REFLECTION

COVID 19 Pandemic drastically and noticeably changes our lives much more in the field of education where
we, the practice teachers are greatly affected. The problems we identify and highlight in this action research
are the aftermath of the said pandemic aside from thousands and millions of death tolls, hunger, economic
crises and the high rate of mental health related issues and cases. We are all struggling to survive, we are
challenged to overcome and conquer each passing day knowing that the pandemic made things extra
complicated. Hence, doing this action research is never been an easy journey.

We, the practice teachers and researchers at the same time are quite in doubt if we can finish it. There’s this
fear and anxiety boiling inside our heads asking ourselves if our ability and resourcefulness are enough to
make it until the end, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But amidst everything, we never run out of
hope that God will always provide. He had given us this task because he knew we can do it, we can make it. So
rather than losing our heads submitting to negativities, we choose to be optimistic and hopeful instead. We
are work in progress while writing this reflection and I believe it is already a wholesome achievement.

In this action research, we are looking forward to achieve and concretize the solutions we are able to come up
and put it into action. Our goal is to somehow lessen the problems encountered by the teachers in modular or
distance learning in order to improve and aid the studies of the students. By doing this action research, we can
strongly say that it is one way to hone us as future educators for the profession we intended to be. It is very
important and crucial to us as practice teachers as it serve as our training ground to improve our research
skills, critical thinking and awareness in the field of teaching and learning. Yes, it is challenging and there are
times that it will drain you mentally but the result is for sure worth all the hardships along the way.

There is strength unity and two heads are better than one so we choose to do our action research as a team.
The three us, namely, Eugene, Jessa Mae and Genelin work together in making this action research a success.
Good thing, we are all in the same boat and we harmoniously do our assign tasks with willingness and
diligence. Indeed, the more the merrier and easier to finish the tasks.

TAKE ACTION

1. Putting our plan into action takes preparation, readiness, and availability of schedule. We need also to
consider the methods we are going to use, make sure that we can execute it properly and familiarize
the overall flow of conducting the research from the start until the end. When it comes to how long we
conduct the research, the preparation is for sure long and probably takes weeks or months but the
actual conduct of research probably lasts for a couple of days.

2. (3.) The data we are going to collect or the responses and result we will gather is the essence of this
action research thus, it means so much to us. That after all of the hard work, effort, and arduous hours
of its process, we will finally be able to derive on its outcome. The data, for us is as precious as gold
and diamonds; purely expensive and worth a fortune.

Learning Theories: Understanding How People Learn

Behaviorism

Behaviorism is based largely on the work of John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. Behaviorists were concerned
with establishing psychology as a science and focused their studies on behaviors that could be empirically
observed, such as actions that could be measured and tested, rather than on internal states such as emotions
(McLeod, 2015). According to behaviorists, learning is dependent on a person’s interactions with their external
environment. As people experience consequences from their interactions with the environment, they modify
their behaviors in reaction to those consequences. For instance, if a person hurts their hand when touching a
hot stove, they will learn not to touch the stove again, and if they are praised for studying for a test, they will
be likely to study in the future.

According to behavioral theorists, we can change people’s behavior by manipulating the environment in order
to encourage certain behaviors and discourage others, a process called conditioning (Popp, 1996). Perhaps the
most famous example of conditioning is Pavlov’s dog. In his classic experiment, Pavlov demonstrated that a
dog could be conditioned to associate the sound of a bell with food, so that eventually the dog would salivate
whenever it heard the bell, regardless of whether it received food. Watson adapted stimulus conditioning to
humans (Jensen, 2018). He gave an 11-month-old baby a rat, and the baby seemed to enjoy playing with it.
Over time, Watson caused a loud, unpleasant sound each time he brought out the rat. Eventually, the baby
associated the rat with the noise and cried when he saw the rat. Although Watson’s experiment is now
considered ethically questionable, it did establish that people’s behavior could be modified through control of
environmental stimuli.

