Diversity, Learning and Change ~ Learner Diversity

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Learner diversity is an issue that has taken a great importance in the classroom over the past 20-25 years. Australia is a multicultural nation and therefore it is important that the modern education system reflects this. ‘Educators do not believe that all learners are the same’ (Burke, 2001) then why is the average classroom across Australia target to the same audience of students and not accommodating of different students needs and their backgrounds? The theory of multiple intelligences was developed by Howard Gardner. The intelligences that Gardener describes are ‘logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal (understanding of others), intrapersonal (understanding of self), and naturalist’ (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartleft, & Biehler, 2009, p. 113). Gardner also ‘argues that there is both a biological and cultural basis for the multiple intelligences’ (Anonymous, 2005, p. 13) meaning that multiple intelligences aren’t solely dictated by biological factors or cultural factors but rather a combination of both.

Learning styles also have a large impact on how a student performs at school. These learning styles are sensing learners or intuitive learners, visual learners or verbal learners, inductive learners or deductive learners, active learners or reflective learners and sequential learners or global learners (Sleigh, 2002, p. 17). I have experienced the disadvantages of not catering for all learning styles. In Year 9 my English teacher instructed all lessons from the front of the class and although they were at the front of the class they never wrote notes, drew diagrams or made any markings on the whiteboard. I am a visual learner so therefore I found this subject extremely difficult because I relied solely on what was said in the classes but this was never reinforced with writing. My learning was heavily stunted by this lack of visual stimulus.

Diversity, Learning and Change ~ Changing Worlds

Howard Gardner

Learning in a changing world can be difficult and requires teachers to change their teaching styles to accommodate the global changes. The world is gaining increased changes in the areas of technology, globalisation, consumerism and environmentalism. Schools are changing from being a place of learning just for reading, writing and arithmetic to a place which places emphasis on the process of learning which develops children on all areas of life whilst taking into consideration cultural contexts, needs and interests. Gardner has explained the five minds for the future and by future he refers to ‘the increasing power of science and technology; the interconnectedness of the world in economic, cultural and social terms; and the incessant circulation and intermingling of human beings of diverse backgrounds and aspirations’ (Gardner, 2009, p. 1). Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future includes; ‘A disciplined mind… A synthesising mind … A creating mind … A respectful... An ethical mind’ (Edgar & Edgar, 2008, pp. 200-202).

Five Minds for the Future

My learning has been greatly influenced by the growing use of technology. When I was in primary school we were taught to use books to research information and that the internet was not accurate and that any information found on it must be re-checked with a book. Now at university I have found that I am using more internet resources than ever before and that this is because of the increased technology available to me. I now don’t have to try and find a book that shows clearly what I am trying to explain; instead I can just search in an educational database and sort through until I find what I would like this draws on elements of the synthesising mind. This has changed my learning because information is now easily accessible for all areas of research and this is because of technology.

Contexts for Learning ~ Quality Learning and Metacognition

Bloom's Taxomony

Quality learning is the total experience ‘not just what happens in the traditional classroom-that shapes their [students] judgements of quality, promotes retention and engages them in productive learning’ (Radloff, 2008, p. 1) and can be achieved through individualised teaching that draws on all levels of engagement and cognitive skills. Metacognition is the ‘knowledge about the operations of cognition and Rowto use them to achieve a learning goal’ (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartleft, & Biehler, 2009, p. 279). Bloom’s taxonomy refers to Metacognition as higher and lower order thinking that contains 6 levels of thinking. De Bono’s six thinking hats; White hat, Green hat, Black hat, Yellow hat, Red hat and Blue hat, are a concept that ‘aims to facilitate creative and productive thinking and more structured decision-making’ (RIC Publications , 2006, p. 18). These thinking hats are seen in classrooms across the world but are also used in businesses.

De Bono's Thinking Hats

As a learner I have experienced quality learning when learning how to scull in rowing. The environment was supportive whilst encouraging me to gain independence in order to develop smooth effortless strokes. KB, my coach used different teaching styles for each rower to ensure the message was easily understandable for all of us. These different teaching styles meant that my learning experience was tailored for a rower who had never tried sculling before. It was this tailoring of the teaching that meant that I was able to quickly learn how to scull but also how not to fall into the water. Therefore quality learning surrounds everyday life and sometimes we don’t even realise it. Metacognition has been used when developing reflective diary entries for Year 12 English where we had to explain our different levels of thinking and development of ideas for essays.

Contexts for Learning - Motivation, Interest and Engagement

Csikszentmihalyi's Flow

Motivation, interest and engagement are three interconnected learning qualities that all teachers must address when teaching in the modern day classroom. Motivation is ‘the process of instigating and sustaining goal-directed activities’ (Schunk, 2004, p. 484). Interest is ‘the feeling of one whose concern, curiosity, attention, etc. is fixed on something’ (Oxford University, 2001, p. 574) and engagement refers to the ‘act or state of engaging or being engaged’ (Oxford University, 2001, p. 363). The key theorists associated with interest, motivation and engagement are Csikszentmihalyi and Maslow. Csikszentmihalyi’s flow is ‘deep involvement in an activity that is perceived as rewarding in itself’ (Keller & Bless, 2008, p. 196). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is essential to the development of a quality learning experience. This hierarchy explains that ‘needs for safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization,’ (Koltko-Rivera, 2006, p. 303) must come before learning can be achieved and tackled.

