Learning Theorist Facebook Parody
Sonja Brooks
CEP 800 - Fall 2010
This reflection was fun way to reveal something about the nature of what the learning theorists believe, and how the others saw the world of learning differently including an explanation about the ideas that went into this project and how my representation illustrates the nature of those ideas.
Status Update #1
**The image doesn't show up well on number 1. The other status updates are easier to see.
The idea for the Facebook parody above came from a new program we are studying at the elementary school I teach at. The program is called Conscious Discipline. It is all about making children and the adults that interact with them, aware of how their behavior affects their life/learning. In turn, adults create a safe place where kids can learn and express themselves. While studying this program I began to think about how the learning theorists might view it. Would they agree with it? What pieces of the program fit into their models?
The program is said to increase test scores ad reduce the amount of behavior problems. This sounds ideal to me. Plato came to mind immediately. Plato might see it as getting closer to the ideal child but other theorists would see something else at work here. The program also consists of many visuals that the children can refer to. The children can see evidence of love and caring all around them from the teachers and fellow students. This led me to think Kholer would see part of the Gestalt theory in action. The final character in this parody is John Dewey. Since the program teaches students to build upon their experiences of emotion to learn how to channel and express their feelings, I felt Dewey would want to put his two cents in about being active participants in their own learning.
The program is said to increase test scores ad reduce the amount of behavior problems. This sounds ideal to me. Plato came to mind immediately. Plato might see it as getting closer to the ideal child but other theorists would see something else at work here. The program also consists of many visuals that the children can refer to. The children can see evidence of love and caring all around them from the teachers and fellow students. This led me to think Kholer would see part of the Gestalt theory in action. The final character in this parody is John Dewey. Since the program teaches students to build upon their experiences of emotion to learn how to channel and express their feelings, I felt Dewey would want to put his two cents in about being active participants in their own learning.
Status Update #2
The Daily 5 is a literacy management program I am using in my classroom for the first time this year. Through this semester, every time we studied a new theorist, I tried to find evidence of their theories at work in my classroom. I attempted to put myself in the mindset of the theorist to try to better understand where they were coming from with their ideas. I did this while examining the Daily 5 program, hence, the subject of my second Facebook parody.
When we studied behaviorism I could see a lot of Skinners ideas of conditioning in the set up of the program. Children helped create expectations for their literacy study and then they practiced starting with short time periods working up to long periods of time. The element missing from Skinner’s theory was the positive tangible. The reward that was offered is the promise of learning. Each day we talked about why we do each component. The children’s curiosity for learning is reward enough. They get to choose what they work on as long as it falls under our 5 daily choices. This reminded me of Piaget’s stages and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development as the children progress at their own rate and build upon understanding.
When we studied behaviorism I could see a lot of Skinners ideas of conditioning in the set up of the program. Children helped create expectations for their literacy study and then they practiced starting with short time periods working up to long periods of time. The element missing from Skinner’s theory was the positive tangible. The reward that was offered is the promise of learning. Each day we talked about why we do each component. The children’s curiosity for learning is reward enough. They get to choose what they work on as long as it falls under our 5 daily choices. This reminded me of Piaget’s stages and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development as the children progress at their own rate and build upon understanding.
Status Update #3
I run an after school program at my school called Destination Imagination. This program enlists children as problem solvers. The children are given an extensive, creative problem that they have to develop a creative solution to with a group of no more than 6 peers. The children take the lead and the adult is only there to oversee. The adult is not allowed to assist in any way except to help gather materials asked for by the children. These untraditional roles and the active participation made me think of Vygotsky. The active learning also made me think that Dewey would see the power this program has with children in terms of learning. The children are trying new things and solving problems they have never seen before without the help of a knowledgeable adult.
On the other hand, I am presenting Locke as being stumped by the success of the children. Locke’s blank slate theory presents children as blank slates waiting to be filled with knowledge. The children have to do the learning on their own with only the help of their peers and not from the adults prior knowledge and teaching. At the end of the Facebook interaction Vygotsky reinforces that children are curious. The collaboration of the students in this program encourages the children to take charge of their own learning.
On the other hand, I am presenting Locke as being stumped by the success of the children. Locke’s blank slate theory presents children as blank slates waiting to be filled with knowledge. The children have to do the learning on their own with only the help of their peers and not from the adults prior knowledge and teaching. At the end of the Facebook interaction Vygotsky reinforces that children are curious. The collaboration of the students in this program encourages the children to take charge of their own learning.
Status Update #4
References and Credits
*Profile pictures were copy and pasted from Facebook discussion boards dedicated to the different theorists.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1697083857
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LSvygotsky.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plato_Silanion_Musei_Capitolini_MC1377.jpg
http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/wolfgangkohler.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Dewey_lib.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Piaget.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/John-Locke/57433596917
*Facebook Parody images were created using PrintMaster 12.0
