Learning Methods Analysis - Essay Example

LEARNING METHODS by Introduction Learning methods refers to various ways used my teachers to pass informationto students. There are numerous methods that are applied in learning depending on the type of audience and content of study. For example, lectures are appropriate for large audiences while tutorials are more suited to small groups because they give individual attention to students’ learning needs. This paper will discuss various learning methods and subsequently give a student’s personal experience with each method. Also, it will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the learning methods and suggest how a student can increase learning effectiveness. Literature Review on Learning Methods Ashwin (2005) defines a lecture as an oral presentation meant to present information or teach people about a certain subject/field of study. Lectures are mostly used in universities and colleges to convey information on various fields such as history, mathematics, theories and science. The lecturer stands in front of the class and recites the information relevant to that lecture’s content. The lecturer method has been widely criticised as ineffective in gauging students, understanding. However, universities around the globe have not found an appropriate alternative and the method is thus widely used in institutions of higher learning. Critics argue that lectures are one way communication that doesn’t involve students and thus an inappropriate method for active learning. Lectures have numerous advantages (Ashwin 2005). They give the lecturer an opportunity to expose students to unpublished academic material to enlarge their scope of learning. Lectures allow the lecturer to tailor the information content to focus more on the students and their learning abilities and needs. Lectures are also used to arouse interest in a subject and facilitate large group communication and learning. The disadvantages include passive learning that doesn’t involve students, lectures encourage one way communication and require a lot of unguided student time outside classroom to understand the lecture content. A presentation is the process of introducing a topic to an audience. It generally refers to a demonstration or speech, intended to inform, persuade or create goodwill. Presentation programs such as Microsoft Power Point, Apple Keynote or OpenOffice are used to generate visual presentations. According to Slavin (2000), an effective presentation requires presentation skills that include brevity, conciseness and time management. Presentations are short and straight to the point. Most class presentations on a single topic normally has around ten PowerPoints written in notes form. This helps students grasp the important concepts quickly. Therefore, an effective presentation requires the presenter to have communication skills and be a good time manager. Presentations have numerous advantages. The key advantage is that they allow the presenter to interact with the audience. When giving the presentation, the presenter can gauge their understanding by looking at them and reading their body language. The presentation indicates the level of understanding and acceptance of the content. Additionally, they allow for use of visual aids such as graphs to emphasize key concepts. The disadvantages include brevity that doesn’t in-depth discussion of content, effectiveness of a presentation depends on the ability of a speaker to deliver the message (Slavin, 2000). It is time consuming to develop a brief and precise presentation from voluminous information. Beck (2007) refers to a tutorial as a learning method of transferring knowledge and is an integral part of the learning process. A tutorial is more interactive than classroom teaching because it seeks to teach from examples and supply of information to complete assignments. A tutorial can range from a set of instructions to completing tasks through interactive problem solving sessions. Tutorial classrooms are small including one or a few students so that the tutor can give individual attention to all students. In a tutorial classroom, the teacher understands the learning abilities of all students and tailors teaching methods to address specific needs of learners. Tutorials are intended to assist students gain a deeper understanding of the subject, enable them learn how to think creatively to formulate thesis and solutions. Tutorials develop student’s basic academic skills and foster close relationship with the instructor. The advantages include taking individual differences into consideration, customizing teaching to address a particular student’s learning needs and encouraging active learning that simulates students to develop solution and become critical thinkers (Beck, 2007). The limitations include inability of a tutor to solve all the problems of each student in all subjects, It is impossible to offer remedial classes at each learning process due to time constraints, jealousy develops within a tutorial class as students compete for the tutor’s attention and teachers may become biased and fail to show equal interest to all students. According to Slavin (2012), group assignments refer to a teaching methods where students are put into groups and given assignments to complete together. This learning method allows teachers to set academic tasks that the group should work collaboratively to complete. Group assignments are used for challenging assignments that must be completed within a given time limit. They allow for interactive learning as students work together to solve a problem or develop thesis and solve a task. Groups are given a similar or different task and equal marks are awarded to each student in a particular group. The advantages include developing problem solving skills among students, fostering teamwork and active learning, ensuring academic discipline in submitting quality time within the stipulated time and establishing meaningful relationships among students Slavin (2012). The limitations include increasing competition as most students perceive group tasks as competition against others, which fosters destructive behaviour that hinders creativity of a group. There is tendency for group members to conform to the group and lack of objective direction. Problem solving in a group is time consuming and tiresome exercise. Personal Examples in My Learning Journey During my academic journey I have experienced all the above learning methods and find them appropriate in different contexts. I find lectures appropriate for college teaching because in our class, we have many students and lectures are the most convenient way of learning. Furthermore, the students have a lot of autonomy and independence and no one follows them to attend classes. Therefore lectures are better because they allow students the autonomy to attend classes that are of interest and at the time that is