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Becky Kayser

Dr. Kim

Educational Psychology

03 December 2015

Learning

Learning is the organization and manipulation of information into knowledge and skills.

This manipulation and organization occurs through cognitive processesthat is perceiving,

solving, memorizing, and thinking. Whether through formal education or life experiences,

however, learning occurs daily and uniquely to each person.

Through the studying of education psychology and through personal experience as a

student, I realize a vast array of theories exist to define learning. These many theories exist

because each person through biological reasons and experiences remains unique and

individualized. The theories I most relate to and find myself using in my own learning, however,

mainly come from Piaget and Gardner.

Piaget is known as a constructivist theorist. According to Jeanne Ellis Ormrod (2014),

constructivism is defined as the theoretical perspective proposing that learners actively

construct (rather than passively absorb knowledge from their experiences). Therefore, with

Piaget, students develop, organize, and manipulate information based on what they already know

and what experiences they have had. With this information, Piaget concluded that children

organize information into schemasan organized group of similar actions or thought that are

used repeatedly in response to the environment (Ormrod, 2014). For learning to take place,
then, assimilation and accommodation must occur. Assimilation is the process of dealing with

an object or even in a way that is consistent with an existing scheme, and accommodation is the

process of dealing with a new object or event by either modifying an existing scheme or

forming a new one (2014). Therefore, with all this in mind, a student will take new information

and manipulate it to fit what they already know and modify it into a schema for later reference.

Overall, a student will learn based on prior experiences and by what and how he or she decides

to take in.

Continuing with the idea of prior experience and knowledge, Howard Gardner

investigated the theory of multiple intelligences. In his theory, he stresses the individual person

and the individual intelligences. First of all, the definition of intelligence is the ability to apply

prior knowledge and experiences flexibly to accomplish challenging new tasks (Ormrod, 2014).

Based on that definition, Gardner concluded that people possess multiple intelligences. The

overall idea of multiple intelligences is people may be skilled in one area while not skilled in

another. Respectively, then, he broke the intelligences into eight parts: linguistic, logical-

mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. As

an example, a student may be musically inclined but struggle with spatial skills, or one student

may excel in linguistics but fall behind in mathematics. When teachers cater to these different

intelligences, a better understanding may be reached as well as better interpretation and

communication from students.

In my future classroom, my individual students will be the most important influence on

my teaching strategies and my classroom curriculum. Each student comes from a different

household, different family, and different experiences. Each student possesses qualities unique to

how they will approach learning and what they will learn. Therefore, I will individualize my
teaching, holding to the ideas of Piaget and Gardner. I will promote learning by appealing to

various background and intelligences.

One example of a lesson I could possibly teach is a lesson on the water cycle in a fourth

grade life science class. First of all, in accordance with Piagets theory, I will start with what they

know, investigating their schemas. I will ask them to brain storm by drawing a picture of what

they think happens with the water on earth and sharing stories of times they have encountered

water. From that point, I will facilitate discussion that will slowly open up pre-organized

schemas so that assimilation and accommodation may start. Throughout the lesson, I will present

a well-organized, easy-to-follow chart of the cycle and talk through the stages. The students will

have their own chart they must fill out. Then to further check for comprehension and reinforce

information, I will ask them to create a project with a friend in the class. The project can come

from any of their strengths or intelligencesa song, diagram, dance, case study, play,

discussion, etc. They will then present to the class.

This lesson approaches the views of Piaget in slowly relating to prior experiences and

gradually providing them with information for them to process and accommodate in their

schemas. Then by allowing them the opportunity to work on a class presentation with a partner

relates to Gardners multiple intelligences as they will be able to express how they understand

the information in the way they most strongly think. Plus, the class will be reinforced in the

water cycle content and in multiple ways that will appeal to the vast array of intelligences.
Reference List

Ormrod, J.E. (2011). Education psychology: developing learners. Boston: Pearson/Allyn &

Bacon.

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