Time to Wrap it All Up, . . . Maybe Put A Pretty Little Bow on Top?

And now. . .
The end is here. . .
And so I face. .
The final curtain. . .

Thanks Frank. I'll take it from here. My Professor asked that we read all of our blogs for this semester and then decide which of the theories we like and dislike. Well, I've read them and I think I can sum them up by quoting my High School English teacher:

"Get some help, fast!"

She's a teacher; what does she know? Oh, wait, so am I. . . do teachers, like doctors, have to take some hypocritical oath too? I hope not.

Now comes the hard part, choosing which theory I like best. May I have the envelope please (takes envelope). And now, the winner of "My Favorite Theory for Educational Psychology" is. . . (opens envelope and gets a paper cut). . . ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!

(Waits for the cheering to die down). I think I'll have to explain the judge's decision. Remember way back at the beginning of the semester when i pointed out that God has a sense of humor and as proof he created all people with differences? Well, why wouldn't He have also made the way they learn things also different? If I am to be a true teacher, I have to apply as many learning theories as possible for all of the different minds I'll be teaching. Children are different. My personal theory about how children learn is that each one has different mental processes that work best for them. Some are hands on learners, some like watching models, other actually prefer the lectures or the bookwork. My theory as a teacher will be to teach to all of the senses and curve the teaching so that the student can learn. They'll still do the work, but I plan to focus on their motivations.

Now don't get me wrong, there are things I'll love doing and things I'll hate. I'll love applying cognitive theories and allowing the students the chance to explore and learn what they want to. At the same time, I'll have to structure the lessons so that chaos, while interesting, doesn't ensue. And, as much as it pains me, I'm going to want a certain level of behaviorism principles applied.

For example, say I'm teaching a class about Shakespeare, which I will definitely do. I will appeal to the bookworms by assigning the students to read the text and try to translate it as best they can. I may even lean towards some constructivism practices here and have them translate what Shakespeare is talking about in groups. I'll appeal to the image and audio learners by showing film clips of Shakespeare. For the hands on learners, there will also be performance assignments too. Now, of course there are going to be some things the students will hate that others love. I'm doing them a favor by getting them used to having to do some things they hate. It's for their own good that I'm teaching them in many different methods.

Now what? How do I really do the "teaching them in many different methods" part? My lesson plans will be designed around what is best for the students. One group of kids isn't exactly like the next, yet at the same time they are also very similar. It may seem like a double-edged sword, but a sword, like so many analogies, is a tool that when used correctly can be quite wonderful. First, I have to know the material. Remembering how I learned may give me an inkling of how the students may best learn it too, or it may give me a heads-up of what to avoid. Second, I will need to know the students in my class, or the individual journeys each of them has taken. It may be that I'll have some additional help if they have experiences I can tap into. Lastly, I merge how I teach with how they learn. I'll probably have to study up on the cognitive theories since they seem to give me the most trouble (in my opinion, they are a bit broad in terms of execution). That's probably why I'm not selling the text book back. I think I'll keep it for future reference (and to keep my kitchen table balanced :) .

Whatever I do, my students and I will be able to feel pleased with the knowledge we've obtained and the stuff we've learned. In summary, let me turn it back over to Frank.

"I Did It. . .
MYYYYYYYY
WAYYYYYYY!!!"