YOU ARE REQUIRED TO SHOW HOW LEARNING THEORIES CAN FULFIL THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND STUDENT LEARNING STYLES IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS. Academic WritingNur Farah Ain Binti Nordin930923-12-5794L3 PISMP June Intake

AbstractA basic issue in the study of learning concerns about the process whereby learning occurs and the product of learning (Schunk, 2004).But the most tough issue pertains to learning theories is how the implication of the learning theories can fulfil the needs of individual differences and student learning styles in the teaching and learning process. Many theories argue on how the right way the learning process occurs. As time goes by and the involvement of technology infiltrate in education context, the learning theories develop from the behaviourist approach to constructivist approach to cater the needs of individual differences and student learning styles in classroom context. This paper will cover on how the learning theories (behaviour approach, cognitive approach and constructive approach) meet the needs of individual differences and student learning styles in the teaching and learning process.

1.0 IntroductionAs a teacher, one should be aware that every student has different ways of learning. Some of the disciplines that need to be considered, in terms of their influence on learning, are questions of personality differences, perceptual factors and the nature of memory from psychology, environmental influences from the sociological perspective, together with the concerns of the educational practitioner. Hence, by conducting an eclectic approach in the classroom, it giving the teacher the chance to address the individual differences of the students and identify the variety of student learning styles. The existence of learning theories helps the teacher to understand how their pupils learn, which allows them to apply it to the teaching and learning process so that the students can achieve the effective learning result.

2.0 Learning TheoriesThe study of human learning focuses on how individuals acquire and modify their knowledge, skills, strategies, beliefs and behaviors (Schunk, 2004). Learning represent an enduring change in behavior or in the capacity to behave in a given stimuli, which results from practice or other experiences. This definition excludes temporary changes in behavior due to illness, fatigue, or drugs, as well as behaviors reflecting genetic and maturational factors. Theories of learning differ in how they address critical issues. Some of the more important issue concerns how learning occurs, which factors influence learning, what the role of memory is, what the role of environment is, how transfer occur s, which processes are involved in learning, and what the theory implications for instructions are.

Learning theories often viewed as distinct, but in fact they should complement one another. Neither is sufficient to ensure good teaching and learning. Theory alone may not fully capture the importance of experience in learning. Practical experience without theory is situational specific and does not accord to any guideline in order to organize knowledge of teaching and learning. Mok Soon Sang (2008) stated on this book, Learner and Learning Environment, at the present time, learning theories can be classifies into five main theoretical perspectives, namely: behavioral, cognitive, social, humanistic and constructivism.

2.1 Behaviorism Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate (i.e.tabula rasa) and behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase the probability that the antecedent behavior will happen again. In contrast,punishment(both positive and negative) decreases the likelihood that the antecedent behavior will happen again. Positive indicates the application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the withholding of a stimulus. Learning is therefore defined as a change in behavior in the learner. Lots of (early) behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlovs dogs) and generalized to humans.

2.2 CognitivismCognitivism focuses on the inner mental activities. Opening the black box of the human mind is valuable and necessary for understanding how people learn. Mental processes such as thinking, memory, knowing, and problem-solving need to be explored. Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions. Learning is defined as change in a learners schemata.

2.3 SocialSocial perspective suggested that learning should integrate behaviorism and cognitive perspective in learning (Sang, 2008). Thus, social learning theory contends that people learn from their social environment. Bandura, a prominent social psychologist from Canada, asserted that learning should go through the process of modeling; a learning through observation and imitation process. In Banduras theory, human functioning is viewed as a series of reciprocal interactions among personal factors, behaviors, and environmental events. Learning occurs enactively through actual performances and vicariously by observing models, by listening to instructions, and by engaging with print or electronic material.

2.4 HumanisticsBased on humanistic perspective, in teaching and learning strategy, they proposed that individuals need should be related with emotional development. Learning motivation is taken into account to develop pupilss overall personality. Learning contents should be planned to meet individuals need. In this interaction, pupil-centred strategy and individual method ought to be used frequently, so as to achieve the objective of developing the individuals overall potentials.

2.5 ConstructivismA reaction to didactic approaches such as behaviorism and programmed instruction, constructivism states that learning is an active, contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it. Knowledge is constructed based on personal experiences and hypotheses of the environment. Learners continuously test these hypotheses through social negotiation. Each person has a different interpretation and construction of knowledge process. The learner is not a blank slate (tabula rasa) but brings past experiences and cultural factors to a situation.

