Essay: Six Components Of Learning Experience In Student Institutions.

Graphomotor Skills

Question:

Discuss About The Experience Students Learning Institutions?

The learning experience is a composition of different activities. It is a combination of how learners interact with their environment. Teachers who control and manage the learning experience for students while is learning institutions, possess very sophisticated skills. This is because they are required to orchestrate various instructions over time (Fink 2003). They also need to assess how well the students are absorbing knowledge and use this information to adjust the tactics they are employing.

To be able to direct the different students efficiently, the teacher needs an excellent comprehension of every cognitive element of the process of learning. Six components that must be observed are; graphomotor, processing, language, higher order thinking, memory, and attention. Graphomotor refers to the skill of writing. It is a process that requires muscular, visual, and neural coordination. Due to the presence of computers presently, this skill has almost been replaced by typing (Saskatchewan education ministry 2008). However, the two go hand in hand and a student facing difficulty in writing may have difficulty typing as well.

Human beings have two ways in which they process and organize information. These include; the spatial and sequential manners. The spatial or simultaneous manner is the process in which people use order in the organization of information. For instance, humans use simultaneous manner to solve puzzles or know direction (Donovan et al. n.d.). Sequential organization, on the other hand, is used to help humans comprehend the concept of time. Students whose sequential organizational skills are excellent time managers.

Higher order thinking, the third learning skill, calls for the ability of people to have an understanding of information first, then manipulate that information to draw more conclusions. It is not merely relating information or memorizing it, but being able to do something more with that information. This is a skill that brings about; problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, questioning information, analytical thinking, and metacognition. Metacognition refers to the ability of one to understand and be aware of what they know, how they think, and learn (Cross 1999).

As a learning experience, higher order thinking should be promoted among students to help them reflect about themselves and understand their behavior. This skill also enables students to manage themselves mentally.  It also allows them to be aware of their weaknesses and strengths as well as know how to capitalize their strengths and manage their weaknesses (Harrison n.d.). Additionally, it helps them believe in themselves and work to make a difference in society.

Processing

In school and elsewhere, the primary means used for communication is language. Two systems process language. These are the receptive and expressive systems.  Expressive language is used in speech as well as in writing. Receptive language, on the other hand, is used during listening and reading. Students who are good at language are good performers (Schwartz 2010). However, students who have language difficulties are unable to communicate properly, may not comprehend or store information either in written or verbal form and may be unable maintain relationships and friendships with other students.

Majority of students with weak written language are assisted by a procedure of creative and expository writing. This enables the students to generate ideas first then organize them and look at how the sentences are structured (Dashe & Thompson 2014). They then check on the grammatical and mechanical rules and correct any errors they may have made. In the end, their language skills improve considerably.

Another learning skill is memory. Memory allows people to receive information, make use of it, store, and retrieve it when needed. There are three different memory systems. These are; short term memory, working memory, and long term memory. In school, students are required to remember lots of different information. This is in different subjects such as science, social studies, math among others. To assist students to remember different information, teachers should remind the students of prior information about the topic in question (Cross 1999). This helps jog their memory and connects the past studies to present studies.

Finally, for a student to learn anything, they need to pay attention. Students pay attention easily to exciting things and get distracted when things are not so interesting. The teacher, therefore, constructs lessons that have connectivity to the students in a bid to keep their attention (Harrison n.d.).

The learning process involves different approaches. For students to learn efficiently, they need to tailor their study habits to their own needs (Saskatchewan education ministry 2008). To do this, they should choose techniques that they feel work for them then evaluate these techniques to see how well they are working. For instance, some students are better at group discussions while others learn better by studying alone.

Based on my personal opinion, the learning experience is a significant part of any person’s life. The six elements that have been mentioned are vital for students. They make people into who they are as they grow up. They enable people to think, communicate with other people, gain the ability to concentrate, be able to remember information, and aid in improving one’s writing skills (Fink 2003). Therefore, this is a very valuable process that should be maintained and well executed by the teachers.

Higher Order Thinking

The learning process is what has enabled me to be in a position to further my studies in preparation for the future. In my course work, it will be of use to me because I need to think harder to gain deeper insights into some of my units that are quite challenging (Hansen 2000). Moreover, it is a requirement for students to conduct research in different areas, and this will be possible since I have the necessary communication as well as writing skills to carry out various tasks.

In the future, I would like to be a business owner. This process will be vital to me in relating to clients as well as thinking of ways to carry out various activities such as scaling the business and marketing among others (Cross 1999). The skills I have gained will help me fit into society and provide for my family as well as remember important things such as my friends’ birthdays or in time keeping.

The learning process that I went through involved different activities. The teacher required us to concentrate to understand what was being taught. We were also expected to ask questions whenever we did not understand various concepts. Experiments were also standard in the process followed by a reflection of why we got certain results. Additionally, we were required to carry out research on different issues and discuss the findings with fellow students.

The business research that I conducted was an important activity that contributed to my learning experience. In undertaking the activity, I was able to get out of my comfort zone because I am quite introverted. This involved talking to strangers and requesting them to aid in answering my questionnaire. Some people were rude and chose not to participate while others were happy to be of assistance. This helped me to learn about people and how they behave which is a skill that I will work on till I get better at it.

My learning process now mainly involves experimentation. I find that carrying out practical activities is my best way of learning also called experiential learning. This helps me to think as I complete the process and ensures that I remember everything that happened throughout the activity (Schwartz 2010). The task of researching enabled me to collect data, analyze it, and draw actionable insights.

In the future, this learning will apply in a myriad of ways. Due to the learning skills that I have acquired over the years, I was able to perfect different skills such as data analysis. Therefore, I can use Ms. Excel as well as SPSS together with my critical thinking skills to analyze data for better comprehension of the research findings. In the future, I will apply these skills in my business to analyze the markets and to assess the demand for different products. The interpersonal skills on the other hand will be useful for networking activities and interacting with clients to provide exceptional customer services.

Conclusion

Indeed, the learning process is crucial for every person’s growth and development. It enables one to carry out various activities that are vital to life. These include; writing, language comprehension, concentrating, higher order thinking, memory, and organization. With these skills, one can better prepare for the future and enjoy the present. Conclusively, it nurtures one’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth.

References

Cross, P., 1999. Learning is About Making Connections.

Dashe & Thompson, 2014. 11 Ways To Create Learning Experiences That Work. Available at: https://www.dashe.com/blog/learning/principles-effective-learning.

Donovan, M.S., Bransford, J.D. & Pellegrino, J.W., How People Learn.

Fink, D., 2003. Creating Significant Learning Experiences.

Hansen, R.E., 2000. The Role of Experience in Learning: Giving Meaning and Authenticity to the Learning Process in Schools. Journal of Technology Education, 11(2).

Harrison, F., Using Learning Resources to Enhance Teaching and Learning ILTM Senior Lecturer in Educational Development Centre for Educational Development Imperial College London.

Saskatchewan education ministry, 2008. Essential Learning Experiences,

Schwartz, M., 2010. Best Practices in Experiential Learning.