EDCI 747

A Reflection on my ELA Experiences in the Classroom

The main learning theories that have really shaped my experiences and made me a better learner in the English Language Arts classroom are Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism.

I would like to specifically reflect on the English Literature class I took in grade 12.

In my English Lit class, I fondly remember learning poetry from classic poets such as Coleridge, works by Lord Byron, John Donne and of course William Shakespeare. This class was so engaging because we worked with the materials in different modes: we had an ongoing online discussion forum to discuss the current texts; many in-class discussions and debates about meaning within the texts; we watched movie adaptations to see the texts in the a different medium; and most memorably, we took a class trip to Vancouver to watch a modern take on Hamlet at the Shakespeare Festival, Bard on the Beach. (Below is a YouTube clip from Bard on the Beach that talks a bit about the student matinees at the festival).

The theory of behaviorism took a role in this class by using certain rewards. A big reward for us as a class was going to the Bard on the Beach festival at the end of our Shakespeare unit. Some negative reinforcement was used in the sense of there would be no homework if we finished our discussion questions in class.

Cognitivism was key in this class in the sense that anything we learned in the English Literature class was based upon previous knowledge from English classes taken in the years before. Knowing how to analyze a poem and discuss any meaning behind it came from our previous knowledge of symbolism, personification, imagery etc. that was learned in our grade 9 English class.

The social environment within the class was extremely inviting, we were like one big family. This plays into the theory of constructivism. Our teacher was definitely a guide in our learning process as much of the class was discussion-based learning facilitated by the students. In that sense, we were really applying our knowledge of poetry and literature by analyzing it together.

Looking ahead, I think that similar approaches and learning theories will be prevalent in my own classroom. I would like to have a focus on constructivism within the classroom as I think it’s important for students to be masters of their own education. I think it is so important for students to learn what actually gets them excited and what they’re passionate about. In my future classroom, this is will look like having students complete projects and assignments with their own passions and learning styles in mind. For example, I would give different creative options on how they could go about completing an assignment: maybe create a graphic novel or make a video discussing the text we are working on. These ideas align with the Personal and Social and Communication core competencies within the English Literary Studies 12 Curriculum. These competencies speak to students’ individuality and identity and what they need to thrive as individuals. Additionally, the core competency of Communication can be found in behaviorism in the sense that all behavior is communication. Students respond to rewards systems which in turn can change their behavior.

I will also use cognitivism in my future classroom to build on students prior knowledge of Indigenous peoples and their texts/traditions and make sure to really engage and understand the First People’s perspectives, values and beliefs. I would also like to touch on the big idea of “questioning what we hear, read and view” in terms of stereotypes surrounding the Indigenous populations and unraveling biases towards them. Naturally, this would also connect with another big idea in the curriculum “people understand text differently depending on their world views and perspectives”. Building on previous knowledge aligns with the core competency of Thinking which allows students to develop intellectually and transform concepts into new understandings.

It is evident that the learning theories connect to the core competencies and big ideas of the Literary Studies 12 curriculum. The core competencies of Thinking, Personal and Social and Communication directly connect to ideas outlined in the cognitivism, constructivism and behaviorism learning theories and approaches.