Maslow's Hierachy of Needs

As a learner I have discovered the elements of motivation, interest and engagement. The key incident of realisation occurred at university. Subjects such as Information Technology and Popular Culture interest me and therefore my interest level in the content being taught increases. Upon the interest level rising I find that my motivation to put in the hard work and stay up to date improves whilst through putting in the extra effort my engagement with subject content is amplified. Then the whole cycle begins again. I have also experienced flow when I have been learning Oboe. My teacher’s individualised, student driven teaching style allowed my engagement to be at its greatest level and that is when a state of timelessness was achieved. Motivation, interest and engagement are three states of learning that are interconnected and you cannot have one without it affecting the other two.

Learning Theories ~ Cultural-Historical Theory

Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky developed the Cultural-Historical Theory to refer to ‘the interaction of interpersonal (social), cultural-historical and individual factors as the key to human development’ (Schunk, 2004, p. 294). The main theorist who is associated with the cultural-historical theory, also known as the socio-cultural theory is Lev Vygotsky. The key ideas within Vygotsky’s theory are that ‘Social interactions are critical... Self-regulation is developed through internalization.... of actions and mental operations that occur in social interactions. Human development occurs through cultural transmission of tools... Language is the most critical tool... The zone of proximal development’ (Schunk, 2004, p. 295). He also developed the idea that people are born into a moment of time and culture, and that people are born into a culture defined by history.

Zone of Proximal Development

‘The zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner has already mastered (the actual level of development) and what he or she can achieve when provided with educational support (potential development)’ (Coffey). Whilst learning the Bach Cello Suite I experienced the advantages to ZPD. My teacher had progressively taught me the piece section by section, teaching me the bow movement and the figure positions, although through repetition and practise I still could not achieved the desired outcome of a smooth flowing piece. The reason why is because my teacher had not shown or taught me how much weight and force I was to place behind the bow on different sections of the piece. Once this was explained the desired outcome occurred. It is clear that the cultural-historical theory allows teachers to understand students on a deeper level and use appropriate tools to both teach the curriculum but also reinforce values and beliefs appropriate to each student.

Learning Theories ~ Cognitive-Constructivism

Jean Piaget

Cognitive-constructivism theory ’emphasises the role of cognition, meaning assimilating and accommodating new information into existing schemes in an attempt to construct an understanding of the world in which we live and the rules by which it is governed’ (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartleft, & Biehler, 2009, p. 340) . Cognitive-constructivism’s most recognised theorist is Jean Piaget, who’s ‘main focus of constructivism has to do with the individual and how the individual constructs knowledge’ (Powell & Kalina, 2009). This theory is associated with the stages a child goes through based on their age. ‘Piaget describes what children of various ages will do’ (Clark, 1995, p. 79) these stages are sensori-motor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), operational (7-11) and formal operations (11+) which can also be known as ‘concrete operational’. As an adult I fall within the formal operational situation meaning that I meant to be able to manipulate abstract situations. The four ways in which Piaget’s work can be described is the relation between his theory and education; discovery learning, age appropriateness, individual appropriateness and developmentally appropriate practice.

Piaget's Stages of Intellectual Development

As a learner I find that cognitive-constructivism does not easily accommodate me as a learner. This is because I do not feel that I am unable to process all abstract situations to a high level of difficulty which would mean that I am below the Formal Operational stage which is associated with my age. The cognitive-constructivism theory would have limited my ability to learn and gain knowledge to my full potential because this theory cannot accommodate learners outside the specific age ranges. As a learner this would have made a significant disadvantage to me growing up as I like to be challenged and this theory does not challenge learners. Cognitive-Constructivism is not flexible enough for me as a learner.

Learning Theories ~ Behaviourism

B. F. Skinner

Behaviourism is ‘the theory that human behaviour [and] is determined by conditioning rather than by thoughts or feelings’ (Oxford University, 1997) and is made up of many different components which can be observed within a classroom. Elements of behaviourism are positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, time-out and extinction. As a learner I have been influenced by all these elements directly and indirectly. Behaviourism has shaped the way in which I learn but also my understanding of myself as a learner. Positive reinforcement has been the greatest influence on my learning and was seen when I first began essay writing. Positive reinforcement ‘involves the strengthening [of] a target behaviour – that is, increasing and maintaining the probability that a particular behaviour will be repeated’ (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartleft, & Biehler, 2009, p. 229). Miss. Jones, Year 7 English teacher, explained that I was doing a great job of writing essays and that she could see the various parts of the essay structure which she had taught. This positive reinforcement reassured me that the essay structure I was using was correct and that I was doing a good job. This pushed and encouraged me to maintain a high level of drive to increase my experience with essay writing. I have found that Extinction is also an element that takes longer to gain experience in but can be used effectively to encourage appropriate behaviour. I have seen extinction used in classrooms where I have been a student but also where I have been teaching science as part of other subjects. Extinction is effective because it ignores the behaviour that is deemed unsuitable whilst maintaining classroom balance. As a learner I learn better through a combination of positive and negative reinforcement than other forms of behaviourism.