I believe that over time and experiences our beliefs and practices about learning can evolve. My learning philosophy has continued to develop and change as I move forward in my career adventures and endeavors. I have been fortunate to gain meaningful experiences’ and grow as a facilitator, educator, student, counselor and a learner.

I believe in many theories, I am not tied to just one theory. I believe that there are many great assets to several theories. I like what constructivism has to offer, but I also believe in the social learning and experiential learning theories. I can relate to Constructivism because the theory focuses on the learner taking responsibility and control of their individual learning. Constructivism is when learners are actively constructing their own knowledge and ideas, the teacher is playing the part of a “facilitator” and simply guiding the student’s learning.  Learners will interpret information and make connections by using their prior knowledge and past experiences. As educators we musts guide our students’, create meaningful experiences’, pull them up and inspire them, and encourage new experiences. I believe that in order to be a great educator, I first have to be a responsive learner and I must always continue to learn.

I believe that people learn from one another through observing, repeating, and modeling. This is why I believe that the Social Learning Theory is a great theory to use, it includes memory, motivation, and attention. Social learning theory focuses on the “continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences” In order for there to be effective modeling, certain conditions need to be in place; these components are attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). My belief is that learners must gain their own knowledge, by observing and imitating.

            I also believe that experiences help us so much in the learning process. The experiential learning theory definitely allows us to learn through experiences. When we experience authentic and hands-on experiences, we are growing as a person, we are constructing our beliefs, what we know, and think. Experiential learning consists of four stages: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts, and testing in new situations. (infed.org experiential-learning)

I believe that all three theories, constructivist, social learning, and experiential theories complement each other. Knowledge is constructed through experiences, in turn we make connections. With that being said, I also believe that there is a “marriage” between teaching and learning. We all know that not all learners learn the same. Direct modeling and explicit teaching need to occur so that students’ can gain knowledge. As an educator, I have found that we must personalize teaching and learning for all students.

My learning philosophy consists in my innovation plan and my role as a change agent in my school. My innovation plan focuses on being a change agent in the learning environment.  My goal is to motivate and engage all students’. Students should learn to take control of their learning, navigate content and interpret information on their own. Learning is a process and each individual student does so differently. This is why I believe that an educators’ teaching should be personalized. I hope to get others’ on board and to strengthen my innovation plan in the learning process. I can also relate personally to other theories such as; a Constructivist (Piaget, Dewey, Bruner), a learner will construct information as it relates to new information and prior knowledge. Students’ will gain meaning in the process. A learner will gain knowledge as they journey through their experiences.

            Personally, I am a hands on learner, I like to be involved in the learning process. I am an avid researcher, I love to gain new information to put into my knowledge base. I am a firm believer in education and learning. I believe that learning is a lifelong process based upon new information, prior knowledge, experiences and circumstances.