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Importance of learning through experience
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The definition of knowledge is often debated since there a plethora of ways to classify it. If one were to ask an empiricist about knowledge, the answer would be that it is the result of one’s ability to create themes from external stimuli. A rationalist would reply that knowledge is innate, while a person utilizing a sociohistoric perspective would find a need for older individuals to convey their own wisdom in order for others to learn (Case, 1996). Using different theories to understand the meaning and use of epistemology can aid in the development of reasoning for individuals.
Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1991) found that removing knowledge from the way it is acquired is difficult. Knowledge can be either an individual task or a group effort since one person may prefer to learn through more of a one-on-one interaction, while others might favor learning in a collective environment. Still, the motivation to learn could be a large influence on the way different people prefer to learn. If a student is primarily extrinsically motivated, they will be more capable of learning from outside perspectives as they are more capable of responding to external rewards. On the other hand, a student who is intrinsically motivated will need to sincerely enjoy the task at hand or lose the desire to partake in that assignment (Seifert & Sutton, 2009).
Individuals can both create and receive knowledge as some wisdom is innate and some is learned (Case, 1996). Teachers can use this to their advantage by giving students opportunities to expand their minds through discovery activities or by allowing them to figure out the intricacies of certain topics by giving them the tools to develop their own minds (Seifert & Sutton, 2009). An example ...
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...at a later time. Repetition of ideas and concepts is also not always as beneficial to learners as discovering ideas. Finding new ideas can be more helpful than reviewing them year after year. Motivation is another key factor for students who can learn a task depending on how they respond to outside or internal rewards. Metacognition and cognitive apprenticeship also offer ways to expand knowledge through analyzing and exploring the mind and situations. Therefore, knowledge varies from person to person and the environment in which one acquires it can have a significant impact on how successfully it is attained.
References
Brown et al (1991). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning.
Case (1996). Changing views of knowledge & their impact on educational research and practice
Seifert & Sutton (2009). Chapter 2, The Learning Process, pp. 21-39
As a learning provider it is essential that I have the ability to meet the requirements of someone who is deemed as a learner. Many of us know that people are different and receive information in several different ways. It is also ideal to become aware of what motivates a learner to understand the information which is being delivered to them in the classroom. As learning providers we cannot make the assumption that everybody learns in the same way because if that were the case we would soon find that the learners will only have the ability to remember certain parts of the information that they most relate to. This would result in the learners being unsuccessful in the class room. For example the VARK method from Neil Flemings (1987) theory, this shows that learners can take information in, in different ways.
The next major theory on how one obtains knowledge comes from David Hume’s Empiricism. Empiricism itself is the idea that all knowledge obtained is done so through senses or experiences throughout life. This theory itself clearly contrasts with rationalism as rationalists believe at no point that they should gain knowledge through senses/experiences. Furthermore, as an empiricist, he does not value anything that is not attained through experience. One of Hume’s beliefs is the idea that everyone is born with a mental “blank slate”. Because all knowledge we gain is thought to be gained through experience (which a newborn would have none at that point) the “slate” starts as blank and will filled in as the person learns through experiences. This
Based on the different reasons or goals that give rise to an action, motivation can be classified into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000). The first type, intrinsic motivation, refers to doing something because “it is inherently interesting or enjoyable” (Ryan and Deci, 2000, p. 55). This type of motivation refers to the reasons for L2 learning that are derived from one’s inherent pleasure and interest in the activity and the activity is performed because of the spontaneous satisfaction associated with it (Noels, 2001). Researchers (e.g. (Vallerand, 1997; Vallerand et al., 1992; Noels et al., 2000) have categorized intrinsic motivation into three subtypes: (1) intrinsic motivation-Knowledge, which is the motivation
“Motivation is a complex part of human psychology and behavior that influences how individuals choose to invest their time, how much energy they exert in any given task, how they think and feel about the task, and how long they persist at the task” (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). The biggest question educators face in today’s classroom is what motivates a student to do something and why? Virtually all students are motivated in one way or another. Research of student motivation suggests a theory that emphasizes a social-cognitive perspective. The cognition of students regarding academic work are influenced by social factors, such as messages from the teacher about the difficulty of the task, the perceived abilities of classmates, and the information about the importance of learning the material (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). In this paper the focus will primarily be on those elements within the classroom that influence student motivation and engagement.
