How I Believe that Students Learn No two students are exactly the same, so it is safe to say that students

will have many different styles of learning. As a teacher, it is necessary that I recognize these different styles of learning and adapt my teaching methods to accommodate to all of my students needs to make them as confident as possible in a classroom. While students may unknowingly use bits and pieces of several learning theories in their attempt to learn, I feel that nearly all students use one theory in particular. The learning theory that I believe is most evident in students of all ages is social cognitivism. Furthermore, I feel that it is the ideas of Len Vygotsky and Albert Bandura in relation to social constructivism and social cognitive theory, respectively, that really describe how students learn most effectively. Social constructivism is strongly linked to theorist Len Vygotsky. The main idea of social constructivism in relation to teaching is that a students learning is greatly impacted by their social experiences. According to Ormrod, social constructivism is a theoretical perspective that focuses on peoples collective efforts to impose meaning on the world (Ormrod, 2006, p. 235). What this means in a classroom is that a student is likely to increase their knowledge through interactions and cooperatively working with others more efficiently and effectively than if they were working individually. From a teaching standpoint, a social constructivist would encourage an educator to work as a guide rather than a director. This would create an environment that encourages the concept of teaching as a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. It also stresses the importance of scaffolding, which parallels the idea of teaching as a guide on the side. The main concept behind these two ideas is that a teacher should operate as a support system to help a student reach their potential. This support from teachers and peers is the first way in which I feel students have the best opportunity of being successful in the classroom. Social cognitive theory, as defined by Ormrod, is a theoretical perspective that focuses on how people learn by observing others and how they eventually assume control over their own behavior (Ormrod, 2006, p. 343). The main theorist behind this concept is Albert Bandura. The idea of social cognitive theory idea parallels that of social constructivism in the sense that it stresses the importance of others in a students own learning. In Ormrod, there are many assumptions that are associated with this theory. I believe that the idea that behavior is directed toward a particular goal and that behavior becomes increasingly self-regulated are the two main assumptions of this theory (Ormrod, 2006, p. 345). In my opinion, all students have a goal in mind whenever completing a task, whether the task is a simple daily worksheet or a research paper. I also feel that students will gradually become more accustomed to self-regulation and rely less on scaffolding as they mature and become more confident in their own abilities. The last important concept that social cognitive theory touches on is that of modeling. Ormrod defines modeling as demonstrating a behavior for another or observing and imitating anothers behavior (Ormrod, 2006, p.349). As a teacher it is important to act as the model in many situations and allow our students to imitate our behavior. This can be a very effective teaching method and one that can make it very easy for a student to learn. By merely watching a teacher do something, a student may be able to acquire the ability

to perform the same task. This is known as the observational learning effect and is one key way in which modeling can positively affect behavior (Ormrod, 2006, p. 351). As mentioned however, students learn in a variety of other ways besides those already mentioned. Another method of learning is behaviorism and the concept of operant conditioning as expanded upon by theorist B.F. Skinner. This theory focuses on the importance of using reinforcements, both positive and negative, to impact the behaviors of students (Ormrod, 2006, p. 311-315). I believe the concept of positive reinforcement has a great impact on the actions of students. By simply providing students with a reward or positive reinforcement for a job well done can lead to a student repeating that behavior in the future. However, this will only be helpful a students learning if the reinforcement is immediate and all students have equal opportunity to learn. Finally, along with the theory of social cognitivism as previously mentioned, individual cognitivism can also affect a students learning. The main theorists of this theory are Jean Piaget who studied individual constructivism and Atkinson and Shiffrin who worked on a theory known as information processing theory. Piagets individual constructivism places emphasis on assimilation and accommodation, both of which can be very influential in a students learning (Ormrod, 2006, p. 231). Assimilation is the process of a student fitting new knowledge into their current knowledge base (Ormrod, 2006, p. 30). Accommodation on the other hand, is how students shift their current perception of how things work to include new information (Ormrod, 2006, p. 35). I believe that both of these influence how a student learns and processes new information that they learn in the classroom. Atkinson and Shiffrins theory focused on a students memory (Ormrod, 2006, p. 196-203). They differentiate between the sensory register, working memory and long-term memory. These various parts of memory all have different functions yet they are all essential to a students ability to learn and remember a new concept or retrieve pre-existing knowledge. How This Will Affect my Teaching Knowing that each student learns differently and that there are so many styles of learning makes it extremely difficult as a teacher. It is important to vary activities often enough so that you are reaching out to all types of student learners and so that students are not becoming bored with a repetitive daily routine. This requires that a teacher constantly reviews his/her work and continuously adjusts their style of teaching to best fit the needs of the students. In regards to the aforementioned learning theories, social constructivism and social cognitive theory, there are several things that can be done to make sure students are in an atmosphere that is conducive to effective learning. The first portion of social constructivism places an emphasis on the impact of a students social experiences and environment. As a teacher, I think the use of hands-on activities and peer reviews would be a valuable resource in helping a student learn through social experiences. A hands-on activity such as a field trip to a museum for history class is an example of something that could be very beneficial in a students learning. Also, something as simple as peer review is a good way for a student to get feedback on their own work and possibly introduce them to different viewpoints or new information that