3.0 Individual Differences Individual differences in educational field are strongly related to differences in intelligence, a major focus of individual-differences research. Intelligence has multiple meanings. Lurking within this diversity of meaning, however, are important facts that pose serious explanatory challenges to any approach to psychology that aspires to encompass the field's most basic learners nature. According to Mok Soon Sang (2008), human possess a distinct varied feature from born. This is due genetic influence and environment influence. By the time an individual develops his sensory and cognitive skills, they will discover they own human potential, an individuals hidden capability and ability. According to Gardner, individuals possess eight types of intelligences, namely:a) Logical-mathematical, someone who had the capacity to discern, logical and numerical patterns.b) Linguistic, someone who are sensitive to the sounds, rhythms, and meaning of words.c) Musicals, someone who had the ability to produce and appreciate rhythm.d) Spatial, someone who had the capacity to perceive the visual-spatial world accurately and able to perform transformation on ones initial perceptions.e) Bodily-kinesthetics, someone who had the ability to control ones body movement.f) Interpersonal, someone who had the capacity to discern and respond appropriately to the moods, temperaments, motivations, and desires of other people.g) Intrapersonal, someone who had the access to ones own feeling and the ability to discriminate among them, and draw upon them to guide behavior.h) Naturalistics, someone who are possess keen observations skills and able to appreciate the beauty of environment.

4.0 Student Learning StylesIn the context of educational psychologist, learning style is a pupils typical manner to attend, process and acquire information, knowledge or new experience. (Sang, 2008) Learning styles are important because they are the education-relevant expressions of the uniqueness of the individuals (Bruce Joyce, 2009). Individual differences are to be prized because they are the expressions of the uniqueness of personalities. Individually, each configuration give us an individuals personal identities, together, they also exemplify the richness of our cultures.

According to Murnford and Honey (1986), learning style can be categorized into four main types, namely: a) Activist, someone who likes to be involved in new experiences and are enthusiastic about new ideas. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards. They are unlikely to prepare for the learning experience or review their learning afterwards,

b) Reflectivist, someone who like to view the situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data, review and think carefully before coming to any conclusions. They enjoy observing others and will listen to their views before offering their own,

c) Theorist, someone who like to adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through step- by-step. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme,

d) Pragmatist, someone who are eager to try things out. They like concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.According to Slavin (1994), learning style can be grouped into two main categories, namely;a) Dependent learning style. Dependent students show little intellectual curiosity and who learn only what is required. View teacher and peers as sources of structure and support and look to authority figures for specific guidelines on what to do.

b) Independent learning style. Students who like to think for themselves and are confident in their learning abilities. Prefer to learn the content that they feel is important and would prefer to work alone on course projects than with other students.

Other than that, Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Tapology (1993) categorized five main categories of IT learning styles, namely:a) Sensory or intuitive learner. Sensory learner are someone who are oriented towards facts and using systematic, concrete, practical approach to solve problem, while intuitive learner are someone who are oriented towards theories and meaning in enquiring new concepts and abstractions.b) Visual or verbal learner. Visual learner is someone who prefers learning materials with visual presentations, while verbal learner is someone who prefers the written or spoken explanations.c) Inductive or deductive learner. Inductive learner is someone who prefer presentations from specific to general, while deductive learner is someone who prefer presentations from general to specific.d) Action or reflective learner. Action learner is someone who prefers to retain and understand information through activity, while reflective learner is someone who prefers to learn by reflective thinking individually.e) Sequential or global learner. Sequential learner is someone who prefer to learn logically step by step, while global learner is someone who learn in a holistic manner and randomly without seeing any systematic connections

To ensure that all students acquire the required knowledge and skills, every teacher should make a thorough preparation because in every classroom there is no equal thinking ability group as what explained in individual difference and student learning styles. Therefore, the teacher should review the differences of its students and determine the following approaches in accordance with the level of students, namely;

