SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 1

Self-As-Learner Paper

Educational Psychology

Bailey M. Baughn

Chesapeake College
 SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 2

Self-As-Learner Paper

“Take a moment and think about how you learn best as a student?” When I was

confronted with this question it kind of took me back. When I started to think about writing this

paper I couldn’t put into words how exactly I learn until I looked into the learning theories and

styles. It amazed me that there are so many different influences and factors on how any student

learns. And the way one student learns best is completely opposite than how another student

learns best. There is no “right” way to teach something, the right way to teach something is to

know all the different learning theories, styles, and factors that you can incorporate into a

classroom to help all children learn.

When analyzing myself as a learner I found that I learn best from visuals, hands on

activities, I learn from my peers, I learn from repetition, and I have found that I learn best when I

am organized. I was doing some online statistics the other day, I read the powerpoint on my

laptop and went to go try the online homework and did not score very well. I was so frustrated

because I read the powerpoint but I still didn’t get it. So I told myself to go re-read the

powerpoint, this time I printed out the powerpoint and used a purple highlighter to highlight all

the important equations and notes. I tried the homework again and scored 100%. I found that

having a copy of the powerpoint printed in front of me on paper really helped. I was able to write

down notes and highlight the things I needed to know. I love the vibrant colors and visuals, any

time I can get out my different colored pens and create a graphic organizer or create a poster I

get so excited. Different colored pens lets me use one color to write the not so important stuff

and another color marks the important things I need to know. I have found that if I write myself a

reminder with a vibrant, well liked color, I can remember me writing the reminder without
 SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 3

actually seeing the reminder. I think it’s because I go back and think about “oh I was stuck

between picking out the purple or pink pen and I chose pink and this is what I wrote”. I

remember best from doing fun hands on activities, this is because I learn from experiences. I also

enjoy working in small groups, this gives me the chance to learn from my peers. I find that

sometimes when the teacher stands up in a classroom and gives a lecture for an hour there is just

some things I don’t understand. Sometimes teachers explain things in a way that I don’t

understand and for me to ask a peer that can explain it in a simpler way the way that they

understand, it helps me better understand. I like to be creative, one way to incorporate creativity

would be using the information we learn to create something new. Providing students with a

chance to connect new knowledge with existing knowledge. This would be incorporating the

cognitivism learning theory, this would give students the chance to be problem solvers and

creative learners. It will give the students a chance to understand by applying, evaluating,

examining information, critiquing/judging, and analyzing.

When I feel organized I feel “put together” which gives me confidence and actually I think it

helps me better as a student. When in a classroom, it’s important for me to remember the way I

learn and share it with my students. For example, when taking notes use different colors, having

them work in small groups and sharing with their peers, be creative and give lots of chances for

hands on learning. And as a teacher demonstrate good organizational skills and explain how

organization is important, so that your students will hopefully want to be organized just like you.

Growing up throughout grade school we were never given “brain breaks”. Even today in

college there are times I need to get up and walk to the bathroom to give my body and my brain a

break. Brain breaks boost blood flow and sends oxygen to the brain, brain breaks increase
 SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 4

students’ on task behavior. I think giving children access to fidgets and short brain breaks

throughout the day would also influence their learning. Being in a special education room with

difficult behaviors at times we use a lot of reinforcement. Every child is different so one

reinforcement may not work for another. This is where the behaviorist theory comes into play.

We use a lot of positive reinforcement like behavior charts, where we introduce a stimulus to the

environment to shape a behavior. I also see this in some classrooms where the whole class is

working for a “pizza party” or a “dance party”. I think this is good in a learning environment to

shape positive, responsible behavior. It’s important for me to know how I learn as a student so

that I can provide my future students with materials and tips on how to become a successful

learner.

A learning theory that I need to focus on as a teacher is constructivism. From this

perspective the teacher is considered a facilitator of learning rather than an instructor. Being in a

school that is mainly spanish speaking is one of my weaknesses. But it’s my job to learn how to

change myself to help them. One way I could do this is to take a class on spanish speaking and

how to help those second language learners. Also, being in a self contained special education

room with 8 kids, from 8 different cultural backgrounds, that all have different levels of needs

can be very difficult at times. This learning theory lacks structure, and I am a very structured

learner. This learning is very student centered and all of their backgrounds and experiences lead

to other students' learning. I learn better from my peers which gives me all the more reason to

learn how to facilitate this learning theory in a structured classroom. When teaching I also need

to remember that there is a diverse group of learners before me and I need to know what each of

their skills are and how to differentiate learning techniques to fit their learning style, because it’s
 SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 5

about them and teaching them so they can become successful learners. Just because I learn one

way doesn’t mean I should only teach that certain way. I need to incorporate more audio into my

teaching style. One way I can do this is to incorporate videos, podcasts, or read-aloud books. Or

even providing students with the option to be able to record my lecture to replay it. This would

benefit my audio learners the ones that learn from hearing information.

Being able to be true to yourself and realize what you need to work on as a teacher is

important in helping students succeed. Ways to learn different teaching styles would be to

observe different teachers, in different settings. Some teachers are stronger in some learning

theories while others are strong in other areas. The amazing thing about being a teacher is that all

teachers have the same goal, for their students to be successful. So facilitating meetings or going

to teaching conferences and sharing ideas and thoughts is a great way to collaborate with others.
SELF- AS-LEARNER PAPER 6

Works Cited

Seifert, Kelvin & Sutton, Rosemary. 2009. Educational Psychology-Second Edition.