My Thoughts on Learning and Development

     I believe students experience learning, gains in knowledge, and understanding via social interactions and unique, collaborative experiences.  This process of learning is continuous and ever-changing.  Each of my students enters the learning situation with their own initial base of knowledge, personal experiences, differences in interests, gender, culture, needs, and styles of learning.  Learning begins from their point of reference.  My students then begin to construct and modify their initial understanding into a more meaningful understanding of a particular concept or topic.

     For learning construction to occur, my children need authentic, collaborative experiences that lead to deeper levels of understanding.  Herreid noted that "students gain more experience, improve better attitudes toward the subject matter, develop social skills, and learn to respect different points of view when working collaboratively (1998).  Working collaboratively with other learners allows them to experience all of the various strengths, interests, and ideas brought to the table by the other students. As reported by Kose, Sunin, Ergun, and Gezer (2010), cooperative learning increases students' self-esteem, motivation, social development, and abilities to express their thoughts. 
     
     Collaborative learning allows students to utilize their social skills while cooperating with their peers. This process eventually contributes to the increased maturation of their learning and cognition (Johnson and Johnson, 1991.) In this type of environment, my students can learn and reach higher levels of performance and learning versus attempting the task alone.  Collaborative  learning  aligns  with  the  most  recent  perspectives  and   research  on  learning,  establishing  it  as  a  "social,   cultural,   an d  interpersonal    constructive  process  governed  as  much  by  social  and  situational  factors, as  by  cognitive  ones (Shuell, 1996; Van der Linden,   Erkens,  Schmidt,  &  Renshaw,  in  press)."

     The collaborative experiences I create must be organized in a positive and supportive, yet challenging environment.  My students need daily challenges involving tasks that require them to stretch their skills, knowledge, and understanding beyond their current levels and abilities.  The challenges must coupled with courage and perseverance.

I pledge to challenge my learners to :

• participate in discussions
• prove/support their ideas
• explore their communities and the world
• believe they can change the world
• increase their creativity
• refine their understanding constantly
• think critically, not just know the right answer
• ask questions often

     I also believe the development of my students begins early and occurs at varying rates.  My students become products of their experiences, which places great emphasis on the early experiences learners have in relation to increasing development and learning.  Therefore, I must assume nothing and take constant inventory via various pre-assessments prior to beginning new concepts.  For my learners to continue to develop, they need frequent opportunities to be successful, exposure to a variety of learning activities, and positive, secure relationships and interactions within my classroom.

References:

Johnson

.

D.W.

.

&

Johnson

.

R.T

.

(1991)

.

Learning

together

and

alone:

Cooperative,

competitive,

and

individualistic.

Englewoo

d

Cliffs

,

NJ

:

Prentic

e

Johnson

.

D.W.

.

&

Johnson

.

R.T

.

(1991)

.

Learning

together

and

alone:

Cooperative,

competitive,

and

individualistic.

Englewoo

d

Cliffs

,

NJ

:

Prentic

e

Herried, C.F. (1998). Why isn't cooperative learning used to
     teach science? Bioscience, 48, 553-559.

,

C

.

F

.

(1998)

.

Wh

y

isn'

t

cooperativ

e

leam

-

in

g

use

d

t

o

teac

h

science

?

Bioscience

Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. (1991). Learning together and 
     alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic.     
     Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Köse, S., Şahin, A., Ergü, A., & Gezer, K. (2010). The effects of
     cooperative learning experience on eighth grade students'
     achievement and attitude toward science.  
     Education, 131(1), 169-180.

Shuell, T.J. (1996). Teaching and learning in a classroom context.
     In D.C. Berliner & R.C. Calfee (Eds.), pp. 726-764. New York:
     Macmillan.