Skinner (1938) examined how conditioning could shape behavior in longer-term and more complex ways by
introducing the concept of reinforcement. According to Skinner, when people receive positive reinforcement,
such as praise and rewards for certain behaviors, those behaviors are strengthened, while negative
reinforcement will deter behaviors. According to Skinner, by carefully controlling the environment and
establishing a system of reinforcements, teachers, parents, and others can encourage and develop desired
behaviors (Jensen, 2018). A simple example of behaviorism in the classroom is a point system in which
students are awarded points for good behavior and deducted points for unwanted behavior. Eventually,
accumulated points might be traded in for rewards like small gifts or homework passes. This approach
assumes that motivation is external, in that students will engage in certain behaviors in order to gain the
rewards.

Humanism

Humanism recognizes the basic dignity and worth of each individual and believes people should be able to
exercise some control over their environment. Although humanism as an educational philosophy has its roots
in the Italian Renaissance, the more modern theorists associated with this approach include John Dewey, Carl
Rogers, Maria Montessori, Paolo Freire, and Abraham Maslow. Humanist learning theory is a whole-person
approach to education that centers on the individual learners and their needs, and that considers affective as
well as cognitive aspects of learning. At its essence, “humanism in education traditionally has referred to a
broad, diffuse outlook emphasizing human freedom, dignity, autonomy, and individualism” (Lucas, 1996).
Within this broader context, humanism is also characterized by the following tenets (Madsen & Wilson, 2012;
Sharp, 2012):

Students are whole people, and learning must attend to their emotional as well as their cognitive state.

Teachers should be empathetic.

Learners are self-directed and internally motivated.

The outcome of learning is self-actualization.

Humanism centers the individual person as the subject and recognizes learners as whole beings with
emotional and affective states that accompany their cognitive development. Recognizing the role of students’
emotions means understanding how those emotions impact learning. Student anxiety, say around a test or a
research paper, can interfere with the cognitive processes necessary to be successful. Empathetic teachers
recognize and try to understand students’ emotional states, taking steps to alleviate negative emotions that
might detract from learning by creating a supportive learning environment.

A humanist approach to education recognizes these affective states and seeks to limit their negative impact.
For instance, we can acknowledge that feelings of anxiety are common so learners recognize that they are not
alone. We can also explain how the skills students learn are relevant to their lives in and outside of the
classroom.

Humanists also believe that learning is part of a process of self-actualization. They maintain that learning
should be internally motivated and driven by students’ interests and goals, rather than externally motivated
and focused on a material end goal such as achievement on tests, or employment (Sharp, 2012). The
expectation is that when students are allowed to follow their interests and be creative, and when learning
takes place within a supportive environment, students will engage in learning for its own sake. This emphasis
on self-actualization is largely based on Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs. Maslow identified five levels of
needs: basic physiological needs such as food, water, and shelter; safety and security needs; belongingness
and love needs, including friends and intimate relationships; esteem needs, including feelings of
accomplishment; and self-actualization, when people achieve their full potential. Importantly, these needs are
hierarchical, meaning a person cannot achieve the higher needs such as esteem and self-actualization until
more basic needs such as food and safety are met. The role of the humanist teacher is to facilitate the
student’s self-actualization by helping to ensure needs such as safety and esteem are met through empathetic
teaching and a supportive classroom.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism, or cognitive psychology, was pioneered in the mid-twentieth century by scientists including
George Miller, Ulric Neisser, and Noam Chomsky. Whereas behaviorists focus on the external environment
and observable behavior, cognitive psychologists are interested in mental processes (Codington-Lacerte,
2018). They assert that behavior and learning entail more than just response to environmental stimuli and
require rational thought and active participation in the learning process (Clark, 2018). To cognitivists, learning
can be described as “acquiring knowledge and skills and having them readily available from memory so you
can make sense of future problems and opportunities” (Brown et al., 2014, p. 2).
Because cognitivists view memory and recall as the key to learning, they are interested in the processes and
conditions that enhance memory and recall. According to cognitive psychology research, traditional methods
of study, including rereading texts and drilling practice, or the repetition of terms and concepts, are not
effective for committing information to memory (Brown et al., 2014). Rather, cognitivists assert that activities
that require learners to recall information from memory, sometimes referred to as “retrieval practice,” lead to
better memory and ultimately better learning. For example, they suggest that language learners use flash
cards to practice vocabulary words, rather than writing the words out over and over or reading and rereading
a list of words, because the flash cards force the learner to recall information from memory.

