Reflection: My Personal Theory of Learning

Eight weeks ago, I defined my personal learning theory as an evolutionary process. Since then, I have been submerged in new learning theories, instructional
practices, and many technology based tools; and so the evolutionary process has continued. All of the theoretical perspectives described throughout the course explained the complex process called learning. Social learning considers that people learn from each other while the Constructivist approach is based on the premise that people create their own meaning through active learning, just to name a few (Laureate Education, Inc. 2009). In addition, I explored nine different instructional strategies and countless technology tools.

The process of grasping the course information while working to develop my technology skills and improve my teaching ability has been challenging. The process, however, has given me the knowledge to construct learning environments that will help my students achieve higher levels of learning. While my preferred learning style remains constructivist, I also want to focus on the behaviorist style of learning. Project based learning will continue to be my method of choice in order to engage my young students in activities that stimulate their interest and motivate them to learn. By simultaneously incorporating instructional strategies in the classroom to promote learning through positive student behavior, I can help my kindergarten students learn academically and aid them with the development of positive social skills. Their social development will further enable the students to interact successfully in group learning activities.

Further development of my students’ ability to construct knowledge, can be achieved through virtual field trips. I plan to utilize my course experience with Kidspiration and googlelittrip.org to create virtual field trips that will help prepare my students for learning new information. Because kindergartners are emerging readers, I will also incorporate nonlinguistic representation in my lessons via word processing software. In the beginning, I will model use of the cursor to perform actions like inserting clip art. Gradually, as the students become familiar with the process, the lessons will become more student centered with opportunities for the students to experiment with clip art in order to create graphic representations of things like fruits, vegetables, shapes, etc.

Beyond the immediate changes I have outlined, my first long term goal is to build on an existing behavior tool, my classroom stop light chart. Today, the traffic light chart is posted on the classroom rules board. Poor behavior results in students’ names being moved from green to yellow to red. Improved behavior results in progressing back toward the green light. I envision supporting the traffic light chart with a concept map. The central nodes will be a smiley face icon and a frowning face. Pictures of children displaying different behaviors will be linked to the central nodes. As the children click through the pictures of behaviors in each category, they will gain a clear understanding of the behaviors that correlate with good choices and bad choices. The technology based chart can help children associate actions with consequences and help them learn how to modify their behavior in order to achieve positive results in school. I am required to discuss this type of change with my team, the peers who teach the same grade level as I do. If they all agree to the change, we then request approval from the principal to work on the project and implement. My best efforts will hopefully gain the support and enable implementation in the 2011 school year.

To further enhance my students’ learning, I plan to use Voice Thread. Voice Thread will provide students with a way to display their work and share their thoughts about the work they create. This web based tool is particularly valuable because I can grant parents and other family members’ access to the children’s school work. Unrolling this form of communication will entail collecting permission for students to use the internet and email addresses of the family members. By connecting the family members to school, I hope to gain more family involvement in my students’ education. Parents who feel welcomed and respected by their children’s school support school policies more than parents who do not feel connected to the school. Likewise, children with parents who encourage appropriate school behavior perform better academically and display more positive behavior than the children who lack parental support (Jones, V. & Jones, L. 2007, p. 158). Creating this network will ultimately be a winning strategy for all.




Canter, L. (Director), (2009). Behaviorist Learning Theory. [Motion picture] In Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer), United States: Solution Tree (publisher).
Canter, L. (Director), (2009). Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theory. [Motion picture] In Laureate Education, Inc., (Producer), United States: Solution Tree (publisher).
Jones, V. & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Voice Thread

Click Here to view my voice thread project. My students are currently working on a construction unit. The three kindergarten students designed a house and recorded a few sentences explaining what made it special!