5.0 The implication of behaviourist approach to individual differences and student learning style;According to Pavlovs Classical Conditioning theory, conditioned response can be fostered through the process of teaching and learning activities. In order to teach effectively, the teacher ought to relate practical experience (conditioned stimulus) with the learning task (unconditioned stimulus) so as to produce satisfactory conditioned learning response through satisfactory learning activities (Sang, 2008). For an individual who possess intelligence any other intelligence accept logical mathematics, a teacher should guide the pupils to use the skill discrimination, for example to ascertain the different specific characteristics of acute triangle and regular triangle. The principle of discrimination in operant conditioning happen when the pupils would not respond the same way as the original stimulus when encounters new stimuli that are similar and in this case, the same shape (two types of triangle). This also can be applied to verbal learners. Verbal learner preferred text and recorded voice rather than use pictures, drawing and diagrams. A teacher should guide them using the principle discrimination in order to teach them how to visualise or learn using demonstrations, pictures, drawing and diagrams. The principle of readiness also needs to be taken into account. A teacher should identify which pupils who are lack of logical mathematical intelligence and the pupils who are verbal learners. Then, the teacher should allocate sufficient exercises for these pupils to strengthen the application of conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. For example, give related exercises regularly to solve mathematical problems. For remedial purpose on the pupils who are lack of mathematical reasoning intelligence and the verbal learners, use a secondary reinforcement to sustain conditioned response to avoid process of extinction. For instance, use new, similar stimulus as conditioned stimulus to motivate pupils for their subsequent learning activities.6.0 The implication of cognitive approach to individual differences and student learning style;Cognitive learning theories explain learning in terms of changes in cognitive processes (Schunk, 2004). Elements of information processing apply to basic forms of learning of learning but the greater significance is put on complex learning. In a simple word, cognitive approach for learning emphasizes the importance of cognitive for human development and behaviour. Based on Kohlers Learning theory, an individual solve their problem by rational action based on the perception of the relationship between stimuli. This implication can be applied on the pupils who are bodily kinesthetic intelligence and the global learners. Bodily-kinesthetics intelligence tends to use their own body into practice while global learners prefer to learn in large leaps and holistically. Unlike logical mathematical intelligences pupil, they able to think rationally based on their own learning style. For implementation, a teacher should provide the pupils with metaphorical representations. For instance in an English class, a concrete analogical passage (for example, story book which involve the movements of body parts) given to the pupils prior to an instructional passage (the study of body parts). This is to facilitate learning from the target passage and to gained insight to what is about to learn.

7.0 The implication of constructivism approach to individual differences and student learning style;Constructivism is a practical perspective contending that individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand (Brunning, Schraw, & Ronning, 1995). It highlights the interactions of persons and situations in the acquisition and refinement of skills and knowledge. A basic assumption of constructivism is that pupils are active learners and must construct knowledge for themselves. To understand material well, learners must rediscover for themselves the basic concept. Independent learners applied constructivism on their learning. They able to manage their own learning, possess critical and creative thinking skills as well as learn on their own initiative. Thus, constructivism is a student-centred approach which required the learner to be actively involved in their own learning. A dependent learner and logical-mathematical intelligences pupils should be considered important in constructivism approach. Dependent learners learn by extrinsic motivation and need to be led by the expert. While, logical-mathematical intelligences learner sometimes unable to applied the same theory into practice. In a class, a constructivism teacher must use facilitating technique to guide them to learn. Facilitate them while doing an activity is a good start to imply constructivism approach. A constructivism teacher should also consider the appropriate learning materials as well as teaching method should be based on pupils cognitive development and their level of thinking. From the identification of learning style and intelligence, for example; dependent learner and logical-mathematical intelligence, a teacher can imply the stated step to approach the target group.

8.0 The implication of social approach to individual differences and student learning style;In social learning theory, the main learning elements to be considered are observation and imitation. The models behaviour can be learned from language, idioms and proverbs. Based on social approach, the learning process covers learning technique like observation, thinking, memorizing and imitation from suitable behaviour or response, and finally ended with positive reinforcement. The social learning theory is ones basic principle applied by musical intelligence and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. They required a role model to copy the action or skills. As for implications, the teachers presentation should be skillful and interesting so as to become a role model for the pupils to follow. In an English class, a teacher can also invite pupils who perform well in a role play to become role models to repeat the demonstrations inside and outside the classroom. Visual and verbal learner are given advantages in this sense because they able to imitate whether action or verbal from the role model. This is however an disadvantage to intrapersonal intelligences pupil because the learner does not possess observation skills in others. A social approachs teacher therefore need to take the stated procedures to cater the need of different learning style and intelligence.

