Additional Assignment #2

How Kids Teach Themselves

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
              Yes, I believe if there is motivation then there is a willingness to learn. If you want to learn then the possibilities are endless as what you can accomplish. There is so much information and so many exciting tools on the internet and in everyday life that we can't help but learn.

2.If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
           I would defiantly say yes, because children have a natural curiosity about how things work and why and if you give a child a chance to something they want to do, then motivation is there and they will run with it. If you give a child a chance they can and will always surprise you.

3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him/herself?
            I believe the children or anyone who wants to learn only needs motivation and the tools required to do so. If you put a group of children together with a computer, the possibilities are endless, as we saw in the video. I believe the same would be true for anyone else as well.

4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
           They play a very large role in the process of learning, especially when it is done without a teacher. Student and children have, as I have said, a natural curiosity and they will figure anything out given enough time. The internet and computers just give them a faster way to access the information and open it up for them to find information that may not have been obtainable without the internet.

5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
          It plays the biggest role because without motivation there is no need or want found and so no one goes looking for anything such as information or in the case of kids, video games.

6. What roles do a problem, a question, or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
           Questions and problems are like the the enticers for the children's motivation. They will do anything and everything to find the answer and if you get a group of student together then they will race to beat the others.

7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
          You find something they would find interesting, or make a game out of it, or anything that would taylor the learning to that age group and they would consider the topic interesting or intriguing.

8. How are you motivated to learn?
       I am motivated to learn because the more I know, then the more knowledge I have to share and pass on to my students. The more techniques I can find for motivating my students and new ways of teaching the same old hum drum stuff that will excite the students about even the smallest lesson.

9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?
         I would have to say yes still, because even if you are not motivated or even in school to learn, students can't help but listen to some of what you teach and who knows you may find something that sparks their interest and in turn help them find something they like and thus motivation will find itself.

10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
        Yes I teach myself sometimes because I may not have fully grasped what the teacher was saying in the allotted class time or the teacher just may not have made it clear or I could just think they're wrong and want to prove it.

11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
       I would have to say that it depends on the teacher and the class. I have some teachers that without them I would fail because that is just how the class is set up like in Math 112 or in some classes I already have to teach myself because that is how that class is set up( blended or hybrid classes) like EDM 310. So this question just depends on the variables.

12. What is the most important idea, question, or emotional response you can take away with you as a result of watching this video?
           I would have to say the most important emotional response I got fro this video was the excitement the children seemed to have in the Italy class as they were learning and answering questions in another language. I hope that the students I have will be just as enthusiastic as those students were.

13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
          As an aspiring teacher, I would like to know how students in the U.S. would do if faced with the same situations and questions. These studies were all done in other countries. I would like to do this to see if we could maybe figure out how American students would do if asked questions in other languages and see if our school system has a chance to revitalize the love this country once had for learning. We need to stop taking away the curiosity students have and instead nurture it and see where it takes them.