can aide their own learning. Furthermore, group activities or projects are a great way for students to learn. Provided that the groups run smoothly, I think it is beneficial for students to work in groups, whether on a research project or on a daily task. Working in groups is a good way to raise a students self-efficacy in the sense that it may allow them to accomplish something they thought might have been impossible by themselves. Social constructivism also points out the importance of scaffolding or the idea of acting as a guide on the side (Ormrod, 2006, p. 253-255). This will affect my teaching by forcing me to provide support to students while working on a task and to constantly provide feedback once a task has been completed. By doing so, it will make it easier for students to gage how well they are doing and whether or not they need to adjust their learning strategies, at which point they could discuss with me any specific problems they are having. These are just a few ways in which my teaching will be affected by the ideas of social constructivism. The idea that behavior is directed toward a goal (Ormrod, 2006, p. 345) is the first assumption of the social cognitive theory that was previously mentioned. In my opinion, it can be very valuable and effective for a teacher to ask students to point out their goals and hold them accountable in reaching those goals. Rewarding students when they reach their goals can further support this. If a student is unsatisfied with their grade on a test, it is important for the teacher to have that student set a reasonable goal for a future test. An example would be to increase their score by a half of a letter grade. If completed, the student would be rewarded. From my own experiences, I know that I work much harder when there is a goal in mind. I think the same goes for many students so it is important to use goals as a motivating factor in getting students to learn. The second assumption of social cognitive theory is that student behavior becomes increasingly self-regulated over time. As a way to foster this self-regulation, it would be a good idea to assign a large project over a long period of time and provide certain deadlines to meet in order to complete the task. By doing so, it would allow students to work at their own pace but would force them to regulate their behavior in order to get the assignment done. The last point of the social cognitive theory is modeling. This is a learning method that can easily be accomplished in any classroom, no matter what level you are teaching. Modeling is commonly seen in the form of an experiment. By performing an experiment in front of the class, a teacher is modeling a task in a way that makes it easier for the students to understand and replicate. Furthermore, knowing the impact of behaviorism and how students learn will have a big impact on how I teach. Knowing how particular students respond to reinforcements of various types can influence how I will deal with those students. It will be important for me to use positive reinforcements to reward good behavior. In turn, this will produce the same behavior in the future. It will be necessary for me to use the reinforcement in an effective manner though. I must explicitly explain what behaviors will be rewarded and how they will be rewarded. Then I will have to follow through on this promise in a timely manner. If I can do this consistently, it will eventually lead to automaticity from the students in which they do the behavior on their own without need for a reward. The last theory mentioned which affects learning is individual cognitivism, which talks

about the concepts of individual constructivism and information processing theory. Knowing the importance and influence of assimilation as discussed, I would try to make my lesson plan revolve around what students already know. Doing this would make it easier for them to fit this new knowledge in with their current knowledge. Finally, an understanding of how memory works would impact my teaching methods. I would try to keep the students attention and keep them interested at all times so information makes its way from sensory registry to working memory. Furthermore, I would again try to connect new information to students existing information because it has been shown that this helps move information to long-term memory. Ultimately, it is the goal of every teacher to have their lesson make it to the long-term memory and these are a few things that I could do as a teacher to ensure that this happens. Overall, there is no one way that will help every student learn every piece of information that you give him or her as a teacher. However, knowing the different ways that students learn and how you can adapt to these methods can be very helpful in allowing all of your students to experience a great deal of learning and reach their full potential.