How We Learn

With the readings and videos of module two, I found so many interesting and also valuable research to bring to my everyday classroom. I know there was a lot of information given so I'm going to just concentrate on what stood out to me.To start what popped out of the videos for me on a personal and on an educators level was so interesting. I remember in my teens watching a documentary on people who have photographic memories. I remember how envious I was of them. To be able to read or look at something and have it stored in your brain. Wow! How easy school must of been for them. To then find out that photographic memory has no real evidence of existing. It was showed in the video of how people use their own unique ways to memorize a deck of cards or on-going numbers on a chalkboard. Though I am very very envious still it was so interesting to see that anyone can train their memory. I do believe it may be easier for some to catch on to (my belief, they have a more creative mind) which allows them to think of their unique ways of memorization. It was crazy to hear what Daniel T. Willingham a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. He explained how learning styles don’t exist. Though there are many studies and different styles of learning, Professor Willingham believes that they don’t exist. I found this interesting because at the school I am currently working at we do categorized learning ability by visual, kinesthetic, auditory. In the beginning of the year we give students a lengthy test of questions. I always thought that the test was very pointless seeing as most of our students either just said a random letter answering the question, paying no attention to what they really are saying. From there it was the start of seeing what category they might fit into (not the only way of finding out, but one of the first steps). Though other steps come with finding out if a student learns visually, through touch, or through listening drove me in disbelief of the theories behind this. I could believe this more for a general education setting but for behavioral and emotional disorder students I just don’t see how it fits in a day to day scenario. When continuing in the reading chapter 8 (p.301) it was talked of the levels of processing theory. I also found this very interesting and for me and most of the students in our school more realistic to comprehend. It was stated, “ The more completely information is processed, the better are our chances of remembering it. For example according to the levels of processing theory, if I ask you to sort pictures of dogs based on the color of their coats, you might not remember many of the pictures later. But if I ask you to rate each dog on how likely it is to chase you as you jog, you probably would remember more of the pictures. To rate the dogs, you must pay attention to details in the pictures, relate features of the dogs to characteristics associated with danger, and so on.” With reading this I did understand and agree that the more you recite and the way different questions are phrased your thinking changes allowing you to remember more and more. Just like working out, your brain is a muscle, and the more you use it the stronger it becomes.