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Chapter Reflection

Chapter 1 of our text discusses the definition of learning and various theories of instruction. I am
not an educator in the sense of teaching students. I have often wondered how education majors
were instructed on how to teach students. I believe this course will assist me in discovering how
students learn.
I work with a program at my technical college that assists allied health students in courses in
which they may be experiencing difficulty. We have students that struggle in Anatomy &
Physiology and Medical-Surgical Nursing. Students come to our program for assistance with
learning and retention skills. Many of the students we encounter are lazy and do not want to do
the work required in order to earn a passing grade. On the other hand, we see students that
wish to succeed but have difficulty in particular areas of their selected majors. We meet and talk
with students about the difficulties they are experiencing. Sometimes it is as simple as
instructing them to read the chapters in their textbooks, define terms, review charts and
diagrams, make flash cards, establish study groups, or work with the tutor individually in areas
of difficulty. By working with our tutor, we have many students that have been able to succeed
and continue in their chosen major.
World-Wide Web Link
http://online.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/eitankaplan/pages/home.htm
The web site discusses Constructivism as a theory about learning and knowledge. The discussion
includes information about how children learn. The theory has been previously discussed by Jean
Piaget, John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, and Vygotsky. The theory is experience-based and is
concerned with the construction of knowledge; not the reproduction of knowledge. There are
several other links you can follow on the web site that discuss the Five Tenets of Constructivism,
Principles of Constructivism, Constructivism in the Classroom and Technology. On the Principles
page, it states students learn using language, social activity, time, motivation, and action. I
found the web site to be very informative regarding the Constructivism Theory. The site was
helpful to me because I believe this is how we should teach our children. I was always taught
with the teacher being the center in the learning process. In my opinion, teachers are often
inflexible and must get past the idea if they wish to have an impact on students. I do feel one
would have a difficult time finding a school that uses this child-centered approach. I noted a few
typographical errors on the web site but I felt the information was solid.
Professional Journal Article

Smith, A.G. (1998). The application of three models of educational psychology for assessing and
remediating stress in a high school student: a case study. Guidance & Counseling, 13(3), 13-18.
The article presents a review of three learning theories. The article centers on a high school
senior named June who has a psychological diagnosis of persistent academic stress. Junes
symptoms are distraction in the classroom, displaced emotions, test anxiety, and academic
deficiencies. It is the goal of the faculty to assist June in overcoming her test anxiety and help
her become successful.

Junes parents divorced three years ago. She is the oldest of four children in her family. The
children live with their father. Their mother and father agreed upon the living arrangement.
According to the psychologist there is conflict between June and her mother. June feels a sense
of rejection from her mother. The psychologist notes June has difficulties in retaining prior
learning. June is described as low average in memory skills.
The psychologist presented a report to the faculty to assist them with a long-range plan of
instruction for June. The psychologist presented treatment guidelines according to three
prominent theories: Humanistic approach, Cognitive Development, and Behaviorism. The article
discusses the three theories in detail and how they could be applied to Junes situation. Mr. Smith
stated we must look at which theory best fits the needs of June. Also discussed was how
teachers must think outside the box because the way we have always done it does not seem to
work anymore. Mr. Smith said any of the strategies could be beneficial to June.
I felt as if I was left hanging about what worked and what did not work for June. I wish the
article would have gone on to discuss how the faculty decided on which approach to take and
how it was implemented. I feel like I was cheated by not knowing the end result of the strategy
implementation.

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