"HOW PEOPLE LEARN:BRAIN, MIND, EXPERIENCE AND SCHOOL

This is a reflection of Chapter 6 of the book titled "How people learn: brain, mind, experience and school" by Bransford, JD, Brown, AL and Cocking, RR (2001).

This chapter provides us with the essence in the design of learning environment. One very important aspect that we have to take note when designing our learning environment is to align the learning environment to the changing learning goals.

Some of the main points that was shared in this article is on the 4 types or domains of Learning Environment: Learner-centred, Knowledge-centred, Assessment-centred and Community-centred. Through my experience in teaching, I do agree with the author that these learning environments exist in different degrees. They are all interconnected and mutually support one another.

In my opinion, designing the best learning environment for our pupils is not an easy task as each and every of our pupils have unique learning needs and styles. It may be challenging and even near impossible to meet each learning needs however the teacher can still design a learning environment with a combination of the 4 types to maximise learning for the pupils as much as possible.

To do so, it is definitely necessary for the teacher to understand each pupil as unique individuals and to recognise their strengths and weaknesses. This can only be done with time as the teacher and pupils develop deeper understanding of one another.

REFLECTIONS -SESSION 1

This blog is an example of how our learning environment has advanced over time. It's no longer chalk and talk but now we are expected to be more involved in the world of IT.

As educators, we are very much involved in setting the learning environment in the classroom albeit the physical or non-physical aspects. We often hope to provide the best for our pupils but are sometimes lost or unsure in finding ways to do so. Indeed each and every of our pupils is unique and therefore a method may not suit all.

Therefore with Dr Quek's help, I hope to gain more insight on how I can further improve the learning environment for the pupils. There are certainly many aspects that will be beyond my control yet there will always be a way to counter a problem.

I'm looking forward to working closely with my group members and hopefully we can all achieve the objectives of this course together.