Humanistic learning theory is based upon five supporting principles.

1. Students’ learning should be as self-directed as possible. In other words, students should be given choices about what they learn, how they learn, and how they demonstrate their learning, to the greatest degree possible. Choice here does not mean total choice all the time. Instead, it means as much choice as is appropriate for the situation. Choice exists on a continuum. For example, you can offer:

(a) no choice. “We’re studying the Civil War this month. This is the book we’re going to read. This is the topic you’ll be doing reports on.”

(b) a choice within a set. “I’ve put out five books for you, you can choose the one you wish to read.”

(c) a choice within a category. “We’re studying the Civil War this month, you can read any book or investigate any topic related to the Civil War.”

(d) total choice. “Find a topic that interests and inspires you for your research project. These are the criteria. This is the due date. Find a book that you love for our reading class.”

Some situations require more choice, some less choice. The goal would be to provide the minimum amount of control necessary to create a positive learning experience.

2. The subject matter to be learned should be relevant to the lives or personal interests of the students. It should be connected to the students’ lives or interests whenever possible and to the greatest extent possible. For example, when learning number facts in the primary grades, students would be asked to use them to figure out problems in real life situations. Humanistic educators find creative ways for mandated subject matter to reflect or connect with students’ lives. At the same time, space is provided within a curriculum for students to explore topics of interest to them. For example, knowing what is of interest to adolescents, humanistic educators would seek to incorporate themes related to social experiences, relationships, and defining roles and values into traditional subject areas.

3. The full spectrum of the human experience should be included in the educational experience. Emotions, relationships, creativity, imagination, intuition, and real-life problems are all part of the human experience. Including them in the educational experience enhances learning as well as the development of humans. Humanistic educators create the conditions where human beings can learn to use all these human dimensions to solve problems, make decisions, and come to know the world. As well, traditional curriculums are studied in a multidimensional context. Art, drama, music, poetry, creative writing, and other arts are used as tools along with traditional methods to explore or respond to information and ideas.

4. Schools should produce students who want to learn and know how to learn. Humanistic educators build on students’ natural desire to learn by asking them to learn about things that are relevant to their lives and by helping them to make the connections. Curriculum is designed around students' natural ways of learning and includes things about which students want to learn. As well, students are taught how to learn. That is, how to get the necessary information they need, how to critically analyze and evaluate that information, and how to use and apply this information.

5. Students learn best in a non-threatening environment. Threats come in the form of physical threats, but also social threats, emotional threats, or things that endanger one’s self esteem or phenomenological self (Combs, 1999). This occurs when schools focus more on measuring learning than they do on enhancing learning.

Psychologists Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are generally thought to be the founders of modern humanistic learning theory (DeCarvalho, 1991). Humanistic learning theory is not easily defined. There are many views; however, all views seem to share two overriding tenets: First, humans are by their very nature evolving, self-developing creatures. As such, we have a natural inclination to learn and develop fully. Learning is enhanced when educational experiences align with these natural desires. Second, the goal of education should be to enable each person to develop his or her full potential.

HUMANISTIC EDUCATION

Humanistic learning theory is the theory upon which humanistic education is based. These terms are used interchangeably in this chapter.

Dehumanizing Education

Humanistic education is a reaction to an educational system that is seen as de-humanizing. These dehumanizing elements include the following:

1. Students are often asked to be passive learners and to learn in ways that are not natural for them. As well, the things given to them to learn are often meaningless or have no connection to their lives and experiences.

2. Manipulation is used to get students to learn and to behave in acceptable ways. Instead of building on their natural inclinations, students are manipulated by external rewards and punishment to "learn" school-related things and to be compliant. What is rarely considered are the reasons why students may not want to learn or why their behaviors may be disruptive or non-compliant.

3. One-dimensionality is perpetuated. Only the cognitive dimension of students' humanity is recognized. Ignored in classrooms and curriculum are the many aspects that make us human: our creativity, imagination, transcendence, curiosity, social natures, and our emotional dimensions.

4. Humans and human learning are too often described in terms of numbers. Experiences, traits, endeavors, and achievement that cannot be quantified and compared, are thought not to exist or to be of little value. This quantification of the educational experience is often used to compare students to a mythical norm. Such quantification creates winners and losers as students find themselves above or below a mythical "average".

5. Only traditional ways of knowing and being in the world are seen to be of worth. Views that do not align with traditional perspectives are seen to be of lesser importance. Norms and values that do not reflect the dominant culture are diminished or ignored. Only the history that tells the story of advantaged groups is seen as being worth repeating.

Humanistic Education

Humanistic education views learning in terms of personal growth and the development of each person’s full potential. Growth and development occur here, not just on an intellectual level, but also on an emotional, psychological, creative, social, and physical level (DeCarvalho, 1991; Maslow, 1971; Morris, 1978; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994; Patterson, 1973). Within this context, five goals are identified:

1. Facilitate the development of fully functioning, self-actualized human beings who have the capacity to nurture themselves, others, and their environment.

