To describe the process of how all humans learn is definitely a difficult task.  As a classroom teacher and a generally inquisitive person I have wondered what pushes us to learn and how exactly it takes place.  From my experience I have come to believe that learning is a deeply personal experience that is constructed and directly affected by our surroundings.

All students have a very personal and unique way of building knowledge.  We all construct understanding in our own ways and using different senses or learning styles.  Not only that, but each human experience, each individual life that we have, can impact learning in different ways.  An individual’s previous experience may impact motivation or the feelings associated with certain circumstances.  This may affect how someone learns or one’s interest in learning certain things.  Everyone can attest to a situation from the past having an impact on future decisions, I believe learning can be subject to the same cause and effect.

The last, and maybe the most important aspect of learning, is the environment.  I believe one’s environment has a profound impact on learning and development.  There are obvious physiological links between our surroundings and the ability to learn like food, sleep and exercise.  The learning environment must also be conducive and supportive for learning and a student must feel comfortable and at ease.  In addition to physical and social needs there must be an external stimulus, a push to learn or a source of desire.  This drive is a necessity for knowledge and understanding to be built in the minds of learners.  Students need stimulation, in a biological sense they need to fire the neurons in their brains to create new synaptic links and memories.  This process takes external stimuli and this is what I endeavor to understand and facilitate.