STANDARD 1.2
Understand how students learn:
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
artefact 1:
concept map of my students
Artefact 1 is a concept map that reflects my developing understanding of research-based learning principles through the integration of multiple theoretical perspectives, from Vygotsky's (1978) Zone of Proximal Development to Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988) , demonstrating my growing awareness of how different research traditions inform teaching practice. It reflects my understanding that students learn differently based on their backgrounds, abilities, and needs. Including developmental, social, emotional, and cognitive factors reflects my belief that learning is multifaceted and influenced by factors beyond curriculum content alone.
This holistic perspective aligns with Papert's (1993) contention that a teacher's role is to foster an environment conducive to invention rather than simply delivering pre-packaged knowledge, suggesting that understanding our students is most effectively achieved within the context of their inquiry and exploration.
My concept map identifies five key domains that influence learning:
Individual Differences: encompasses diversity factors including cultural backgrounds, indigenous perspectives, behavioral needs, and personal characteristics that shape each student's learning profile.
Development & Social: addresses the environmental and developmental contexts, including physical and mental health, socioeconomic factors, and community influences that impact learning capacity.
Cognitive & Metacognitive: focuses on curriculum design, teaching strategies, differentiated instruction, and assessment practices that support learning processes. Links with 'pedagogy' that details specific theoretical frameworks that inform my practice.
Motivation & Emotional: highlights student agency, engagement strategies, goal-setting, and the emotional dimensions of learning.
"Teaching is fundamentally about relationships, where we come to know our students as individual human beings"
I have incorporated personal and social capability development within the map, reflecting ACARA's (n.d.) recognition that these capabilities foster confidence, creativity, self-awareness, and resilience, helping students build positive relationships and manage their wellbeing.
The emphasis on innovative learning environments and student-centered approaches in my framework is supported by research highlighting the positive correlation between innovative learning environments (ILEs) and students' emotional and physical wellbeing (Young et al., 2019).
These pedagogical approaches align with Rousseau's progressive belief that adolescents can draw their own conclusions from experiences and that education should adapt to the learner's needs rather than the learner adapting to the school (Darling, 1994).
Drawing from the constructivist pedagogies evident in my map, I recognize how Montessori, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bruner's theories enable teachers to scaffold student learning and collaborative knowledge by considering multiple roles and perspectives through real-life application (Baird & Love, 2003). My focus on self-directed and student-centered learning reflects understanding of these as key pedagogical constructs that develop student capacity for proactivity and adaptivity, which are fundamental for living and working in our rapidly changing world (Morris & Rohs, 2021).
Furthermore, my attention to integrated learning spaces acknowledges Churchill et al.'s (2022) emphasis on education systems' move towards more integrated learning environments, recognizing that learning is fundamentally a social process where learning spaces integrate social, theoretical, and emotional elements to encourage and sustain students' motivation to achieve their goals (Ambrose, 2010).
