Theories and Principles of Learning and Communication Assignment Essay Example for Free

Theories and Principles of Learning and Communication Assignment Essay Learning is something that takes place everyday for most people in some way, shape or form and varies depending on certain circumstances. The principles can be simple or radical depending on opinion, some you may agree with while others you might discount straight away. Whether it is in the classroom or sat at home, it is important to understand that learning takes place all the time and people can learn new things everyday regardless of age, culture or background. The education system is the best example to connect these theories as it is so varied in its delivery depending on factors such as again age, skill sets and ability in particular. Overall it is important to understand that by following some of these theories and principles it will help all tutors in performing better within the classroom and delivering better sessions which means that you will enhance the experience for the learner. Theories and Principles of Learning It is important to understand the significance of learning theories and principles as it is important for tutors to understand them, which will then help ensure that effective learning is taking place. It can support the tutor and the learner through the process which allows for success within the taught subject. I believe that certain theories such as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Motivation and Personality, Third Edition, Harper and Row Publishers are not relevant in regards to all learning sectors today, in particular not in the lifelong learning sector. I agree with Geert Hofsteds’s (1984). The cultural relativity of the quality of life concept. Academy of Management Review that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs neglects to illustrate and expand upon the difference between the social and intellectual needs of those raised in different societies. I think that with our society as it is today, due to such a huge and diverse range of cultures now within the United Kingdom that i t is impossible for this to still completely apply. Within the lifelong learning sector I think that andragogy is perhaps the best principle to apply. Malcolm Knowles researched and penned the four crucial assumptions to his theory which are as follows: 1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being 2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning. 3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles. 4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness. He later added a fifth assumption in 1984:  5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal. Within the post 16 sector individuals are more geared up to follow in what they want to do and have the experience and hopefully the right mindset to try and achieve this. Therefore this theory is one that can support a tutor by simply understanding why the learners are there, which is normally through choice rather than in the school system were pedagogy seems to take precedent and is a legal requirement. Analysing such theories will always help towards my own personal development and will hopefully allow myself to develop and improve the experience for the learners. Communication â€Å"The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium: The Oxford Dictionary† Effective communication is essential within any teaching field and perhaps more so in the lifelong learning sector. Without this then even the simplest of tasks can become difficult or done wrongly simply by misinterpreting what the instructions are. The important thing to remember is that it is a two way process. It is all very well telling the learners what to do but if you do not allow them to ask questions to double check what you have said or even as the tutor you were may not have been clear enough to the learners in your delivery. I believe also that gaining a good rapport is essential with the age group that I deal with as some of the information being given is sometimes completely new to them. As it can be a lot to take in within such a short time period then openly discussing their opinions and what they are aware of is important to their and in some cases my understanding of the subject matter that we are delivering to them. Impact of Learning Theory on Practise Describing how a Foundation Learning course operates is not that simple, but in effect it ties in with the learner and should adapt and cater for the learners specific needs and can be tailored to incorporate different aspects of what we deliver and what they want to complete. Our end goal even though it is not within our YPLA contract is to gain them employment after they have improved on their qualifications, which we are contracted on for our funding. My role within this is the delivery of the third week of the induction completing an Employability Award, whilst also helping the learners select which direction and qualifications that they would like to complete with us. Within the classroom I am doing career progression and interview techniques and these are essential to the learner in helping them choose what career direction they would like to go in when they eventually leave us. My main delivery method is to openly discuss with the learners their knowledge and opinions on certain aspects about what is needed for their future employment. While also making sure that there is class participation by everyone and hopefully