I believe that every individual responds to learning in different ways and retains, develops and applies knowledge and information using methods that are specific to them and their abilities. I believe that these strategies evolve from personal development and are preferences that have emerged from previous success. Although, whilst we might prefer to be taught or to learn in a specific style I do not think students are unreceptive to other methods and if information can be presented in a variety of forms, is relevant and engaging, any person, of any ability will be able to learn. However, this idea has been debated on numerous occasions, and psychologists and professionals continually disagree over the relevance and need to identify and categorise pupils into special learning styles, arguing that if teachers can apply the right models to the right students they will produce more effective results. I believe though, that adolescents will learn by using the strategies presented to them during lessons, and if a teacher can replicate the necessary information in several forms, whether that be visually, orally, demonstrated or written the chances of retention are increased. Nevertheless, it is apparent thought that specific students will need more individual strategies to learn than others and if their specific styles can be identified and utilized we will be ensuring that every child has the opportunity to reach their potential.
Carol Dweck is one such psychologist and her theories and research have suggested that people conform to one of two mindsets and that it is these states of mind that can have profound effects on an adolescents’ ability to learn. A fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence is inherent and that our achieve...
... middle of paper ...
...d. United States: Theory into Practice. Available from:http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html [Accessed on 4th February 20112011]
• McLeod, S.A (2007) Bruner [online] UK: Simply Psychology. Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html [Accessed on: 28th January 2011]
• McLeod, S.A (2007) David Kolb [online] UK: Simply Psychology. Available from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html [Accessed on: 14th January 2011]
• Revell, P. (2005) Each to their own [online] London: The Guardian. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2005/may/31/schools.uk3 [Accessed on: 14th January 2011]
• Smith, M.K. (2002) Jerome S. Bruner and the process of education [online] London: the informal education homepage and encyclopaedia of informal education. Available from: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm [Accessed on: January 21st 2011]
It was not until I read Carol S. Dweck’s “Brainology” that I realized I had a fixed mindset. I care more about getting a 4.0 than actually understanding what I am being taught and I also hate struggling. These habits are part of having a fixed mindset. It was after reading this article that I discovered I could change my mindset and be successful. Having a fixed mindset means that you believe that you and others only have a certain amount of intelligence. A growth mindset on the other hand, is believing that everyone has the ability to reach a higher level of intelligence through effort and hardwork.
In Carol Dweck’s “Brainology” the article explains how our brain is always being altered by our experiences and knowledge during our lifespan. For this Dweck conducted a research in what students believe about their own brain and their thoughts in their intelligence. They were questioned, if intelligence was something fixed or if it could grow and change; and how this affected their motivation, learning, and academic achievements. The response to it came with different points of views, beliefs, or mindset in which created different behavior and learning tendencies. These two mindsets are call fixed and growth mindsets. In a fixed mindset, the individual believes that intelligence is something already obtain and that is it. They worry if they
Haney, Craig; Zimbardo, Philip. American Psychologist, Jul98, Vol. 53 Issue 7, p709, 19p, 2 Black and White Photographs,
Bibliography 3rd edition Psychology (Bernstein-Stewart, Roy, Srull, & Wickens) Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, Massachusetts 1994
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
O’Hear, A. (1981). Education, Society and Human Nature, pp. 129-30). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Smith, M. K. (1997, 2004). Carl Rogers and Informal Education. In The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.htm
Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (2003). Psychology. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Waiten,W., (2007) Seventh Edition Psychology Themes and Variations. University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Thomson Wadsworth.
Gall, S. B., Beins, B., & Feldman, A. (2001). The gale encyclopedia of psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 271-273). Detroit, MI: Gale Group.
Hewstone, M. Fincham, F. and Foster, J (2005). Psychology. Oxford: The British Psychological Society, and Blackwell Publishing. P3-23.
Boyd, D., Wood, E.G., Wood, S.E. (2014, 2011, 2008). Mastering the world of psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 128-129, 329-330, 335-340. Print.
Edited by Raymond J. Corsini. Encyclopedia of Psychology, Second Edition, Volume 1. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Doing the weekly readings and watching the videos, my mind exploded with possibilities for change - not unlike Raphael’s “brain popp[ing] open” (Senge, 2012, p. 64). Senge brings to our attention that schools were organised due to the necessity of the industrial age. However he also states that it’s time to move on from this out-dated mode, as i...
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.