Howard Bezzant's blog

Week 13 (Nov 16-23, 2009) "What is Learning" and "How Can I Effectuate Learning"

Week 12 (Nov9-15, 2009)
“What is Learning”
Learning is a ‘get in and do it’ kind of thing. As my son always says about the movies and books, “The first part has to build the world”, and then you have to be placed in it or understand the place to understand the concepts of what the story is trying to convey. I loved the reading about situated learning, especially the part about language learning through use. I reflected back to studying words for the GRE and smiled inside. I thought of math classes I have had, and considered deeply the math class I now teach. We will be outside finding sides and angles of triangles on Monday. I also reflected on how I learned to build homes, the JPF way. It was a great experience and a self-esteem builder as well. Look here, put me in the right context, and even I can learn.
“How Can I as a Teacher Effectuate Learning?”Click here to read more »

Peer-to-Peer Discussions in Online Courses: An Effective Evaluation Tool in Pedagogy and Equivalent in Assessment and Accreditation? Howard Bezzant

“What is Learning”Click here to read more »

Week 9 “What is Learning”
Learning I have found is about perceptions. How do I as a teacher perceive someone’s involvement or lack of involvement, and how do they as a student perceive what is to be learned and how to do it. How does the student perceive my concern for them, perceive the importance of the topic, and perceive its importance to them and life. Perception is based on our goals, whether concrete or implied, and our motivation is based on these goals. So motivation is also derived from perception. As a line from the movies “Sneakers” (yes, Robert Redford) says, “Things operate, not on reality, but the perception of reality”.
Week 9 “How Can I as a Teacher Effectuate Learning?”Click here to read more »