building on their confidence as individuals. By doing this it helps me gain knowledge and hopefully a good rapport with the individual, which is necessary as I complete their Individual Learning Plan with them. This then helps them decide what they are going to do and provides support to them so they can tailor what they want from the Foundation Learning Programme that we offer at CTS Training Ltd. There are two theories that I believe are best applied to the lifelong learning sector and that they specifically apply to my own role on a day to day bases. The first is the Humanistic approach which I have looked at is Carl Rogers and I believe that out of his all his hypotheses that the following one is the most important. â€Å"A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate anothers learning. This is a result of his personality theory, which states that everyone exists in a constantly changing world of experience in which he or she is the center. Each person reacts and responds based on perception and experience. The belief is that what the student does is more important than what the teacher does. The focus is on the student. Therefore, the background and experiences of the learner are essential to how and what is learned. Each student will process what he or she learns differently depending on what he or she brings to the classroom.† Rogers, Carl (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. For the Foundation Learning programme to work it should be understood that the learner must bring themselves to the table as they are responsible for the choice and control of what they want to achieve. They must also be able to self evaluate their own performance in regards to how they feel they are doing and whether they will be successful, with or without support, in regards to what qualifications they are completing and what career choices that they have made. We can guide the learners but I would suggest we let them guide themselves so I try to apply what I should be doing in the following quote when delivering in the classroom: The tutor or lecturer tends to be more supportive than critical, more understanding than judgmental, more genuine than playing a role. The next theory that I apply is also tied into this and is one that I have discussed early in this assignment and that is the theory of andragogy. I believe that this also ties up well with the humanistic approach as well and by using the two together they complement each other and hopefully reinforce confidence within the learner that they will be able to succeed. Allowing them to be more in control and understanding that they make the decisions which is what the essence of Foundation Learning is, means that I am able to tailor my sessions depending on the groups I get. As I deliver to a different group on a weekly basis, this means I can focus on what is either more important or specific for that group rather than them just completing the same work each week and not addressing what they bring as a whole or on an individual basis. This can be challenging as it can change my aims and objectives on a daily basis which I believe is also good as it keeps the sessions fresh and up to date. By getting the learners to communicate with each other and myself I believe they can then take control of their learning. Giving their input to the direction that they want to choose and ultimately even without them knowing, breaking away from practises such as pedagogy which on the whole, has not worked for many of my learners which is why they have not made a success of the school system. Reflections on Insights Gained from Application of Learning Theory Overall on reflection I believe that this has helped immensely in regards to my approach to how I deliver within the classroom. My experiences of teaching are only within one aspect of the lifelong learning sector but I can see that my delivery has improved by realising and believing that the learner needs to be more active in the decision process of what subjects that they want to learn. A majority of my learners have been told in the past you’re doing this or that next and the decision have been taken away from them as individuals, whether this is directed from their school or even their parents. But I think regardless of where the influences of previous decisions have come from allowing the learner to take a more active role, in particular within the 16 19 category I work in, is essential as it will hopefully change the way that they learn forever and make their choices in the future.

Emerging :: Personal Narratives Death Suicide Papers

Emerging The world where goals and success are of sole importance is not a reality, it is an illusion. Phone calls at three a.m. rarely bring good news. One call shattered my world and changed my life forever. Reality blurred. My emotions took a violent grip on my mind, body, and ultimately my spirit. I began my sophomore year of high school standing at the very edge of my reality. I saw my life crumble around me and seemed to plummet into a dark abyss of disbelief. Suicide. After only 35 short years of life, my aunt Sue took her own life. My rational, upper-middle class reality vanished. The idea that everything happens for a reason, and that things always had an answer no longer held true. All the truths, all the certainty, all the normality, all the security embellished in my family and my reality were destroyed. Things like this aren't supposed to happen to me. This happens to other people. My emotions