Psych Concept Reflection Paper

Psych Concept Reflection Paper

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Author Note

Psych Concept Reflection Paper

Learning can be aptly defined as the process of going from not knowing something to acquiring a bulk load of knowledge, information, and skills regarding a subject. While most people recognize formal education as a means of engaging in the process of learning, however, it cannot be much further than the truth. Much of what we learn in life is through the passive result of experience. It is experience alone that allows us to grow and change with the times, giving us new things to explore and make a lasting impression on our lives ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"W3rJ887T","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kuo, Barnes, & Jordan, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Kuo, Barnes, & Jordan, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":840,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/IPWES8JU"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/IPWES8JU"],"itemData":{"id":840,"type":"article-journal","title":"Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship","container-title":"Frontiers in psychology","page":"305","volume":"10","author":[{"family":"Kuo","given":"Ming"},{"family":"Barnes","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Jordan","given":"Catherine"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Kuo, Barnes, & Jordan, 2019).

Following the rise of behaviorism in the twentieth century, learning became the center of attention in psychology, with many psychologists turning to explore the phenomenon of learning, its prevalence, and impact on human nature, growth, and development ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ATmqZvhP","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(De Houwer, Barnes-Holmes, & Moors, 2013)","plainCitation":"(De Houwer, Barnes-Holmes, & Moors, 2013)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":839,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/NE599QI3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/NE599QI3"],"itemData":{"id":839,"type":"article-journal","title":"What is learning? On the nature and merits of a functional definition of learning","container-title":"Psychonomic bulletin & review","page":"631-642","volume":"20","issue":"4","author":[{"family":"De Houwer","given":"Jan"},{"family":"Barnes-Holmes","given":"Dermot"},{"family":"Moors","given":"Agnes"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (De Houwer, Barnes-Holmes, & Moors, 2013). The extensive study in the area gave rise to the exploration of learning process for a number of different perspectives. This included education, social and cognitive development of an individual in society, with the investigations eventually leading to the rise of development psychology ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"MmZtq6Mz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Segarra & Tillery, 2018)","plainCitation":"(Segarra & Tillery, 2018)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":841,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/IJS48QWB"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/0omESN17/items/IJS48QWB"],"itemData":{"id":841,"type":"article-journal","title":"Key Concepts in Developmental Psychology and Science Pedagogy Help Undergraduates in High School Science Outreach","container-title":"Journal of microbiology & biology education","volume":"19","issue":"1","author":[{"family":"Segarra","given":"Verónica A."},{"family":"Tillery","given":"Mariann"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2018"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Segarra & Tillery, 2018).

My personal encounter with learning was organic in no way. In fact, I came across it much like most people in this time and age, through formal education. It grew to such an extent that I associated the process of learning with the idea of ‘school’ alone. I never paid any heed to any form of learning I was gaining through experiencing life. It was until I was in a later stage of life, during the senior year of high school when I first came to a startling realization. The college essays I was tasked with writing did not contain information regarding how well I did at school. At that point, I did not need to know what the square root of pie was, or how big the planet we live in was, but, what I did need to know was the part I played as a contributing member of society. How could I better take care of the animals that share this planet with us, or how could I reduce the footprint I leave behind on this planet once I am long gone. I knew the quadratic equation, with my algebra teacher imploring its importance in 100 different ways. However, to date I have not made use of the equation that I barely even remember at this point.

School did teach me about the forms of understanding the basics of science, arts, language or math, when in fact it should have focused on turning me into a better human being. Getting to travel with Habitat for Humanity opened my eyes and enabled me to learn things that I never would have confined within the four walls of a classroom. It taught me to be innovative and be creative while looking for solutions to a problem that I would have deemed impossible otherwise. It made me open my eyes and explore the world from a different angle, one that I didn’t think possible before.

Thus, in my opinion, having a hands-on approach in a classroom setting is a much better way to improve the learning process than using the traditional learning methods used. The orthodox methods of learning that we use in schools do not promote the ideas that can make a student reach out and see the world from a different perspective. A world, where people see solutions instead of problems and believe in a hands-on approach of learning, experiencing and living through life.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY De Houwer, J., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Moors, A. (2013). What is learning? On the nature and merits of a functional definition of learning. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 20(4), 631–642.

Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 305.

Segarra, V. A., & Tillery, M. (2018). Key Concepts in Developmental Psychology and Science Pedagogy Help Undergraduates in High School Science Outreach. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 19(1).