Assignment 2: How Do People Learn (and Teach)?
(due by Friday, Jan. 14)
How do people learn? How do people teach? These are basic questions, and, like most basic questions, we never examine the set of assumptions we use to answer them. This assignment will help students examine their assumptions about learning and teaching and, hopefully in the process, promote willingness to explore new and different approaches, especially those based on the founding vision of Asian American Studies. This assignment will also help students think about new ways “to bring Asian American Studies to the community,” especially to sectors unable to take classes in colleges and universities.
For this assignment, students should write at least two pages answering the three questions below. Students may do this assignment individually or in small groups of two to three persons. Students should also try to create a “mind map” depicting their current assumptions about learning and teaching. Students will present their ideas to the class on Jan. 14.
1. How do people learn (and how do people teach others)?
2. During the past three or four years, have your ideas about how people learn (and teach) changed? If so, how?
3. In the next three to four years, in what ways can your assumptions about learning and teaching change? What factors can cause changes in your understanding?
4. Optional, but recommended: Create a “mind map” depicting your current assumptions about how people learn (and how people teach).
Note: There are no "right" or "wrong" answers to the questions above, and the goal of this assignment is not to create a perfect paradigm of how people learn. Through work on these questions, students will gain an understanding of their own current fundamental assumptions about learning and teaching. Becoming aware of current assumptions and how they developed is essential for considering new and different approaches and expanding thinking. Moreover, studying current assumptions in relation to those held in the past and those developing in the future enables each person to conceptualize their approach to learning and teaching as dynamic and (hopefully) constantly expanding. |