rushed through me as though on a race track, each trying to dominate. Yet, ultimately they were on a collision course. They exploded and blurred into a fiery inferno. Why did this h appen? How am I supposed to feel now? How do I begin to piece together and construct a new reality? All I had was questions, and the world I had searched for answers in so many times before no longer existed for me. My search for answers led me inward as I was forced to construct a new reality. "Oh my God, oh my God," the words rang through my ears and seemed to shake my very soul. I was jolted from my bed after an already sleepless night to Dad's horrified cry. The sheer terror that seemed to strangle his words seemed to pierce my heart with each syllable. Even from three rooms away, it echoed. A small beam of light crept under my door as the light in my parents' room was turned on. Even as I reached to open my door and investigate the commotion, I felt a heavy horror fall over me. Something was terribly wrong, and my heart raced as my sweaty palm turned the door knob. The scene in my parents' room was one I had never seen before. The expressions, the actions, were foreign and frightening. They both sat erect in their bed. Mom leaned close to Dad and held his arm tight, waiting herself to hear the terrible news. Emerging :: Personal Narratives Death Suicide Papers Emerging The world where goals and success are of sole importance is not a reality, it is an illusion. Phone calls at three a.m. rarely bring good news. One call shattered my world and changed my life forever. Reality blurred. My emotions took a violent grip on my mind, body, and ultimately my spirit. I began my sophomore year of high school standing at the very edge of my reality. I saw my life crumble around me and seemed to plummet into a dark abyss of disbelief. Suicide. After only 35 short years of life, my aunt Sue took her own life. My rational, upper-middle class reality vanished. The idea that everything happens for a reason, and that things always had an answer no longer held true. All the truths, all the certainty, all the normality, all the security embellished in my family and my reality were destroyed. Things like this aren't supposed to happen to me. This happens to other people. My emotions rushed through me as though on a race track, each trying to dominate. Yet, ultimately they were on a collision course. They exploded and blurred into a fiery inferno. Why did this h appen? How am I supposed to feel now? How do I begin to piece together and construct a new reality? All I had was questions, and the world I had searched for answers in so many times before no longer existed for me. My search for answers led me inward as I was forced to construct a new reality. "Oh my God, oh my God," the words rang through my ears and seemed to shake my very soul. I was jolted from my bed after an already sleepless night to Dad's horrified cry. The sheer terror that seemed to strangle his words seemed to pierce my heart with each syllable. Even from three rooms away, it echoed. A small beam of light crept under my door as the light in my parents' room was turned on. Even as I reached to open my door and investigate the commotion, I felt a heavy horror fall over me. Something was terribly wrong, and my heart raced as my sweaty palm turned the door knob. The scene in my parents' room was one I had never seen before. The expressions, the actions, were foreign and frightening. They both sat erect in their bed. Mom leaned close to Dad and held his arm tight, waiting herself to hear the terrible news.

Oscar Wilde The Selfish Giant

First of all, in order to either agree or disagree with the statement regarding Wilde's respect for children we must identify the author's tone in his narrative, â€Å"The selfish Giant†. Since it is through the complex process of speech that the author reveals his attitudes to what he is talking about, his relation to his auditor or receiver, and his assumptions about the social level, intelligence, experience, values, and sensitivity of that person. Considering this, Oscar Wilde clearly has a kind and respectful attitude towards his plot and towards the reader of The Selfish Giant. His tone refers to childhood and the conflicts around it. It perceptible due to the fact that we are conscious of a voice beyond the voices of the characters that speak in the tale. We recognize the fact that there is a voice behind all the dramatis personae, even behind the third-person narrator. This is the sense of a pervasive authorial presence that communicates through the characters a world view. Consider, for example, the tone of the following passages in Wilde's The Selfish Giant: â€Å"My own garden is my own garden,† said the Giant; â€Å"any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.† â€Å"Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.† â€Å"And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. â€Å"How selfish I have been!† he said; â€Å"now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever.† He was really very sorry for what he had done.† Second, the characterization of the protagonist is done by the narrator and also through the dialogues, which is undoubtedly the briefest and best form of character delineation since a long description of a character asks the reader to believe rather than deduct; and not all narrators are reliable either. By contrasting the children and the giant, the reader is lead to have a negative perception of the giant and sympathize with the children: â€Å"After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle.