A Personal Experience Of Positive And Negative Learning Strategies

As a prelude to any analysis of the concepts of learning we need to identify the philosophy and methodology of various modes. With regards to this analysis I will identify experiences related to learning based on good and substandard experiences. Within in this analysis we need to look at the role of the teacher/mentor, the planning of the learning and the factors which allow the managing and the assessing of learning. Within this analysis we need to look at the learning principles and practises including motivation and other theories of 'learning'. The aims and objectives of this analysis are to identify strategies and styles to inculcate 'learning'. The way in which we learn depends to a certain extent on the type of learning that is involved. Psychologically, we can categorise these into three groups; Psychomotor, this relates to the measurement of the students manual skills performances and therefore the performance required which will involve the manipulation of objects, tools, supplies or equipment. In contrast 'cognitive' learning includes those learning behaviours which require analytical thought processes for specific information such as definitions, specifications, selections and summaries. All of these involve thought processes. The third group involves affective learning where behaviour is required which involves the demonstration of feelings, emotions or attitudes towards other people, ideas or objects. All of the above involve learning as an individual or collectively in terms of trial and error approach or through discovery learning. With regards to my learning experiences I have selected two experiences which have resulted in a positive and negative acquisition of 'learning'. With regards to my positive experience I feel I have sufficient evidence to qualify this as a good experience in which by my driving instructor analysed these skills and emphasised the aims and objectives of each lesson prior to me embarking on it. Within his role he instils expectations for basic learning conditions. He has very good interpersonal skills which allow me to feel relaxed and confident in the learning environment which he creates. The first condition for efficient and effective learning is contiguity that is almost simultaneous occurrence of links in a chain reaction so that each part of the chain is linked. Once the links are contiguously formed they occur almost simultaneously. Therefore each student must be taught correct sequence, coordination and timing. To achieve the students should be taught the whole method involving all the links being learnt at one time or the case of driving the partial method should involve sub dividing the skills intersections and learning a section transitionally to meet the whole objective e.g. in this cased passing the driving test. For a complex skill such as, operating a car, the partial method has the advantage and that the simple skills can be mastered before the more complex ones. It does however have the disadvantage that the sections then have to be joined. The other requires conditions in terms of driving instructions need to be given feedback, reinforcement and further practise. With regards to practise and reinforcement of skills these should be given directly after each lessons so that the student does not have the chance to forget what is expected. Feedback is the information to the students in a diagnostic manner about their performance. The feedback can be intrinsic which comes from within the student by e.g. noting the finish produced or by a kinaesthetic or sensory feel of achieving the aims and objectives of a lesson. However, extrinsic feedback can be produced by the teacher/mentor. With regards to driving, the best type of feedback is intrinsic because the teacher may not always be available which provides information to the student. In consequence, any form of extrinsic information should always lead to the provision of intrinsic feedback. For this reason, the feedback should be immediate or given as soon as possible after the lesson. A driving lesson involves demonstration explanation, practise, assessment and conclusion. In terms of my driving instructions I find that my mentor motivates interest in the first few minutes of my lesson. When he introduces a new topic or skill he instructs me with clear and concise statements of what the aim and objective of the lesson is verbally and then why it is important for me to listen and follow the instructions. The importance is often the link with the expectation. In a continuation lesson regarding the driving it is vital to test the skills already completed which will focus attention on the topic and provide the necessary link with the previous lesson of instruction. I found the development of my driving skill achieved primarily through kinaesthetic learning and the practical application of motor skills. There was much use of positive reinforcement as advocated Skinner, 'Skinner plays great importance on operant conditioning where an operant is a serious of actions which a learner completes through reinforcement of the learning, the learning qualities becomes greater. Skinners approach was highly structured. He stated a teachers need to identify what learning they wish to take place and select reinforces which will help to maintain the desired effects and behaviour. Skinners work show it was important to reward the learner frequently in the early stages of learning. Each successive step in the learning process should be as small as possible so that rewards can be given as reinforcement. 'Teaching, Training and Learning' (Ian Reece and Stephen Walker, 2001) With regards to the negative experience the teacher in question failed to communicate effectively. There was evidence of an 'ad hoc' approach to the syllabus and lessons failed to have prescribed aims and objectives. The syllabus was taught in a disjointed 'haphazard' manner. The learning environment was not conducive to learning. The lesson plan lacked coherence and nebulous. The teaching style was dismissive even bordering on anarchy. There was very little feedback or reinforcement to student concerns. Practical experiments were bordered on farce and add little contribution to an understanding of the syllabus. The teacher/s adopted the adage in one year out the other. This was the policy adopted by the teachers who were in different and apathetic to the class even though we were advanced level students and our universities wee dependent on the grades. The teachers failed to realise that communication is a two way process and the policy was to read through broad notes and 'PowerPoint' presentations which add little relevance to the depth or breadth of the curriculum. Question and answers sessions are a good way to develop an interactional style of communication and fortunately this process had not been factored in to the lesson plan. There was no evidence of open questions to give the students the opportunity and scope to state their views or postulate what could happen or put forward a discussion. Within the learning environment there was evidence of conflicts of human personality. 'Favouritism' of a clique was all too evident at the detriment of the remainder of the class and there were definitely clashes of egos between adult teachers and young adult students. Some learning strategies are left a great deal to be desired in terms of class control and deviating from the topic areas to personal reflection. In terms of the classroom environment there was evidence of sarcasm and blanket punishment. Junior teachers seemed unable to deliver the curriculum or follow instructions from the heads of department. This led to confusion and disillusionment amongst the students. Defeatism was all too apparent because of the shambolic structure presentation and delivery of the curriculum. In summary, there were definite barriers of learning. Burns States, 'Punishment, on the other hand, weakens a behaviour because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behaviour and teaches the individual not to repeat the behaviour which was negatively reinforced' (Oxford Brookes University, Burns, R, The adult learner at work Business and Professional Publishing, Sydney, 1995) In balance, I feel that the effects of my good and bad learning experiences has enabled be to differentiate between the two and ironically has been an experience to discover and explore more meaningful, professional and academic strategies to my further learning. Bibliography/Reference list Ian Reece and Stephen Walker (2003). Teaching, Training and Learning: A Practical Guide. 5th ed. London: Business Education Publishers Ltd. p85. Lee Dunns. (2000). Theories of learning. Available: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/archive/theories.html. Last accessed 14th May 2013.