My Learning Experience
Sallys first week at High School
The story of a learning experience that I would like to share,
is Sallys first week at high school.
This is Sally.
1
Sally was a brand new year eight student, holidays had just
finished and she was ready to embrace everything that High School
would throw at her.
Sally had mixed feelings about the transition from primary to
high school, she felt a little worried and nervous, but most of
all, she was excited and was ready to move on to the bigger and
better things that High School was all about.
Sally knew that there were going to be a lot of opportunities to
work with her strengths, but to also to tackle and improve some of
her weaker skills, even if she was a little worried about stepping
outside of her comfort zone, she was ready to give it a go.
2
More than one teacher
Math
English
French
Sport
Zone of Proximal Development
Home group was first, where Sally sat in a room with other
students who looked just as eager to begin the journey. This made
Sally feel comfortable, and these people sitting around her would
soon become some of her closet friends.
Sally was surprised to find out that she didnt have the same
classroom for the whole day and that she also had more than one
teacher. She had one for Math, English, French, Sport and the list
went on.
This presented Sally with the chance to learn from many
different teachers who specialised in the subject that they taught
which placed her into Vygotskys Zone of Proximal development, as
the teacher was the one who facilitated the learning experience and
guided her toward an understanding of the subject (Kearns,
2010).
Sally was excited to begin her day and find her way around the
school, and discovered that a girl named Lucy also had the same
subject next period, so they could explore the school together.
3
Changed class when the bell rang
Classical Conditioning
Sally was now a part of the High School crowd who changed class
when the bell rang. When the bell rang, she and Lucy moved to the
next stop on their adventure. Changing class when the bell rings
highlights the importance of Pavlovs classical conditioning
(BullyingNewsVideos, 2008) in everyday schooling life. In this case
the school bell was the stimulii which produced the desired
behavioral response, the response being Sally and Lucys change of
class (BullyingNewsVideos, 2008).
4
Homework + Study + Tests = Good mark
A+
Operant Conditioning
After a while Sally figured out that she would receive a good
mark should she do her homework every night, as well as study hard
and do well on tests. This is a classic example of Skinners operant
conditioning (Paulo Francisco Slomp, 2006).
5
Social space
Must reconstruct
myself as a social
being
Sallys school was a very social space, she noticed that there
were always people communicating with one another. Sally had a
smile on her face the whole first week, she felt at home in this
new arena because in Primary School she yearned to utilize her
social skills. This social space required her to develop socially
as well as reconstruct herself as a social being (Edwards, 2002),
which the Montessori Method values within this age range.
6
Group Work
Zone of Proximal Development
Interpersonal
Intelligence
In her first week Sally was given many opportunities to work
within groups, working again in the Zone of Proximal Development
(Vygotskys Developmental Theory, 2009). She worked with students
who were older and more experienced in high school life than her,
like when she joined the Student Representative Council. This also
happened when she worked her class mates with different interests
and experiences, like when she worked in small groups in Drama, she
had the chance to learn from a more learned advisor (Interactive
Timeline, Lev Vygotsky, n.d).
These interactions allowed Sally to build upon one of her
weakness that she knew she would need to tackle, her interpersonal
intelligence (MsHMcKnight, 2009) and because of her active
participation in group work she eventually developed her
interpersonal intelligence (MsHMcKnight, 2009) to a level that
would enable her to be a successful life long learner as well as a
productive member of her future working space.
7
Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence
Sport
Drama
Two other areas in which Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences
were evident in Sallys first week, was through the development of
her bodily kinesthetic intelligence (MsHMcKnight, 2009), which
happened when Sally took part in Drama as well as Physical
Education. She enjoyed moving her body while learning and also
enjoyed pretending to be someone or something else. In drama, she
was able to draw on her life experiences to portray emotions and
this helped her make sense of the character in which she was
playing.
8
Behaviourist
Empty vessel
Teacher filling
mind with knowledge
At other times in Sallys first week, especially during maths
class, she was required to sit still in a chair and receive
information from the teacher, as if her mind was empty and was
being filled with the knowledge that the teacher presented. This
shows the Behaviourist theory in which Locke described the childs
mind as a tabula rasa (CollegeBinary, 2009). The sat still,
listened to the teacher and did bookwork over and over, this
showing the Behaviourist theory in action (Mrjohnson30, 2009).
9
Learning a new language
Zone of Proximal Development
Linguistic Intelligence
Social learning
approach
Sally especially enjoyed learning another language in French
Class, because she was told that it was the language of love. Lucy
was also in this class so Sally was able to work with her to
practice conversations. As it turned out Lucy was fluent in French,
which helped Sallys learning and understanding of the language,
through interactions with Lucy she was put into the Zone of
Proximal Development and developing her linguistic intelligence
(MsHMcKnight, 2009).
Sally enjoyed her time learning French, she was in her element
because she was allowed to take the social learning approach that
she craved in Primary School, similar to Banduras theory. Lucy
helped Sally to develop her language through allowing Sally to
imitate the sounds that made up the correct word. The class was
built around encouraging social situations, eventually sounds
become a habitual or reinforced way of pronouncing the desired word
(Thomas, 2005).
That was Sallys story.
10
BullyingNewsVideos. (2008, September 13). Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov [Video file].Video posted to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI
CollegeBinary. (2009, September 30). Three Minute Philosophy -
John Locke [Video file].Video posted to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-buzVjYQvY
Edwards, C. P. (2002). Three approaches from Europe: Waldorf,
Montessori, and Reggio Emilia. Early Childhood Research and
Practice, 4(1).
Interactive Timeline, Lev Vygotsky (n.d).Online Learning
Materials, Week 2. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from
http://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline/latest/embed/index.html?source=0AgPktjz9YCD3dEhpeU1Na1pHeFdScFUyV3Z5SlBQa1E&font=Bevan-PotanoSans&maptype=TERRAIN&lang=en&height=650
Kearns, K. (2010). Theories of language development. In
Frameworks for learning and development (ed. 2nd , pp. 174-179).
Sydney: Pearson.
Mrjohnson30. (2009, November 10). Learning Theories Video [video
file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uhB9mALl1I
MsHMcKnight. (2009, November 14). Multiple Intelligences [Video
file].Video posted to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf6lqfNTmaM
Paulo Francisco Slomp. (2006, September 22). B.F Skinner
Modelagem [Video file].Video posted to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm5FGrQEyBY
Thomas, R. M. (2005). Comparing Theories of Child Development
(6th ed.): Cengage Learning.
Vygotsky's Developmental theory. (2009). Vygotsky and the Zone
of Proximal Development [Video file].Video posted to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx84h-i3w8U&feature=youtu.be
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