Becoming My Own Teacher

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Becoming My Own Teacher Forms of learning are distinguished into three categories: formal settings, non-formal settings, and informal or self-directed contexts. Formal settings are highly institutionalized, based upon a curriculum, and recognized by a grading system that rewards success. Different from formal education, non-formal settings are organized learning opportunities outside of the formal educational system. IN a distinctly different manner, self-directed learning carries the characteristics of spontaneity and an unstructured learning style. This type of learning goes on daily in a variety of places, including community, the workplace, and through various mass media sources. This essay will describe a learning project that I have participated in, providing examples and evidence that indicate my understanding of the text. Within my lifetime I have encountered many injuries while participating in a wide range of sports. Whether an injury results from roller skating to playing football, the ability to hurt myself in different ways was always apparent. As a senior in high school, I experienced an injury that I knew little of but wanted to know more of what I had done wrong to my body. I had torn my meniscus, which is a common knee injury. The meniscus is a rubbery, C-shaped disc that cushions a knee. Each knee has two menisci (plural of meniscus)--one at the outer edge of the knee and one at the inner edge. The menisci keep a knee steady by balancing a person’s weight across the knee. A torn meniscus can prevent a knee from working correctly. The method I used to learn about the meniscus tear is characterized as informal learning, specifically self-directed learning. P.H. Coombs described informal learning as “the spontaneous, unstructured learning that goes on daily in the home and neighborhood, behind the school and on the playing field, in the workplace,

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