This essay starts with definition of traditional epistemology, followed by an explanation of how class, gender, and race can affect what one can know. Traditional epistemology can be defined as all knowers, regardless of who you are or what your social situation is, are bound by the same cognitive norms. (lecture) Charles Mills however, in the article “Alternative Epistemologies”, argues that who you are and your social situation change your access to knowledge. He criticizes that traditional epistemology fails to consider how an individual’s social situation can affect what he can know. Those in non-dominant social groups have epistemic access especially for knowing about oppression. In this essay I will attempt to explain Mills argument
...osyncratic individualities and to normalize knowers and knowledge. Epistemology of particular knowledge demands consideration to distinctions and codify for admittance and for examination the perspicacity of knowers. Once knowledge is comprehended as being distinctive to and established by the knower, it surrenders its standing and converts to plural. This leads to the knowers’ comprehension distinct to themselves. While also an individuals knowledge develops the epistemological substance that produce an bionetwork of knowing which notifies and incorporates social groups, organizations and associations. When accepting comprehensively and bearing in mind the interconnection of knowers, the grander epistemological network is a societal or epistemological illusory. One that recommends the parameters of how it can be known, what can be known, and what becomes knowledge.
Teachers help us expand and open our mind by giving us skills throughout students’ early life to help students when they are older. By learning information from teachers, students become better people, in a couple of ways. Besides inquiring knowledge from their teachers, students learn to work with one another, open their mind to other peoples’ thoughts and ideas, respect one another, and learn different techniques for life’s issues.
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
At every stage in a research, researcher’s makes assumptions about human knowledge and the nature of realities they encounter. The assumptions of the researcher world view will underpin or shape the research question, strategy and the methodology (Crotty, 1998; Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2012). Research is a systematic investigation, an inquiry whereby data are collected, analysed and interpreted in an effort to understand or describe a phenomenon (Burns, 1977 cited in Mackenzie & Knipe, 2006).
We acquire and use knowledge every day and yet we rarely stop and think about the process through which we acquire knowledge. Epistemology is an area of philosophy that deals with the questions and theories concerning knowledge (Lawhead). There are multiple theories in epistemology with the main ones being rationalism, empiricism, and constructivism. Each theory seeks to answer the important epistemological questions in their own way with some being more convincing than others. I believe constructivism provides the strongest theory of knowledge by combining elements of both rationalism and empiricism in a manner that fixes some of the flaws in each theory.
In order to understand and gain knowledge, learning theories stress the importance of creating a relationship between all pieces of information, the learner, and the environment. It is the responsibility of both the teacher and the learner to link the appropriate information together. If students can develop a relationship for the "underlying reasons for ‘how’ and ‘why’ to use specific procedures, they will be able to store this information as part of their knowledge network," and develop links with other pieces of information (Gersten and Baker, 1998, p.24). On the contrary, if learners learn facts of information that are isolated from a meaningful context, their understanding is often incomplete and meaningless. As a result of these linked relationships between individuals and environments, knowledge is the prevailing outcome. In summary, "knowledge is situated, being in part a product of the activity, context, and culture in which it is developed and used (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989, p.32).
The overall essence of education or knowledge acquisition is reflected in an axiom by Confucius which says “Tell me, and I will forget; show me, and I will remember; but involve me, and I will understand. Back then, it was clear that learning was a comprehensive process which involves passionate exchanges between students and their teachers; unfortunately this is not the case in most modern classrooms. Instead of the expected bidirectional communication between learners and teachers, in the modern learning environment there is a unidirectional system which involves the teacher incessantly hurling facts at students who, due to their passive roles as mere receptacles, have fallen asleep or; in the case of “best” students are mindlessly taking notes. This leads to a situation where knowledge has neither been conferred nor acquired.
The foundation of a classroom setting is based on theories that enhance student learning, have a positive impact on the classroom environment and may “provide valuable guidance for teachers” (Cooper, 2006, cited in Eggen and Kauchak, 2010). Even though teaching is about what a student is taught, there are certain practises that are used to get the most out of students without the student realising. Experts in the field have developed different theories that aim to provide an answer as to how and why children learn. These theories aim to help teachers understand why children think the way they do and why different children respond better to different teaching techniques. There are many differing theories but this paper will focus on three – motivational, social-cognitive and metacognition. This paper will provide information on each theory, backed up by the theorist and will explain how each has an impact in the classroom.
As educators we wish to have the students gain knowledge, through our efforts, and continue to expand their minds using the basics we have taught them. In an era when so many outside interests often cloud the minds of our impressionable youth, we often wonder how we can accomplish this task.
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge. Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief. Much of the debate in epistemology centers on four areas: the philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge and how it relates to such concepts as truth, belief, and justification, various problems of skepticism, the sources and scope of knowledge and justified belief, and the criteria for knowledge and justification. Epistemology addresses such questions as "What makes justified beliefs justified?", "What does it mean to say that we know something?" and fundamentally "How do we know that we know?"