Tag: Cognitivist

My Epistemology as an Educator

June 11, 2023 / tanya77d / 0 Comments

Reading Chapter 2 of Tony Bate’s book Teaching in the Digital Age made me think about my worldview of truth i.e., my epistemological stance about the nature of knowledge. How did I know what I know? What are my implicit beliefs about the nature of knowledge as an educator?

Even prior to delving into this chapter, I had already acknowledged within myself that I have long embraced constructivism (Carl Rogers, 1969) as a cornerstone of my teaching career. It aligns most harmoniously with the way I validate my teaching methodologies and the knowledge that shapes my personal “truth.” Thinking about my teaching pedagogy which was largely shaped by teaching approaches that involved inquiry-based learning, problem-solving, collaborative learning, Scaffolding, thinking about thinking (metacognition), and guided practice for the most part, I started exploring what Bates had to say about the nature of knowledge and its implications for teaching.

However, as I progressed with the reading, I quickly found myself questioning my truth. A doubt emerged, maybe effective instruction is actually practicing a combination of instructional approaches that are tailored to the need of the students and the demands of the classroom dynamics.

I thought about my approach to promoting positive behavior in the classroom, which includes utilizing praise and rewards as a means of reinforcement, collaboratively establishing classroom rules with students on the first day of class, and facilitating weekly group projects where clear instructions are provided and individual roles and responsibilities are assigned by me. Clearly, I am not training any pigeons like Skinner (1968) did, but this part of my teaching-learning discourse does incorporate the principles of behaviorism.

Next, I contemplated the utilization of graphic organizers and KWL charts during our collaborative story-writing sessions, the engaging concept mapping and discussions as pre-reading activities, and the occasional implementation of mnemonic techniques as memory aids. It became apparent to me that placing emphasis on mental processes such as information processing, problem-solving, and memory retention is indeed an integral aspect of my ESL teaching methodology and a cognitivist approach that Bate describes as “teaching learners how to learn, on developing stronger or new mental processes for future learning, and on developing deeper and constantly changing understanding of concepts and ideas” (p. 58).

Following that, I considered the valuable contributions of my learners from diverse backgrounds, whose varied experiences enriched the classroom discussions and led to distinct approaches to meaning-making. Nonetheless, I acknowledge that fostering a collaborative and cooperative environment undoubtedly facilitates the development of cultural understanding, thereby empowering learners to establish robust PLNs within their learning space. Forming these connections definitely lends to expanding and leveraging the power of technology, networks, and online resources to improve and develop their language learning and life-long learner capacities in an interconnected digital realm.

Source: https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/how-couse-design-puts-the-focus-on-learning-not-teaching/

Apart from realizing my amalgamation of instructional approaches, my big takeaway from this chapter was realizing that knowledge is no longer static and this shift is because knowledge is ever-evolving and in a technology-driven world, it is being generated at a rapid pace. Furthermore, Academic knowledge is no longer the sole form of knowledge of significance in the world of academia, and as teachers, we must encourage our students to explore and appreciate other forms of knowledge that lie beyond the academic.

Just like my teaching philosophy, knowledge is “not a pure, objective concept, but driven by different values and beliefs about the nature of knowledge” (p.76).

REFERENCES

Bates, A. (2015). The nature of knowledge and the implications of teaching. Teaching in a Digital Age, 1(3). http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/glokalde/article/view/5000135229

Blog Post #1 | Learning, Motivation, and Theory

June 4, 2023 / tanya77d / 2 Comments

Prompt: Describe an example from your life of when you were taught using each method described in this article: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

In retrospection, I have encountered the three learning theories throughout my learning journey and they have vastly shaped and influenced my personal development and professional growth as an educator.

For me, behaviorism was the most evident in my early days of schooling, perhaps when I was a toddler. Our good behaviour was rewarded and reinforced, and the ‘undesired’ behavior was condemned. I distinctly remember my elementary teacher used to give me those tiny sparkly stickers as a sign of her appreciation and it used to be a big deal back then to have received one. I was no exception, just like everyone else I also used to look forward to those moments of appreciation. I will say though that this method was successful in fostering a deep sense of discipline and responsibility in me.

When I began middle school, problem-solving, independent thinking, and critical thinking became the more resorted approaches. It was through group discussions and sometimes, even debates that we tried to unlock the mysteries of science and the dilemmas of social science. Sadly, I had to leave the enchanting logic of fairy tales behind and embrace the lens of reality. Cognitivism here allowed me to construct my own rhyme and reason with logical thinking. My curiosity for learning was definitely instilled by my Social Science and English teachers, who made it a point to involve their students in instigating discussions that really made us think and analyze before we digested or integrated any learning.

After moving to university to study English literature, Shakespeare and Milton among other great authors really challenged my world view and it was here that I more actively started connecting the dots between my favorite authors’ views and what I witnessed in my reality. The challenging yet intriguing perspectives of the philosophers, novelists, and dramatists made me reflect more keenly than ever before I put together and devised my own knowledge and learning of this world. As “memory is always under construction as a cumulative history of interaction” (Ertemer & Newby, 2013, p.141), the Constructivist approach cultivated in me critical thinking skills and facilitated a comprehensive understanding of worldly sophisticated ideas which I can say will always be a ‘work in progress’.

Thanks to all these wonderful learning experiences, I stay committed to learning as a life-long learner. Needless to say that these three learning theories are still an integral part of my learning. I come across them in my day-to-day existence. Even when I am watching news I am cautious about what I believe and digest, and what I discard as it might not appeal to my cognitive faculties.

All in all, these learning theories have largely contributed to my well-rounded development. They have not just contributed to my academic prosperity but equipped me with valuable life skills and attitudes that extend to both the private and professional spheres of life.

Response to Joysna’s Blog post:

REFERENCES

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 133-148.