Activity 2.4 1.

The theory that I have explored and derived meaning from that will be used to guide my action or behaviour is constructivism. This theory purported that meaning is personal, subjective and is constructed socially alone or with others. Reflections done should challenge our behaviours or culture practices and myths that segregate or disempower others. Sharing is important as it allows for the clear communication of each person s perspective or that of the community. The theory also includes using various technologies to ensure that communication ta!es place "#$%& 1'(1, )(1*+. ). ,ssessing my application of this theory in actual practice has allowed me to recogni-e that gaps exist. I have found that sometimes when I am interacting with others who have opinions different from mine, I tend to insist on the .rightness of my opinions without trying to listen to or even understand theirs. /onstructivism teaches that meaning is subjective0 therefore I need to understand that people derive meaning from their experiences and interaction with others, so their construction of meaning will be different from mine. /onstructivism also teaches that sharing meaning is important and every effort should be made to communicate clearly the perspective of others. It is by loo!ing at meaning from different perspective that will allow me to improve my critical thin!ing, problem solving and decision ma!ing s!ills. *. Three 1uestions about the gap or divided between meaning and behavior2 a+ 3o you thin! it is important for your behaviour to reflect the meaning you have derived from your interactions with others4 b+ 5hat are the reasons for the gaps that exist between your personal theory and your actual practice4 c+ 5hat can be done to reduce the gap between theory and practice4 6. %sing the 1uestions above, a self7interview is as follows2 a+ I believe that it is important for my behaviour to match up with the meaning I ascribe to people or my experiences. If my behaviour is saying something different from my expressed principles, then persons will not !now what I stand for or will be confused about my actions during practice. This would also mean I am not practicing the principles of a reflective8reflexive learner as my overt behaviour does not match up with lessons learnt from reflecting on my experiences and my ethical beliefs. b+ The reasons I tend to be so opinionated is that in my home, we were encouraged to stand firm in our beliefs and not to be intimidated or manipulated by anyone. 9owever, in thin!ing that my opinion is the only one that is valid, I have now learnt that I am limiting my meaning7ma!ing process by only loo!ing at my perspective. 3eriving meaning by loo!ing at more than one perspective will enable me to have a more accurate understanding of terms, actions and experiences.

c+ In trying to reduce the gap that exist between my personal theory and my behaviour there are a number of things that I need to do. I will strive to actively listen to the opinion of others in order to get multiple meanings and not just to rely on a single perspective. In reflecting on my experiences, I will examine my interactions with others by ta!ing in consideration the meaning others ascribe to their own experiences as well. I will also use various online resources to source additional information to facilitate this change process. %sing technologies that facilitates sharing information with other learners that could help me reduce this gap will also be utili-ed. Reference2 %5I $pen /ampus. )(1*. #$%& 1'(1 #oundation for :earning Success, %nit )