† â€Å"‘What are you doing here?' he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.† â€Å"He was a very selfish Giant.† Later on, when the giant and children start to share the same garden, and the same feelings, the giant is described with a different connotation: â€Å"Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. â€Å"I have many beautiful flowers,† he said; â€Å"but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.†Ã¢â‚¬  The characterization of the protagonist follows a development through, which is directly associated with the atmosphere and the setting. The changes that take place inside the giant's character and inside the garden are attached to each other. In addition, the action of The Selfish Giant takes place almost entirely in the Giant's property, inside the house and in the Garden, whose changes are directly related to the plot. The setting plays an important role in the dramatic events. The Garden is essential because it creates a feeling of verisimilitude or realism, since a garden is a known setting for kids. Besides, it's not merely a place of action, it is an acting place. It is a thematic space in that it assumes a thematic function, the atmosphere. The actions are shaped and somewhat predetermined by the nature of the place or setting. The Garden act as a kind of characterization device – The giant character feelings step backwards and forge ahead as the garden does, and so it happens the other way around. The Giant comes from an insensitivite and self-isolated state to the discovery of the beauty itself and the beauty of childhood, and also to a self-discovery. Therefore, the garden also follows his changes. â€Å"When they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. â€Å"It is your garden now, little children,† said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.† Thus, Wilde uses setting and space thematically and symbolically. Most of the events in Wilde's Selfish Giant take place inside the garden. Since one of the main themes of the novel is childhood, Wilde contrasts adults and children behavior towards nature and simple things of life by opposing two settings when the manifest behaviors are in contrast: Inside the giant's house, where the nature becomes abnormal, and outside the garden, where nature takes its course without changes. â€Å"The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. â€Å"How happy we were there,† they said to each other.† Besides, there are plenty of symbology in the story, starting with the names of the characters. There are several fertile words in the story, the words that suggest the most to the reader. Wilde suggests all in a few lines resulting in a single concentrated impression, as a result of it the narrative moves swiftly. In the tale, the Spring is a humanized character, and so are the Winter, the North Wind, the Hail, the Frost, and the Snow. The phenomena of nature stand for complex ideas or emotions associated with it. The Giant is a symbol too, he doesn't even have a first name, so that he represents a whole group of people sharing the same idea. In opposite to children's ideas, he could represent adults, in which connotation, denotation and symbolism combine to form a multiplicity of meanings. Also, by the naming the characters by the words of â€Å"giant†, â€Å"The spring†, â€Å"The Winter†, and other characters which are not usual in the real world, the narrator intimates that the story is likely to have an atmosphere of a fairy tale (in this case, about the adult's world getting in contact with the children's world), as far as genre is concerned, or at least that the plot involves some magic or unnatural events, more specifically the climate, which reflects the mood of the giant himself.

The House On Mango Street - 1802 Words

When first coming to this country as a Hispanic American you may face a lot of difficulties and find more problems than the average white American. Hispanic people go through different adversities and have trouble overcoming them. In The House on Mango Street the main character Esperanza is the one that narrates the story, she explains what it is like to live on Mango Street. She shows the readers that living on Mango Street is perceived as a terrible area, if one were looking from the outside in. But those that live there feel that they live in fair living conditions. The fact is most of the people who live on Mango Street don t know what it s like to live outside of mango street. In the story, they show a lifestyle that most Hispanic people deal with especially the ones that come to America and have to figure out how to make ends meet. In The House on Mango Street, the novel has many themes and problems, such as gender inequality, stereotypes, and language barriers. With short stor ies like Aria and the myth of Latin Woman, a solution is always found. Sometimes there is a simple solution and other times, it is not so easy to find, or there s just no solution to solving the characters problems and they are still trying to look for results. In The House on Mango Street, one of the themes discussed is gender inequality. In fact, most Hispanic cultures have this problem, for example, the man must be in charge, especially in the house, and he must get a job, etc....andShow MoreRelatedThe House On Mango Street861 Words   |  4 Pages The House on Mango Street The House on Mango Street,written by Sandra Cisneros, deals with a mexican girl named