This week, we tackled Learning. We read about definitions, concepts, principles, theories, and more in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of learning. And boy did I learn a lot!
On a personal level, I realized from going through this module that my initial understanding of learning was very basic. You could describe it as ‘pedestrian.’ I honestly thought learning was nothing more than “acquisition of knowledge.” I mean, I know it definitely means more than that, but my level of learning regarding this topic was so basic that I didn’t even fathom the extents of my ignorance until I started reading up on it. I guess that means that I really have to be thankful for this course because, if nothing else, I learned a huge deal just from this module.
For instance, I never thought that learning could be understood as either product or process. As a learner, I guess it didn’t really matter knowing this. But as an educator, now I understand the importance of being familiar with these distinctions. Because of how varied our understanding of learning is, that could also result to many different ways that learning is conceptualized and put to action. For instance, understanding learning as a product would mean that focus would be directed to the outcomes of learning. It would be very commodity-based. Meanwhile, understanding learning as a process refocuses the discussion on, among other things, the method of learning instead of the outcome. As someone who is just starting out in this field, I’m not sure what this implies but I can tell that it’s a big deal just from the very little I have read so far.
My final thought for this journal entry is this: If this is what I discovered and learned about learning just from the first module, I can’t imagine how changed I will be at the end of this term. Probably very much, and hopefully for the better.
Here’s to the next modules!
Jeremiah Nathaniel F. Reyes 