The Humanism Learning Theory: Key Aspects

Learning Activity: Eliciting a Patient/Client History

The learning activity adheres to the principles of humanism learning theory. The learners are asked to collect and record a patient’s health history by engaging in a group interaction of two. One student plays the role of a patient, whereas the second one is a medical professional. No manuals, guides, and lectures are provided, but the learners are provided with a brief overview of what constitutes the subject. Students will pose the questions, converse with ‘patients,’ and engage in data recording in a manner they deem appropriate. After the activity is completed, the patient health history sheets will be graded by the students themselves, which implies self-evaluation. The final part of the activity will be a reflective discussion among students about the appropriateness of approaches and the importance of specific types of information for eliciting patient history.

Humanism Learning Theory

The humanism learning theory is all about human-centered learning, which relies on psychological needs as a source of motivation toward self-actualization. It is stated: “humanistic learning theory emphasizes the freedom and autonomy of learners. It connects the ability to learn with the fulfillment of other needs and the perceived utility of the knowledge by the learner” (Gandhi & Mukherji, 2022, para. 7). From the activity, it is evident that the teacher’s role in the process is minimal since he or she does not direct them, but rather facilitates the process. Students learn through self-directed learning by making errors and correcting them if they think it is necessary. Self-evaluation is present as well since it is what they perceive about themselves that pushes them towards further improvement. All aspects of the humanism learning theory are engaged in the activity, starting from self-direction, student/human-centeredness, and self-evaluation to self-reflection.

Reference

Gandhi, M. H., & Mukherji, P. (2022). Learning theories. In StatPearls (Eds.), StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. Web.

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