Personal Learning Theory

If there is one thing I have learned by studying art, it is that each and every person in this world is unlike their neighbor. We have all heard this before, but it never revealed its truth to me until I began to study art in college. With that being said, after this revelation occurred, I found myself a happier person. I finally had more of a justification for why I think the way I do and how I interpret the world on a daily basis. I wasn’t wrong or unintelligent by any means, but I was unique. I digest information unlike my peers and I know now that everyone learns in a different way. So what is it exactly that divides my personal learning theory from the rest? Personally, I have found that learners, such as myself, gain and retain the most knowledge by creating it in their own way. By working with others in addition to the processes behind self-discovery, learners will build on their own prior knowledge to expand their knowledge. This process will allow students to develop their existing schemas further and create logical, significant connections with new information presented. Further research in this topic leads my beliefs of learning to follow the Constructivist Theory. Constructivism brings to mind the concept of perception. We consider world views, schemas, questions, misconceptions, and multiple constructions of a situation when learning. Personally, as an artist, I have found that I must learn by doing. I think any artist will agree that the work they did five to ten years ago is nothing compared to where they are now. This is because constructivist learning is about the process. Of course, as artists we care about the product, but it is in the process of self-discovery, group critiques, scaffolding from demanding professors, trial and error and the hands-on nitty-gritty work that truly speaks for the beauty of the art we create. As a printmaker, we work collaboratively. I have never completed a print without the commentary of another artist or peer, simply because that is how we function. It is a group setting that allows for further learning. Ormrod (2011) claims, “As we help students construct a meaningful understanding of the world around them, we can increase their multicultural awareness by promoting multiple constructions of the same situation” (p. 243). Our professors will scaffold and lead us in a direction. However, while on the journey of self-discovery through my work, I get feedback from my peers to help facilitate a better learning experience. Printmaking allows for many different kinds of success and I use my peers as references when trying to reach my fullest potential of knowledge in a certain medium. This is an entirely constructivist method of learning. Vygotsky Wink and Putney (as cited in Grierson & Woloshyn, 2013) said, “Social constructivism emphasizes the role of language and social interaction in promoting individuals’ abilities to form connections between new information and existing networks of prior knowledge, thus constructing representations through which they make sense of experiences”. The idea behind social constructivism leads me into my second personal learning theory- the social cognitive theory.

            Although feedback from my peers and hands-on learning is extremely important, I have found that I learn best through a combination of both the constructivist and the social cognitive theories. Over time the question of nature versus nurture has always been a topic of controversy. We know that both elements affect a child’s instructional background and perspective of the world. The social cognitive theory focuses mostly on the concept of modeling and following after others-monkey see, monkey do. Ormrod (2011) states, “People can learn by observing others (p. 324). I find this for certain through my experiences in printmaking. Direct instruction and modeling are two of the main reasons I know and am good at what I do. It’s very simple, I have learned from watching the best. Not only that, but through observing my professors and then setting goals to reach my fullest potential like them, I am utilizing all aspects of the social cognitive theory. Walpole, McKenna (2004) and Kise (2006) (as cited in Grierson & Woloshyn, 2013) state, “Ideally, after engaging individual teachers in reflection focused on identifying their needs, coaches provide targeted learning experiences through professional dialog, and/or classroom-based modeling focused on demonstrating new practices and providing feedback as teachers work towards refining their practices”. This is a great example of how teachers can constructively help the students when necessary, but also through the SCT build positive self-efficacy in students and help them to set goals for themselves. I have experienced many professors over the course of my time studying and there have been very few to help me set goals and push myself to create expectations for my abilities. Through this process, I have found that I have my own self-regulation. Recently the connection between motivational strategies and metacognitive characteristics has increased due to an interest in the concept of individual dispositions (Entwistle, N., & McCune, V. (2013). In the SCT, students have a metacognition or awareness of their temperaments and behaviors which affects their behavior and attitude of learning. By observing others, self-regulating behaviors, setting goals, and keeping a high self-efficacy of oneself, a learner will follow all of the assumptions under the social cognitive theory (Ormrod, 2011, p. 324). Through a combination of the constructivist learning theory and SCT, I hope to have an effective classroom and open up the learning environment to a positive successful place of education.