What are some cultural shifts in our fast changing world, that have an impact on our own learning as educators? How can we start thinking differently about learning?

Learning2learn from Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

Comprehensible input
Suppose you are an EFL learner, would you learn anything with a teacher who uses a language you don’t understand at all?
The answer is straight forward learning takes place when we have enough clues about the message being intended by the speaker! It would be a waste of time or worse a demotivating factor if a teacher is reluctant to help learners by providing a language slightly above his level, a language that  is comprehensible but at the same time provides new learning possibilities.
This is a video in which …

What is Scaffolding?
In its literal meaning scaffolding is the use of a temporary metal or wooden framework that is used to support workmen and materials during construction. Likewise, scaffolding in education refers to a temporary structure which provides assistance to learners when needed in the construction of their learning. It makes it possible for learners to accomplish a challenging task that necessitates help.
The rationale behind scaffolding comes from theoretical arguments as well as from practical reasons. In fact, Based on Vygotsky‘s ideas about  the Zone of Proximal Development, Jerome Bruner …

Gagné was one of the first educational psychologists to tap the secret of the science of instruction. His work during World War II focused on how to better train pilots in the Army Air Corps. He developed a series of studies and works that simplified and explained what he and others believed to be good instruction. Although the original formulation of the theory had military training settings as its point of departure, the theory has been applied to the design of instruction in all fields.
Five types of learning
Gagné identifies five …

Autonomy in language learning
The main idea behind learner autonomy is that learners should be able to take charge of their own learning. Being dependent on the teacher wouldn’t help the learning process. Students should be encouraged to construct knowledge from direct experience through hypothesizing, experimenting, acquiring, transforming and transferring learning. Ideal autonomous learners are people who:

are willing to take risks,
have insights into their learning styles and strategies,
and are willing to revise and reject hypotheses.

Approaches To Learner Autonomy In Language Learning
View more PowerPoint from Erin Lowry

Stop teaching! That’s what I say to myself when I feel I’m too invasive in my teaching, when I interfere too much in the classroom activities, when I jump at every hurdles that my students encounter. Being invasive is mainly due to my quest for perfection, when I want every little bit of my teaching to be perfect.  We have been told that teaching is being actively involved in everything. Being constantly active is considered as a value.
Lately, I have read an article about not interfering in the teaching by …

Robert Gagné
Robert Mills Gagné was an American educational psychologist. In his book Conditions of Learning he developed studies about what he considered to be good instruction. Robert Gagné first worked for the air force with pilot training. One of Gagné’s main contribution was  the model of “Nine Events of Instruction”
Nine Events of Instruction
Gagné created a nine-step process called the “Events of Instruction” which are closely related to the learning process and lead to different learning outcomes. These events are the following:

Gain attention
Capture the attention of learners by asking questions or …

Bruner’s learning theory is very influential and has direct implications on the teaching practices. The main ideas of the theory can be summarized as follows:

Learning is an active process. Learners select and transform information.
Learners make appropriate decisions and postulate hypotheses and test their effectiveness.
Learners use prior experience to fit new information into the pre-existing structures.
Scaffolding is the process through which able peers or adults offer supports for learning. This assistance becomes gradually less frequent as it becomes unnecessary.
The intellectual development includes three stages. The enactive stage which refers to learning …

Jerome Bruner was one of the most influential constructivists. He was influenced by Piaget’s ideas about cognitive development in children. His ideas have been widely discussed among educators and teachers. Some of Bruner’s theoretical principles focus on these ideas:

Nature of Learning and learning process.
Instructional scaffolding
The intellectual  development of the learner

Learning
Learning for Bruner is an active process. The  learning process include according to Bruner:

selection and transformation of information,
decision-making,
generating hypotheses,
and making meaning from information and experiences.

Learners are able to construct new knowledge based on their current or past knowledge.
Bruner focuses on the …

What is experience?
Experience refers to an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone. Experience is an essential element in learning. However, experience is not exclusively identified with schools. It is part and parcel of life outside school. and it would be a huge mistake to exclude the importance of experiences our students undergo outside the classroom in the learning process.
Experiential Education
John Dewey was the most famous proponent of experiential education. Students in experiential education become more actively involved in the learning process than in traditional education. Dewey advocated that education …