9.0 The implication of humanism approach to individual differences and student learning style;Humanistics psychologist like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow considered that every pupil possesses individual inclination to achieve self-objective and goal through the realization of potential development. Maslow also believed that human instinct has the need to acquire knowledge and understanding. It is highly achievable when the learner realizes their own self-realization. Whether an individual possesses the need to realize self-actualization or not, depends on what proportions of the basic needs to be satisfied. If all the basic needs have been fulfilled, then the learning motivation will arouse and more sophisticated knowledge will be acquired through learning process. Therefore, a humanism teacher must ensure the pupils needs are fulfilled. The learning environment as well must be conducive in teaching and learning, so that pupils would feel pleasant, happy, harmonious and secure to involve themselves in the learning activities especially for reflective, sequential and intuitive learner. A musical intelligences pupils need to be taught by humanism approach because by giving them a setting of calm and harmonious, they are able to express themselves in terms of musical and singing. As what have stated in the humanistic approach implementation, the clear emphasize is on the learner-centred education and under non-threatening condition. 10.0 ConclusionIn conclusion, the teacher should understand the underlying meaning and principle in FPK. The education goal depends largely on the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. . This process requires the teacher to understand and internalize the learning theories, teaching model, approaches, strategies and technique, individual differences, student learning styles and motivation. By fulfilling the need of individual difference and student learning styles accord to the learning theories, we are one step ahead to realize Vision 2020.

Learning Theory: HumanismTime: 20 minutes No. of students: 24Level of proficiency: beginner to mediumTheme: MysteryTopic: The Closet Creature General objective: Identifying verb and its past tenseSkills involved: 1. Reading 2. Speaking 3. ListeningTeaching Aids: 1. Music 2. Manila cards, flash card 3. Handouts 4. Ball

Stage/Time

ContentPresentation/Rationale

Set Induction5 minutes

Whole-class relaxation

Material: Mozart Classical Music1. Teacher turns on the music.2. Teacher asked the students to relax and move into positive frame of mind.

Rationale To take off the negative frame from the students mind.

First Concert-Active Concert

Dramatic reading

Material: 1. reading passage entitled The Closet Creature. 2. Mozart Classical Music

1. Teacher change to another classical music of Mozart.2. Teacher asks students to watch and listen to the text that being read. 3. Teacher read the text and acting out the action. 4. Students watch and listen to the text that being read by the teacher.

Rationale Dramatic reading enhance the students understanding about the text.

Second Concert-Passive Review

Normal reading

Material: . 1. reading passage entitled The Closet Creature.2. Baroque Music

1. Teacher change the music to Baroque music.2. Teacher asks students to listen to the text that being read.3. Teacher read the text with normal speed. 4. Students listen to the text that being read by the teacher.

Rationale The change of music and the speed of reading bring the learners into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition material.

Practice1. Whole-class reading

Material:1. reading passage entitled The Closet Creature.2. Mozart Classical Music

2. Dramatization by the student

Material: 1. reading passage entitled The Closet Creature.2. Mozart Classical Music

2. Correct past tense pronunciation

Material:1. A table of verbs past tense2. Flash cards

3. Recognizing past tense for irregular verb

Material: 1. A table of past tense for irregular verb 2. Ball

1. Teacher distribute the passage to the students.2. Teacher ask the students to stand up and together read the passage with the actions that have been potrayed by the teacher during the first stage. 3. Students stand up and read the passage altogether dramatically.

Rationale This session work on the reading and speaking skills of the students.

1. Teacher asks one of the students for volunteer.2. Teacher ask other students to read the text aloud and the students who volunteer will act out the actions.

RationaleThis session will enhance the students comprehension about the text.

1. Teacher put up a manila card that contained two columns. Each column contained verbs in past tense that ended up with -ed 2. Teacher pronounce the verbs on both side and ask the students whether there are any differences.3. Students spot the differences and they are the t sound and the d sound. 4. Teacher guide the students for the correct pronunciation and explain why it is sounded so.5. Teacher assess the students comprehension by conducting listening game. All they have to do is to listen and show up the flash card on which sound does the verb ended with.

RationaleEventhough the verbs ended up with same ending, -ed, they dont really pronounced the same.

1. Teacher put up a table that contained two columns. Each column contained verbs in present tense and past tense.2. Teacher guides the students on correct pronunciation of the verbs3. Students follow the teachers pronunciation.4. The process goes few more times so that they can memorized the words. 5. Teacher assess the students memory by conducting a simple game. 6. The game goes this way:1. Teacher pass the ball to one of the students and ask the past tense of the verb said by the teacher.2. Students catch the ball and answer the question posted by the teacher and pass the ball back to the teacher.

RationaleIrregular verb has its own form of past tense, which got nothing to do with the addition of -ed.

Closure

1. Teacher tell the students that they can read the text again before they go off to sleep and after wake up in the next morning if they want to.

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