Activity 7.1

These are the factors that I believe are most influential to learning. When I was brainstorming, I couldn't help but think about the story of Johnny from Module 1. As a class, we listed several reasons (formalisms, I now know them to be called, since we had no basis for them) for why he was experiencing difficulties. These listed reasons, even if they didn't apply in the Johnny situation, did, however, illustrate our understanding of the factors believed to be most influential to learning. I found it slightly difficult to distinguish personal factors from behavioral factors.

Environmental Factors

• Primary needs  - Food, water, shelter, etc.
• Family Support/ Parents - Absent or abusive parents may prove detrimental to learning, while caring, involved parents may foster learning
• Family Environment 
• Socioeconomic level - If the student is worried about money issues at home, then her ability to learn may be jeopardized. Likewise, if the student does not have to worry about money issues, her focus can be shifted entirely to learning.
• Peers - Students are strongly influenced by their peers; if a student's peers view learning as stupid, there is a good chance that the student could be persuaded to believe that as well. 
• School Philosophy - Whatever the school's philosophy or thought process on learning is, it is bound to affect the learning processes of its students. 
• Comforting Learning Environment - if the student feels comfortable, then she may learn easier. 
• Teachers - Teachers are part of the learning environment. Simply put, some teachers are better than others; teachers students come into contact with are going to influence their learning process. 

Behavioral Factors

• Determination
• Self-Regulation 
• Attention
• Perseverance 
• Attendance - If a student chooses not to attend school, his ability to learn from the classroom is greatly effected. 

Personal Factors

• Intelligence
• Personality traits
• Motivation/Determination 
• Self-Regulation
• Attitude/Willingness to learn
• Information Storage/Recall