Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Learning Essay Example for Free

Theories and Principles for Planning and Enabling Learning Essay Unit 4 Theories and principles for planning and enabling learning Introduction There are four main schools of thought around the concept of teaching and learning. This assignment aims to discuss what those schools are, how each of them are relevant to a teaching approach and how some of those theories relate to my own working practice. Identify and discuss the significance of relevant theories and principles of learning and communication The four schools which impact on learning are Behaviourist The premise behind this theory is that learning occurs because of an external stimulus. The teacher will impact on learning significantly and therefore learning will be a passive process. Skinner (1904 – 1990) used a ‘skinner box’ to show that animals would repeat an action when rewarded either through positive or negative reinforcement. In the learning environment examples of this theory are when a learner is successful they may gain a certificate, verbal praise, longer break (positive reinforcement) or achieving a high grade allowing them to miss out additional pieces of coursework. (negative reinforcement) E. L Thorndike (1874 – 1949) played a crucial role in determining key laws to learning from a behaviourist perspective. He argued that learning was a gradual process and certain conditions would encourage learning. These were: a) The law of effect – learners are more likely to continue with a behaviour /learning if there is some sort of reward. Most commonly in the learning environment, a teacher will give verbal praise for success and positive efforts. b) The law of recency – the most recent learning is most likely to be remembered and where a task has been completed and rewarded soon after will have most impact on a learner. A good example is in DTLLS, assignments and journals are read and feedback given very soon after it has been submitted. It helps learners to know that they have been successful and achieved. c) The law of exercise – The more a task is completed the quicker it is achieved. Within those 3 domains there are 6 levels of learning development. Starting from the bottom, with the easiest level, to the top, which is the most complex level of learning and achieving a form of ‘mastery in a subject’. When looking at Blooms 3 dimensional pyramid, I would argue that the behaviourist schools of thought would only promote lower level learning purely because there is no encouragement to think outside of the box and have free reign to test out hypotheses and ideas. Bloom taxonomy of learning has played a significant part in planning and enabling learning. The application of his theory helps teachers take an inclusive approach by being able to differentiate tasks to suit the learners’ abilities at that current time. It also means that whilst different levels of tasks are being set, all learners can grow at their own rate and feel fully valued in the process. We might be setting different learning goals with learners based on their current level of learning but with a view to helping them to grow towards the next level of learning in Blooms model. Therefore, Teachers should be focused on promoting a growth from surface learning or learning without understanding (Petty, G. Pg 11. 2004) to deep understanding where the learner is able to critically evaluate and dissect their own ideas and findings from their learning. Gestalt theory is another important piece of theory that sits under the cognitivism framework. In particular the work of Max Wertheimer (1922) shaped the theory in learning. Gestalt means â€Å"whole† or â€Å"shape or pattern† (www. learningandteaching. info/). In contrast to Thorndikes earlier concept that learning requires no insight, the Gestalt angle emphasises the importance of insight in learning. According to J. Atherton ‘it concentrates on the way in which the mind insists on finding patterns in things, and how this contributes to learning, especially the development of â€Å"insight†. ’ (www. learningandteaching. info/) According to gestalt theory, the brain will eventually see a pattern in what a learner is studying and make sense of it before the learner fully understands what it is they really understand the concept in a stage by stage process Once they have the ‘knack’, that learning becomes permanent. Within the learning environment, when many learners are trying to learn new skills, they can experience frustration and anxiety. It is the job of the teacher to keep motivating and encouraging them to continue until they get the knack. Such an example might be a learner driver learning to pull off without stalling. It’s useful to consider the Gestalt approach when planning lessons because if the teacher has a structured and repeated method of doing things, the learners will recognise the pattern and find it easier to complete exercises and learn from those exercises. Constructivism in learning Constructivism sits under the umbrella of cognitivism.

