WEAVER CH. 6

Anna Papst

Sean Agriss

07.29.2013

ENGLISH 408

Reflection Weaver: CH. 6

            Learning is best fostered with practice. No one can just sit down and write a paper out from start to finish, turn it in and expect to receive a 100% grade. It takes time to learn and it also takes time to perfect. Writing is an ongoing revising/editing, learning process that takes time and effort to become good or even decent. “A major thesis of this book is that one of the best ways to teach the grammatical concepts needed for sentence revision and editing may be through mini-lessons based upon cognitive and constructivist principles of learning.” (150) In this way, teachers can teach how students take in a process information. Teaching to the students learning is the best and only way they are going to be engaged or even believe what you are teaching. They want you to be genuine. If you teach to the students’ ability and skill, then you are going to be effective in your strategy, because you are engaging them in a way that they can process and understand. Offering tips to students about what is important to their learning will make it easier for the students to comprehend and then they will hopefully respond accordingly. The teacher will use this in a way to quickly and effectively reach the class as a whole. Some students will latch on quickly, and then more, direct instruction and help will be provided for students who need extra help.

            “Effective learning follows one best sequence.” (152) Never thought about students learning in a sequence before. There is an effective way to build information upon other information. The students will learn in a certain order or sequence and it’s important to stick to this pattern. What should be taught and in what order, is a hard concept to wrap my mind around. I never thought that teachers planned how to sequence concepts that they were teaching, but in a way this is the best way to make sense of the teacher’s sense of teaching to students. It provides order and value for your students if you are consistent in your teaching methods.

            “The construction of concepts. “If the learner cannot or does not organize facts into concepts, they are quickly forgotten.” (153) Constructing concepts and building them upon one another creates patterns for students to familiarize with and then effectively learn. Some students cram before tests etc., and I think this is due to not being able to formulize concepts and patterns of learning. Then at the end of a unit, they have to re-learn several concepts because they didn’t really learn them in the first place. “It involves clarifying ALL the critical features of a concept and distinguishing features, in order to differentiate apparent from real instances of a concept.” (153). Clarifying is key because then students will be able to clearly remember what you want them to remember and then they can act accordingly with their study habits. This also trains their mind to start picking out key concepts on their own as well.

            “Much learning occurs through the observation and osmosis that are facilitated by indirect instruction, such as the natural demonstrations that others provide when they simply do what the learner would like to learn to do.” (155) The classroom instruction that leads to questioning from the students can provide thorough and valuable instruction opportunities that you didn’t even think would or could occur. There are things that happen in the realm of learning that no one can ever plan. Sometimes these scenarios can offer some of the best examples for teaching or providing understandable concepts. Students will not forget some of the conversations that happen in class, because it resonates with one student different from how it does with another one.

            “In order to facilitate choice and decision making, teachers will offer students options.” (159) If you give your students options in their learning, they will be more receptive to learning what you are presenting. It shows that you as the teacher care about how they learn, not just that they are learning. “Offering students the opportunity to make choices encourages them to find meaningful and value in what they are doing, to establish their own purposes and motivation for what they are doing, and to feel a sense of ownership and empowerment.” (159) We want students to see the value in what they are learning. We need to present the why behind what is taught. Choices to students, offers them the freedom to experiment and learn maybe in a way that no other student could. Some students need this non-confined way of learning and experimenting on their own without a concept shoved at them in a way that they can’t understand.