Learning And Learners

Tengku Alif Mukhlis BiN Tengku Ezani

TESL C
Multiple Choice Question
1. Play music during teaching session

Structure Question
1. Talk with students individually and facilitate classroom discussions to learn about
their interest and motivation factors.
2. Set goals for the students in your class and outline them clearly, so that students
know exactly what is expected of them
3. Arrange lesson plans and assignments to allow students make their choices in
work
4. Give frequent positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do
well

Essay Question
1a.
Learning is an active process in which the learner uses sensory input and
constructs meaning out of it. The more traditional formulation of this idea involves the
terminology of the active learner (Deweys term) stressing that the learner needs to do
something; that learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists out
there but that learning involves the learner s engaging with the world.
Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that motivation
helps learning, it is essential for learning. This idea of motivation as described here is
broadly conceived to include an understanding of ways in which the knowledge can be
used. Unless we know the reasons why, we may not be very involved in using the
knowledge that may be instilled in us. Even by the most severe and direct teaching.
The crucial action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind.
Physical actions, hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for
children, but it is not sufficient; we need to provide activities which engage the mind as
well as the hands (Dewey called this reflective activity.)
Learning involves language: the language we use influences learning. On the
empirical level. Researchers have noted that people talk to themselves as they learn.

On a more general level. There is a collection of arguments, presented most forcefully

by Vigotsky, that language and learning are inextricably intertwined. This point was
clearly emphasized in Elaine Gurains reference to the need to honor native language in
developing North American exhibits. The desire to have material and programs in their
own language was an important request by many members of various Native American
communities.
Learning is contextual: we do not learn isolated facts and theories in some
abstract ethereal land of the mind separate from the rest of our lives: we learn in
relationship to what else we know, what we believe, our prejudices and our fears. On
reflection, it becomes clear that this point is actually a corollary of the idea that learning
is active and social. We cannot divorce our learning from our lives.

1b.
Constructivism has important implications for teaching. First, teaching cannot be
viewed as the transmission of knowledge from enlightened to unenlightened;
constructivist teachers do not take the role of the "sage on the stage." Rather, teachers
act as "guides on the side" who provide students with opportunities to test the adequacy
of their current understandings.
Second, if learning is based on prior knowledge, then teachers must note that
knowledge and provide learning environments that exploit inconsistencies between
learners' current understandings and the new experiences before them. This challenges
teachers, for they cannot assume that all children understand something in the same
way. Further, children may need different experiences to advance to different levels of
understanding.
Third, if students must apply their current understandings in new situations in
order to build new knowledge, then teachers must engage students in learning, bringing
students' current understandings to the forefront. Teachers can ensure that learning
experiences incorporate problems that are important to students, not those that are
primarily important to teachers and the educational system. Teachers can also
encourage group interaction, where the interplay among participants helps individual
students become explicit about their own understanding by comparing it to that of their
peers.
Fourth, if new knowledge is actively built, then time is needed to build it. Ample
time facilitates student reflection about new experiences, how those experiences line up
against current understandings, and how a different understanding might provide
students with an improved (not "correct") view of the world.