By Elvin Herrera
All teachers that are
found doing this amazing job of teaching inside the classroom should ask
themselves what is important for their students for acquiring the knowledge. According
to this query is how we can achieve a quality of education in the process.
First at able, we must be aware that every single person is different, each
student learns in different ways. Therefore, the study of the theories of
learning has a vital purpose in giving to students the best tool for engaging
their abilities with the knowledge that we want to transmit them. The most
recognized approaches in learning intend to guide the process of education
toward different purposes, some of them are oriented in the student and others
are focuses on the teacher. These
theories are Behavioral, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Social Learning, and
Humanism.
In a certain way, the current system of
education could be working without the consent about the useful of learning
theories. This is the reason why we have serious problems in education.
Traditional methods are still dominating inside some national classrooms. Unfortunately,
many teachers do not know how to exploit the great abilities that students have
acquired naturally since they were born. Accordingly, students are not
developing their capacities because the system does not allow them. Absolutely,
I consider crossing the line between traditionalism and active education. Education
is the first need of a nation; and as a primordial need that it is, we have a
big responsibility for creating changes in order to obtain an educational
quality generalized in people able to generate a good development for the country.
In
relation to describe the theories of learning I see interesting contributions
in each of one. First, I have to say that behaviorism is one of these
approaches that is more centered in the activity of the teacher than student. Moreover,
behaviorism supports the idea to use stimulus to create knowledge in the
student as if he or she was a clean slate. Consequently I perceive in this
theory a good application with the phrase “transmission
of knowledge” because that is exactly what behaviorism pretend with learning.
As a response to behaviorism theory,
we also have others approaches which become more active and conscious about the
prominent of the learning, the student himself. At the time, Cognitivism is centered
itself in an active purpose based on the student. Therefore, the students are
who create or discover the knowledge trough a mental process in order to be
involved in an environment which allows them to think, reflect, perceive and
construct their own knowledge from prior experiences. Following the same pattern,
constructivism joins the same idea of Cognitivism. Constructivism induces
students to create their own knowledge by realizing practical activities. The
teacher is just a guide who provides to the student activities for working on
manipulating knowledge. According to the learning seems thorough an environment
perception, social learning theory believes in the influence of this element in
the process of learning. Everybody is conditioned by what we have around us,
and at the end we are a result of this environment who impulses us to act
according what the rest do. Despite to this, humanism rather believes in the
person as an individual element in the learning. Humanists emphasizes in the
values of the person for achieving his goals.
Several theories can appear as an ideal to
incorporate in the process of leaning. Meanwhile, just the teacher is who know
what specifically his students need. If as teachers we can focus on the student
as an individualized element, the success in the process could have assured a
quality of knowledge. Whatever theory that motivates students to participate actively
in the process will be very useful for applying in teaching labor. However, a
teacher never has to forget the main role in education is centered in the
student. The teacher becomes just a guide who accompanies the students in the
realization of their goals. Concepts such as motivation, participation,
exploration, discovering, practical situations, creativity and so on, should be
the ideals that a teacher has to reflect in the process of developing
competences for students through the knowledge acquired.
