Making Connections

This week in my Educational Psychology class, we are analyzing and comparing several learning theories, namely behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, constructivist, and social learning theory. I'm a humanist at heart, but I've learned that to reach my students, I need a range of other approaches besides merely standing on my desk and shouting out "O Captain! My Captain!" (Yes, Dead Poets Society was my favorite film for many years.)

Come to think of it, though, that would probably wake up the after-lunch Applied Comm 1 crowd. . .

I've long known that most of my students have different learning styles than I do, and as a head-frequently-in-clouds poet teaching technical college students who are concrete thinkers and hands-on learners, one of my ongoing challenges is to put myself in my students' shoes and ask, "What's their hook going to be into this material? How can I connect this competency to what they care about, and how can we reach it in a way that fits with how they learn?"

Studying learning theory puts names to ideas I've already been aware of on some level as a practicing teacher, and this is an empowering process. For example, based on my understanding, I use a behaviorist approach through a point system; there's a direct, almost immediate reward or consequence for completing or not completing work. I've learned to "break it down" as a means of reaching loftier goals.

In terms of how studying these theories will influence my teaching now and forevermore, I would like to more deliberately utilize social learning theory in my writing classes. I have found that student success rates are higher when students have a sense of community in a writing class, whether it's in person and online. While I focus greatly on group dynamics and class bonding when teaching Oral and Interpersonal Communication, I plan on being more intentional about creating community in the writing classroom.