Constructivism

Constructivism posits that individuals create knowledge and meaning through their interactions with the
world. Like cognitivism, and as opposed to behaviorism, constructivism acknowledges the role of prior
knowledge in learning, believing that individuals interpret what they experience within the framework of what
they already know (Kretchmar, 2019a). Social constructs, such as commonly held beliefs, and shared
expectations around behavior and values provide a framework for knowledge, but people “do not just receive
this knowledge as if they were empty vessels waiting to be filled. Individuals and groups interact with each
other, contributing to the common trove of information and beliefs, reaching consensus with others on what
they consider is the true nature of identity, knowledge, and reality” (Mercadal, 2018). Cognitivism and
constructivism overlap in a number of ways. Both approaches build on the theories of Jean Piaget, who is
sometimes referred to as a cognitive constructivist. However, while cognitivism is considered teacher-
centered, constructivism centers the learner by recognizing their role in engaging with content and
constructing meaning. Constructivist teachers act as guides or coaches, facilitating learning by developing
supportive activities and environments, and building on what students already know (Kretchmar, 2019b).

Social Constructivism

Social constructivism builds on the traditions of constructivism and cognitivism; whereas those theories focus
on how individuals process information and construct meaning, social constructivists also consider how
people’s interactions with others impact their understanding of the world. Social constructivists recognize that
different people can have different reactions and develop different understandings from the same events and
circumstances, and are interested in how factors such as identity, family, community, and culture help shape
those understandings (Mercadal, 2018).While cognitivists and constructivists view other people as mostly
incidental to an individual’s learning, social constructivists see community as central. Social constructivism can
be defined as “the belief that the meanings attached to experience are socially assembled, depending on the
culture in which the child is reared and on the child’s caretakers” (Schaffer, 2006). Like constructivism, social
constructivism centers on the learners’ experiences and engagement, and sees the role of the instructor as a
facilitator or guide. Two of the major theorists associated with social constructivism are Pierre Bourdieu and
Lev Vygotsky.

Growth Mindset Theory

Dweck’s (2016) mindset theory has gained much attention in the field of education over the last few decades
and has some implications for student motivation. Although this theory is somewhat different in its
conceptualizations than those described in the rest of this chapter, it is included here both because of its
popularity and because it provides interesting insight into how instructors can coach learners to understand
and build on their potential. Dweck’s theory is less about how people learn and more about how their attitude
toward learning and their self-concept can impact their ability and willingness to learn. According to Dweck,
people tend to approach learning with a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Those with more of a fixed
mindset tend to believe that ability is innate; either people are born with a certain talent and ability, or they
are not. If individuals are not born with natural ability in a certain area, they would waste time working on that
area because they will never truly be successful. People with more of a growth mindset, on the other hand,
tend to believe that ability is the outcome of hard work and effort. These people see value in working at areas
in which they are not immediately successful because they believe they can improve. Even when they are
good at something, they are willing to continue to work at it because they believe they can continue to get
better (Dweck, 2016).

These mindsets can have a profound impact on how a person approaches learning (Dweck, 2016). People with
a fixed mindset will view low grades or poor test performance as a sign of their lack of natural ability and are
likely to become discouraged. They might try to avoid that subject altogether or resign themselves to failure
because they do not believe that practice or study will help them improve. Instead, they will tend to stick to
subjects in which they already perform well. People with a growth mindset take an opposite view. They tend
to view low grades or poor performance as a diagnostic tool that helps them see where they need to
concentrate their efforts in order to get better. They are willing to put in extra effort because they believe that
their hard work will lead to improved performance. They are also willing to take risks because they understand
that failure is just part of the process of learning. We can see connections between Dweck’s theory and
Piaget’s argument that the discomfort of disequilibrium is necessary to learning.