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What is a hero? That is the question that has many different answers depending on who you ask. There are some pretty popular answers to that question. One of those answers is; â€Å"A hero is someone who helps other people, or helps to make other people's lives better.† Another is; â€Å"A hero is a person who tries to make the world a better place.† or â€Å"A hero is a person who does something that is more than what is expected.† Still others are â€Å"A hero is someone that doesn't do something for his or her own problems but for the benefit of others† and â€Å"A hero is a person that doesn't want to be a hero just to be famous.† Those were just some statements about what people think a hero is, but what about the qualities a hero should have? There are many qualities that people think a hero should have. To name a few of those qualities there is; courage, determination, focus, compassion, dedication, honesty, loyalty, responsibility, and wisdom. (http://www.personalitytutor.com/qualities-of-a-hero.html). Most people believe these are very important qualities to have, probably because they themselves wish they had more of those traits. Most people believe that these traits are not just traits of â€Å"superheroes†; they are also the traits of everyday heroes, or real heroes-not super heroes- throughout history. An example of an â€Å"everyday† hero is Bethany Hamilton, she is a surfer who on October 31, 2003 at age 13, was attacked by a 14 foot long tiger shark while surfing, and lost her arm. (http://www.values.com/inspirational-sayings-billboards/39-Rising-Above) She luckily survived the attack, but it seemed that her lifelong dream to become a professional surfer was almost ruined. After a few months of healing and such she got back on her surf board to... ... told and said the message â€Å"never give up†. One of the main qualities that both these heroes had was courage. The reason for this is that there were many bad things that happened in their lives, and even though it was scary they push forward. Courage is one of the main qualities that people say when asked â€Å"What is a quality that a hero should possess?† We all what to be courageous, and when we see a â€Å"hero† being that, it makes us believe that we can be too. That is another good thing heroes do; they inspire us to, be courageous, to help somebody, or to not give up. "You blaze the trail. And sometimes that involves doing something that scares the heck out of you." (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/liz-murray-shares-her-tale-of-life-from-homeless-to-harvard/article1314532/) That is a quote by Liz Murray that inspires us to try something new and be courageous.

Glass Menagerie Essay Essay

Have you ever read the book The Glass Menagerie and seen the movie? There are more similarities between the book and the movie version than there are differences. The movie does have some small differences but the movie script is almost identical to the script of the play. They both have the same setting and all the scenes take place in the apartment of the Wingfields. All the characters also remain the same consisting of only Amanda Wingfield, her children Tom and Laura, and Jim O’Connor (the gentleman caller). There were many technological aspects of the play and the movie that were different. Some things that were done in the movie could not be done in the play. For example, in the movie, you can see the scene from different views and different frames. Also, in the movie, the actor’s backs could be towards the audience, but actors can’t do that on stage in a play. Lastly, in the movie, music was played in the background during the scenes, which is something that wasn’t done in the play. Some of Laura’s features that are in the play are also different in the movie. Laura had a brace on her leg during high school because of a disability but the brace was no longer on during the movie. In the movie, Laura seemed like a normal person and you would probably not even be able to tell there was anything wrong with her if her family didn’t show such and exaggeration of her being a cripple. Amanda also acts like she was still young expecting gentleman callers at any moment and in the movie the actress that plays Amanda seems way to old, I would have used someone a bit younger. When Jim comes over, Amanda flirts with him like she is the one trying to marry him instead of Laura. Tom also seems different in the movie. In the movie he is kind of creepy and it seems like he does not care much for his family and is just waiting for the chance to leave. In the play he seems like a good person who wants to do the best for his family but wants to get out. Similarities are more common between the play and movie. As I mentioned before, the scripts are almost identical to one another and there are only a few sections in which the movie strays from what is written in the book. Most of the characters, with the exception of Amanda, follow the personalities that are described in the play. The apartment is also set up  the same way as it was in the play. Even outside the apartment was the same with the dance hall in the alley and the fire escape. The story lines of both the play and movie were also the same. The movie differs little from the book with the exception of the differences above. In comparing the play, The Glass Menagerie, to the movie, they are very similar in most ways. The differences lie in the personalities of the characters themselves and how they are portrayed. It seems like when creating the movie they chose to stick as close to the play as possible.

Essay about Aristotelian Philosophy and Plays - 1777 Words

Aristotelian Philosophy and Plays According to Aristotelian philosophy a tragedy is a compressed development of a single plot. Aristotles principles have been derived from Greek mythology. He studied their plays, which had been enacted and hence laid down a set of rules. All playwrights and authors have followed his rules for centuries his rules have been considered a guide to a well-written tragedy. Aristotle states that for a play to be a tragedy the play should consist of a genre and generic attributes. It should have a mimesis/imitation for Aristotle all literature was an art of imitation as artists imitated life to produce their literature the same with the audience they would try to mime what they had seen heard or†¦show more content†¦Spectacle versus tragic or comic effects, Aristotle stated that plays that have painful situations striking people who are either friends or blood relatives could manipulate the audiences emotions and so work on their minds. Traditional and individual talent, if the work is derived from examples of previous greatest works then there is a restriction on the poet he cannot destroy the framework. Poetry inspiration and madness, Aristotle believed that a poet must be either really gifted to imitate any kind of human character or must be mad. Literature and the agon, according to Aristotle a tragedy must have two set of characters both whose ends are different because of their opposite nature. The ghost is introduced by Shakespeare right at the beginning the main character that is Hamlet is told of the gruesome evil and violent death of the ghost and the sexual aspect of the play was clearly evident when Claudius married Gertrude the ghost tells Hamlet that he has been given the duty to avenge the death of his father Hamlet now tries to find a way to kill Claudius although he doesnt know how to go about it. 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