convenient for them. The advantages of a lecture are numerous and mostly to the advantage of the student (Sharan 2004). I find lectures effective in learning theories and humanity subjects because the lecturer give additional information, further references and give examples that are thought provoking. My major concern with lecture is that they don’t encourage active learning because it is only the lecturer who talks as we listen and make notes. It also requires a lot of outside classroom time to understand lectures. I find presentations interesting and very effective in passing information in a precise way. I prefer presentations because they activate my thinking. When the information is given in point form, it provokes my thought in coming up with an explanation and supporting evidence. Presentations motivate me to do further reading so that I can understand the content deeply and manage to hold an informed academic discussion. I particularly find the visual aids in presentations critical in understanding the content of the presentation (Beck 2007). For example graphs and pie charts make it easier to see the relationship between the elements and create a mental picture that is memorable. Therefore, visual aids enhance my understanding and ability to remember concepts, presentations induce me to think more and do further research. However, I find it difficultly to understand theories and other subjects that need lengthy discussions using presentations because the information therein is too scant. It leaves me with so many unanswered questions. Furthermore, presentations depend on the presenter and boring presenters are difficulty to listen to and i end up missing the concept. Group assignments are very useful in handling difficult assignments that involve a lot of work. I find fulfilment in working in a group because I can exchange my ideas with intelligent students and have them challenge my thinking and reasoning. Group assignments are a learning moment for me as I get different points of views from others and learn new concepts. I n addition, I like leading and I always facilitate group discussions and thus sharpen my networking and leadership skills. Working in a group gives us the academic discipline required to complete school work timely. I find it easier to work in a group because we have a diversity in terms of thinking and developing concepts. Group work challenges us to think creatively and develop problem solving skills. However, I find group work time consuming because it is difficult to come up with a common solution. Some students fail to fully participate and finish their assigned roles and affect everyone’s performance (Sharan 2004).  I find tutorials appropriate for subjects that I am weak at. Working with a tutor allows me to identify my learning inabilities and areas that need constant attention. For example, I am weak in arithmetic and I often don’t understand mathematical concepts when learning in a huge group. Having a tutor helps me synthesis the mathematical concepts in a slow and more relaxed manner so that I catch up with other students who are quicker to learn these concepts. Therefore, I find tutorials effective in strengthening my weak areas and ensuring that the other students don’t leave me behind in learning (Slavin 2000). I also find tutorials critical where a student hasn’t been able to attend classes. For example, when I am sick and misses school for considerable amount of time, tutorials help me catch up with lost lessons so that I keep up with my classmates. The limitation with tutorials is that they encourage me to be lazy and not struggle so much to understand arithmetic because the tutor will help me anyway. This is dangerous because I need to be self-motivated for learning. My Learning Progress over the Year I have made tremendous progress over time in my learning. At the beginning, I experienced difficulties studying on my own and adjusting to some learning methods such as lecturers. This was because I relied on tutorials to catch up on any missed concepts and I gave less attention and time to my studies. Overtime, I have come to appreciate all the learning methods and embrace them. I find it easy to learn and understand concepts despite the mode of presentation. I engage more in personal studies and research (Slavin 2012). I have grown in my academics and I am able to hold an intelligent academic discussion that I was unable to in the past because I rarely did academic research. I engage more in class activities and learning is a fun activity that I don’t need to be forced in to unlike in the past. My grades have also improved and I am pleased with my academic work. How I Can Become a Better Learner I am working towards becoming a better leaner by overcoming my learning challenges and addressing my weak areas. One weak area is that I need to do more practice on arithmetic so that I can improve my mathematical skills. I plan to do more mathematical tests and involve my teachers and classmates to help me improve on this area that I am very weak in. I also need to pay more attention to speakers during presentation so that I understand the content despite the speaker seeming boring. Additionally I plan to do more self-study and research on concepts learnt in class to gain an in-depth knowledge that will facilitate my understanding. I plan to participate more in class by asking questions and answering questions raised by instructors or fellow classmates. This will help me identify concepts that I have difficulties understanding and focus more on them (Ashwin 2005). Conclusion Learning methods refers to the ways used by teachers to pass information to students. There are numerous methods that are applied in learning depending on the type of audience and content of study. Lectures and group assignments are effective and appropriate for a large audience. Tutorials are suitable for small groups because they give individual attention to students’ learning needs. Presentations can apply to either group and are very helpful in grasping important concepts at a glance. The student’s personal experiences reveal interaction with all the above learning methods. The student asserts in her experiences that different methods are effective in different contexts although they are all effective in passing information and knowledge. References Ashwin, P. (2005). Variation in students’ experiences of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’, Higher Education, 50(4), pp631-644. Beck, RJ. (2007) The Pedagogy of the Oxford Tutorial. Downloaded: 20 April 2015. Sharan, S. E. (2004). Handbook of cooperative learning methods. Greenwood Press/Greenwood Publishing Group. Slavin, R. E. (2000). Cooperative learning: Theory, research, and practice (Vol. 14). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Slavin, R. E. (2012). Classroom applications of cooperative learning. American Psychological Association. Read More