Esperanza, who grows up and dreams big in Chicago. Cisneros uses imagery, theme, and symbols to describe many things from Esperanza s perspective. Imagery is used to describe items and people in a meaningful way. Cisneros uses various themes to show various ideas and beliefs. The symbols used describe objects and figures to portray ideas on a deeper level. Cisneros employs unique literaryRead MoreThe House On Mango Street2609 Words   |  11 Pagesin Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Esperanza in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street experience the ideological maturity toward womanhood while encountering problems most do not face until adulthood. Living in conservative Alabama where racial tension is high, Scout must learn to be compassionate when her father Atticus Finch defends African-American Tom Robinson against a white woman. Growing up on Mango Street, an impoverish ed neighborhood of Chicago, Esperanza faces being a poor, coloredRead MoreHouse on Mango Street1087 Words   |  5 Pageschose a path of life. In â€Å"The House on Mango Street†, Esperanza is forced to think about leaving Mango Street in the future, because she is surrounded by women who are pushing her to become an adult.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first example is Cathy, who knows all the dangers of Mango Street. â€Å"She lives upstairs, over there, next door to Joe the baby – grabber. Keep away from him, she says. He is full of danger.† (Cisneros 12). Cathy tells her what to avoid on Mango Street, and about the people on it. AndRead MoreThe House on Mango Street600 Words   |  3 PagesThe short story by Sandra Cisneros revolves truly around the tittle â€Å"The House on Mango Street† and how her family moved from places to places to get there. The recollection of the street names her family lived on and how every time they moved â€Å"there’d be one more of us† added to the authors focus of emphasizing how important the word â€Å"home† meant to her throughout the story. The family of six included Mama, Papa, brothers Carlos and Kiki, and sister Nenny. According to the author’s memory, sheRead MoreThe House On Mango Street1290 Words   |  6 Pagesconscious catches up. Each generalization contains different factors, leaving the choice of what factors to leave in and which to leave out. Causing a difficult confrontation of what to believe and what to forget. In Sandra Cisneros’ novel, The House on Mango Street, the universal process of rapid cognition inherently affects stereotyping and discrimination perpetuating gender and racial inequality. Humans obtain the ability to quickly read facial expressions and generalize personality traits. This isRead MoreThe House on Mango Street1062 Words   |  5 PagesThe House on Mango Street Esperanza saw self definition as a struggle, the struggle for self-definition is a common theme, and in The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s struggle to define herself underscores her every action and encounter. Esperanza must define herself both as a woman and as an artist and her perception of her identity changes over the course of the book. Esperanza portrayed a vivid picture to the audience of her surroundings, the people she encountered, and her interpretationRead MoreThe House On Mango Street1992 Words   |  8 Pagesare both there to show us who we are. The House on Mango Street is about a girl named Esperanza, and she is trying to find her place on mango street, and her place in life. Her life is impacted, in good ways and bad, by every person that she meets. We follow her, her family, her friends, and others in her journey of living on mango street, and experience her growing, developing, and experiencing the life made for her. In the book The House on Mango Stree t by Sandra Cisneros, we see a constant tensionRead More The House On MAngo Street953 Words   |  4 Pagesold people are constantly forming the essentials that affect their self-awareness through their daily activities. Forming one’s identity is an ongoing process, because every person in the world can change people one way or another. In The House on Mango Street, the experiences young Esperanza faced day to day develop her true individuality. Young people are easily persuaded and if someone so desired, they could mold them into the person they want. Commonly, young children develop their identityRead MoreThe House on Mango Street1195 Words   |  5 Pagesgovernments, individuals, and communities would be radically transformed. While this is a beautiful image, communities will never fully reach this aspiration. Sandra Cisneros shows the positive and negative effect of community on human growth in The House on Mango Street when Esperanza subconsciously reads the four skinny trees as a stand-in for herself. The layer of concrete surrounding the roots of the trees is a metaphor for the barrier between Esperanza’s success and her community. These four skinny treesRead MoreThe House On Mango Street Essay2466 Words   |  10 Pagesreminding me that: â€Å"We can’t understand you in English.† Through this tug-of-war, between both cultures expectations of who I was to be/become, there was a desperate need to find my own identity, away from either culture. Sandra Cisneros’, The House on Mango Street, documents the need and struggle to find one’s own identity, through the narrator Esperanza’s experiences growing-up in a predominately Latino community in Chicago. Throughout the book Esperanza tries to understand the many different factors