Thursday 10 August 2017

Experience and Learning

I enjoyed reading this chapter and have marked some passages down for future reference.

- "at the heart of adult learning is engaging in, reflecting upon, and making meaning of our experiences" p.104
- "learning is a lifelong process involving applying and adapting previous experience to new situations" (Dewey) p. 105
- "principle of continuity (Dewey) in which what one is learning in the present is connected to past experiences and has potential for future applications." p.105
-"a miseducative experience can occur in everyday life or in the classroom" p.105
This last passage was really important to me as it emphasizes how important my feedback is to students because we have lots of competencies in our program. It is important for me to really think about what I am saying and how I am saying it so as to not discourage future learning.
-"experience is thus a resource and a stimulus for learning." p.106
- "different ways experience can be acknowledge as resources for learning" (Tennant and Pogson) p.112
- "making sense of our past experiences to better understand our desires and interests is a route to self-knowledge." (Tennant) p.113
-reflection-on-action - "we have an experience and consciously think about it after it has happened."  p.115
-reflection-in-action- "is different because the reflection takes place as you are engaged in the experience - it is simultaneous with practice."  - "distinguishes the more expert practitioner from the novice." - "thinking on their feet" p.116
-contextual learning - "the context itself shapes the learning" p.118
-scaffolding of learning p.119
-"learning cannot be designed." Learning happens, design or no design." p.121
-apprentice-ship learning p.122


References:

Merriam, S.B.,& Bierema, L.L., (2014). Adult Learning: Linking theory and Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Thursday 3 August 2017

The Distracted Classroom was a recent article that was posted on the VCC - School of instructor facebook page. I found it very interesting as it was describing the pros and cons of technology in the classroom. I feel that having a smart phone with them at all times is now part of Maslow's hierarchy of needs! Without it I don't know if the student would be present 100% and with it they are not present 100%. The best way, as the article indicates is to set some ground rules, while providing opportunity for use both personal and with classroom activities. 
 
I thought this was very interesting and am thinking I will purchase his book and read more. I am a big advocate of people being creative. Creativity is one of the reasons I like being an instructor as well I see the joy a student gets in being creative. They are showcasing a project that is unique to them. This video describes that educational system as only encouraging one type of learning. My favorite line by Ken Robinson (2007)  is ( and I'm paraphrasing) people are afraid to make mistakes, intelligence is dynamic, creativity is just as important as literacy. This also made me think about the educational system and its alignment. We only test facts etc. therefore we have no way of applying a mark to a student who is creative.

Robinson, K (presenter). (2007, January 6). Do schools kill creativity? Sir ken Robinson. Ted talk retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY.