Katrina Roxas

LTM 611
October 24, 2015
Learning How a High School Student Learns
Not long ago, I graduated from Saint Francis High School, class of
2010. Prior to high school, I went to Deer Creek Intermediate School and was
promoted from there in 2006. From my past experiences, I would say I had a
great time in middle and high school. I remember always going to school
with a smile on and having decent grades. They were great years of my life.
However, these may not be the same for someone else who is in high school
or even middle school right now. They could be having a totally different
experience than I did. To be an effective teacher, I must learn different ways
on how people learn. I must learn different developmental theories in order
to understand how someone learns. After learning about different theorists, I
interviewed a young lady by the name of Larize who attends Franklin High
School in Franklin, WI. She is 18 years old and is a senior. Based on the
theories weve talked about in class, I interviewed her to see how she learns
the best and how her favorite teachers influenced her. Before the actual
interview, I learned of two theories which are what I based my questions off
of. These theorists are Bronfenbrenner and Gilligan.
Urie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian-born developmental psychologist
known for his ecological systems theory. This theory identifies five different
systems that an individual interacts with (Sincero, 2012). The five different

systems are: Chronosystem, Macrosystem, Exosystem, Mesosystem, and

Microsystem. The individual is found in the center with each system
surrounding it, starting with the Microsystem. The individual includes their
gender, age, and health. In the Microsystem, the individuals family, peers,
and school are included. As we continue, the Mesosystem is where the
Microsystem and Exosystem interconnect. Examples in this system would be
interactions between the family and teachers or relationships between the
individuals peers and family. In the Exosystem, you can find the external
factors surrounding the individual. Examples from this system could be the
individuals neighbors, mass media, or even politics. The final system is the
Macrosystem, which shows a description of the culture that the individual
resides in. These include socioeconomic status, poverty, or even heritage.
Also found in this system are the attitudes and norms of society. When you
combine each of the systems, it creates the world that revolves around the
individual found in the middle (Sincero, 2012). Another theorist I based my
questions from was Carol Gilligan.
Carol Gilligan is a psychologist who focuses on moral dilemmas and
development of females (Ball, 2010). While pursuing her PhD at Harvard in
1964, Gilligan worked with Erik Erikson and Lawrence, two large names in
the field of Psychology. She is known for her adaptation of Kohlbergs theory
of moral development (Ball, 2010). Gilligan criticized the theory, arguing it
was geared towards men and did not have an accurate representation of
both genders. According to her research, Gilligan found that women have a

stronger emphasis on caring when it comes to decision making (Ball, 2010).

Since she is a female, I thought it would be interesting to hear her take on
the learning process.
When I asked Larize if I could interview her, she was quite hesitant at
first. However, I calmly replied that it could be as informal as she wanted. I
decided to hold the interview at a Starbucks so that she could answer freely,
without the pressure of having her family listen to her answers. Throughout
the interview, I consistently watched Larizes body language and made sure
she was comfortable with her answers. If I heard she was hesitant in an
answer, I rephrased the question to where she would be comfortable enough
to answer. The whole interview as conducted in under an hour and I was sure
to thank her for her time and effort.
From the interview, I was able to see that her heritage and culture play
an important role in her education. Her parents play a big role in her
academic decisions. These are found within Bronfenbrenners Theory,
specifically the Macrosystem. All of Larizes immediate family was born in the
Philippines, which is why the culture came with them when they came to
America. Even being away from their family, Larize is expected to help her
family once she is done with school. As with her culture, her religion plays an
important role in the way she learns as well. On Thursdays and Sundays, she
must plan her homework time around going to church. This is also true if
they have a special event. However, when Larize talked about the sacrifices
shes made, she does not regret it. She still manages to learn and get her

homework done. I learned that the best way for her to retain the information
is to learn on her own. She rarely asks for help from her peers or her family.
She is an independent learner.
This interview opened my eyes. There is no right way to learn.
Everyone is different and it is our job, as teachers, to cater to all of our
students. We need to incorporate various learning styles in order for our
students to succeed. We do not know all of the external factors of our
students. Moving forward, I will keep in mind this interview with Larize when
creating lesson plans for my students. I want all of my students to learn
comfortably when they are in my class. I want them all to succeed!

Interview Transcription Interview is in GREEN and Interviewee is in PURPLE

What is your name and how old are you? What school do you attend?
Larize Nantes 18 years old Senior at Franklin High School
In school, are you part of any clubs or organizations?
Part of: Multicultural Club, Psychology Club, and Freshman Mentor
Tell me a little bit about your life and education so far
Born in Lipa, Batangas
Started going to school for Kindergarten
Moved to America in the 6th grade (11 years old) Milwaukee, WI
Moved to California New York back to Milwaukee in 8th grade (14 years old)
Has not yet applied nor chosen a college to attend still undecided
1. What are your favorite activities to do in class?
a. Group projects gathering different perspectives and putting them
together to attain a goal (assignment)
b. Watching videos in class you are still learning, but from a different
source
c. Discussions learning other peoples opinions while sharing/voicing
your own
2. Who is your favorite teacher and why?

a. Mr. Barbiaz (AP Psych and Sociology teacher) hes not boring, hes
fun and engaging (even in conversations), shows video, doesnt only
show presentations but also speaks and gives details on them
b. *Larize wanted to major in Psychology after taking his class
3. How do you do homework at home?
a. In her room (alone) on the bed (comfortable), after eating and maybe
taking a nap (overall after relaxing
4. If you
a.
b.
c.

need help on something, whom do you ask?

Text her classmates
When urgent, will call on the phone
Ask parents and me (because were older and have gone through high
school already)

5. Do you think your environment outside of school plays a role in your

education?
a. Yes hanging out with friends/watching too much television = getting
distracted from homework becomes lazy uses energy on watching
television and falls asleep on couch
b. Going to church at church, she is inspired to do well in school
(parents remind her to do well in school)
i. Have a lot of activities at church (waking up early or sleeping
late) = no time to do homework
6. Are there expectations you need to uphold in comparison to your parents?
a. Yes studying hard, going to church, not going out with friends as
much especially on the weekdays
b. Pushes her to be like dad finish college
c. Mom does not have college degree
d. Being Filipino family is poor in Philippines
e. Finish school to help family in Philippines
7. Is there a difference in the way you do homework versus a sibling? Do your
parents or siblings affect your learning?
a. Yes Sister does it in the kitchen on the table. Sister can do
homework even when surrounded by loud noises (Larize needs quiet
when she does her homework)
b. Parents and sibling do not bother her while she is studying/doing
homework
c. When not doing homework, sister asks for help
8. Describe the difference of your Middle School experience compared to your
HS experience.

a. Middle School: easier, didnt have a lot of opportunities, no ability to

choose classes, less work, less people to deal with, nicer and more
lenient teachers.
b. High School: more opportunities to choose classes, harder work, more
tests, more pressure ( college prep, what to do after high school, AP
classes), more drama, more people, teachers are more strict, more
work to do.
9. Has a teacher ever taken time to get to know your interests? Was that
teacher able to involve that topic into the class?
a. AP Psych teacher: talked to her after class because he knew of her
interest in Psych (talked about topics in class and life after HS)
b. Went over different jobs she could have in Psych
c. Helped her figure out what she needed to do in order to pursue a
career in Psych
10.Describe a moment you felt successful in school
a. Biology: did a poster, teacher asked to keep her poster to show other
classes a representation of what good work looks like/expectations.
b. Poster was about how different animal reproduction
11.Have you had a teacher who showed they didnt care for you?
a. Child Development teacher/Food class: accepted someone elses late
work and did not accept Larizes work
b. Same assignment and both handed in the same day
c. Was told hers was past the deadline but the other girls was not
(other student was never absent from class)
12.Who has been the most helpful in your education?
a. Guidance Counselor: whenever she needed her classes switched
(because she knew she would not need them in the future) the
counselor would switch them
b. Gave her motivational speeches when her grades started to slip
13.What has been the most helpful in your education?
a. Planner: writes herself motivational quotes, writes all of her homework
in it, keeps her on track with everything she needs to do
b. Prayer: before taking a test, before presentations, while studying for
something and something comes up that she does not understand
14.What do you want to be when you grow up?
a. Psychiatrist: counsels people and gives medicine when needed
b. Why? to help people, prescribe medicines
i. The way people think intrigues her
ii. Theories

iii. She could use her background in psych to help people more
efficiently than becoming a doctor
15.How would you define the word success? How do you see it happening for
you?
a. Success: being happy and content with what you are doing in life
b. Going to college, getting a psych degree, and becoming a psychiatrist
i. Even though there will be a lot of work, she is determined to
become a psychiatrist because that is her passion
16.Media using while doing homework?
a. Social media: Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook
i. Why? for brain breaks
ii. Academic purposes: YouTube (to understand better what shes
learning), Google topics she doesnt understand

References
Ball, L. (2010). Carol Gilligan. Psychologys Feminist Voices. Retrieved from:
http://www.feministvoices.com/carol-gilligan/
Gilligan, C. biography. (2012). NYU Law Faculty Profiles.
http://its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/profile.cfm?
section=bio&personID=19946

Sincero, S. (2012, March 14). Ecological Systems Theory. Retrieved October

24, 2015 from
systems-theory

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/ecological-