Faces of Learners
Camelle N. Medina
The word “leaner” creates certain images. Traditionally, it speaks rows of children in wood desks, in a classroom, completing tasks, doing homework and taking tests. Being a learner is a job that the teacher assigns to young ones all year-round of the school year. For a certain number of hours per day until such time they graduate and become part of the real world. This particular task pays in grades, and hopefully good ones. Learners then, learn in a classroom. Sits in a desk, listen to a teacher, absorbs and repeats. Learns about skills, and high marks for discipline attention to detail, and knowledge of facts. This definition of “learner” is the older version in our own experience of education. Thus, this notion of learners nowadays works anymore?
As we move further into 21st century, were getting clearer pictures of the kind of learner likely to thrive amidst the challenges in presents. Are learners really all that different? Most people say that the learners are very different and incompetent. This is a common perception today, from non- teachers and teachers alike, but is this true?
Each generation is different: technology and culture change, forces us to think and act differently and used different tools. On the contrary, learners nowadays discover anywhere. Learning active, knowledge is something they search for and even create. High marks for creativity, innovation and collaboration. Uses hands-on inquiry based activities, takes responsibility for own learning; teacher is more on a facilitator. Learners in the 21st century are plugged in. Not of them has access to the latest technology, but still part of their reality. They know how to use and work to create it, and its’ become part of the way they demonstrate learning and express themselves.
Changes are inevitable, changes that are cause by different things. This change affects the motivation and attitude of the learners. Thus, it must be considered before a comparison is made; it would be unfair to say that learners today are becoming worse for they are only responding to the situations created by these changes.
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The author is Teacher III at San Juan Baño Elementary School