of observations I come out with either excitement, discouragement or lack of motivation due to my lack of awareness I had before I embarked on my daily observations. Nonetheless, I would be a waste of a future teacher had I not had the opportunity to get so intimately involved, and I say the word intimate, because I observed someones territory, a classroom that is not my classroom, a classroom that opened the doors to let me in and see what happens behind doors and also a classroom occupied by a group of students who saw me as a stranger first, before they got comfortable with my presence. It was a necessary step for me to experience such observations.