2. Instill a joy of learning and a desire to be life-long learners.

3. Promote the discovery of each student’s passions, special talents, and abilities.

4. Teach the knowledge and skills necessary for students to be good decision makers and effective problem solvers.

5. Enable students to be responsible world citizens who are able to contribute to democratic societies.

Good teaching starts with an operational definition of teaching. There are three common views of what constitutes teaching: teaching as transmission, teaching as transaction, and teaching as transformation (Miller, 1996).

Teaching as Transmission

From this perspective, teaching is the act of transmitting knowledge from Point A (teacher’s head) to Point B (students’ heads). This is a teacher­-centered approach in which the teacher is the dispenser of knowledge, the arbitrator of truth, and the final evaluator of learning. A teacher’s job from this perspective is to supply students with a designated body of knowledge or set of skills in a predetermined order. Academic achieve­ment is seen as students’ ability to demonstrate, replicate, or retransmit this designated body of knowledge or set of skills back to the teacher or to some other measuring agency or entity. From this perspective standardized tests are considered to be an apt measure of students’ learning.

Teaching as Transaction

From this perspective, teaching is the process of creating situations whereby students are able to interact with the material to be learned in order to construct knowledge. Constructivism is an educational philosophy consistent with this view. Here, knowledge is not passively received; rather, it is actively built up or constructed by students as they connect their past knowledge and experiences with new information (Santrock, 2004). And just as each student’s past knowledge and experiences are different, so too is the interpretation, understanding, and meaning of the new information that each ultimately constructs.

Teachers are not expected to pour knowledge into the heads of learners; rather, they assist learners in their construction of knowledge and development of skills by creating experiences where students’ can use their current understand of knowledge and skills to learn new knowledge and skills. Academic achievement from a constructivist perspective is seen as students’ ability to use this knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems or to create products or performances that are valued in one or more cultural settings.

Teaching as Transformation

From this perspective, teaching is creating conditions that have the potential to transform the learner on many different levels (cognitive, emotional, social, intuitive, creative, transpersonal, and other). Transformational teach­ing invites both students and teachers to discover their full potential as learners, as members of society, and as human beings. The ultimate transformational goal is to help develop more nurturing human beings who are better able to perceive the interconnectedness of all human, plant, and animal life (Narve, 2001).

Learning is said to have occurred when educational experiences elicit a transformation of consciousness that leads to a greater understanding of and care for self, others, and the environment. Academic achievement from this perspective is similar to self-actualization. That is, it is perceived as discovering and developing each individual’s unique talents and capabilities to the fullest extent possible. Academic achievement also involves becoming aware of the multiple dimensions of self and expanding one’s consciousness.

Yes, moral outrage over systemic racism is a wonderful thing. It is good that people are outraged (again) at the abuse and the murders at the hands of a police system that was originally designed to protect us. It is good as well that there is moral outrage over the continued disparities, the implicit bias, and the educational, political, social, and economic restrictions that advantage those in power (white privilege) while restricting and disadvantaging people of color. There should be outrage. We would lack humanity if we were not outraged. But how many times have we been outraged over the last 20, 30, 50, 400 years? Hell, how many times have we been morally outraged in the last year?

Academic writing involves saying something about something. You need information to convey, analyze, or use in some fashion. finding new information and taking careful notes is Step 1 of the academic writing process. You can’t get to Step 2 without doing Step 1.

• Step 1. Research to gather data. Usually this means reading and taking careful notes. However, data can also be collected other ways.

Students of color are disproportionately represented in special education. This is most true of the three high incidence categories: learning disabilities, emotional behavioral disorders, and intellectual disorders. The short podcast describes some of the issues here.

The super-secret academic writing process involves six steps:

1. Research to gather data. Usually this means finding sources, reading and taking careful notes. However, data can also be collected other ways.

2. Pre-drafting. As the name implies, this is what is done before writing the first draft. This involves things such as planning, creating outlines, talking with others, generating ideas, or finding structure.

3. First-draft. This is the first attempt to get ideas on the page.

4. Revise. This is the heart of the writing process. Here the writer rereads, reshapes, gets feedback, and revises many times.

5. Editing. Editing should occur only after a piece has been revised several times. Here the writer looks for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.

6. Share. This is the very last step. This is where the paper is sent out into the world.

This is the first in series of podcasts that will provide a foundation and framework to enhance your understanding of the various processes involved in academic writing. The purpose of these podcasts is to enable you to be an effective writer and thinker in all contexts including your personal and professional lives (outside a college environment). Thus, while I will use the term ’academic writing’, it may be helpful to perceive academic writing in a larger sense as academic and professional writing and thinking.

The basic elements of direction instruction are: (a) a purpose statement; (b) input with modeling, examples, and demonstrations, (c) guided practice with a gradual release of responsibility, (d) independent practice, and (e) review

It is not the 'what' of phonics instruction in which there are varying ideas; it is the 'how' and the 'how much' of phonics instruction. Also, all teachers, especially whole language teachers, believe in very direct and explicit instruction.