Active/ Reflective Learners
ACT X REF
11
9 7 5
3 1 1
3 5 7
9 11
<-- -->
I seem to be pretty balances in regards to being an active/ reflective learner, leaning over abit more onto the reflective side with a score of 3.
If you are a reflective learner in a class that allows little or no class time for thinking about new information, you should try to compensate for this lack when you study. Don't simply read or memorize the material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of possible questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class notes in your own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable you to retain the material more effectively.
The best learning experiences for me seem to be ones that allow for quiet reflective time to occur. Rather than spending an entire lecture absorbing new information, i need to have some time to reflect on it and link it to my prior knowledge and applicable applications. I this as being absolutely true, i can never sit through a lecture of just content, i don't take a single thing in. Ive had lectures where after 4 hours i walk out and haven't learn t a single thing. If someone were to ask me what we did i could probably provide a brief verbal summary that is simply a regurgitation of what the lecturer will have said but if pushed for details i would have nothing. Luckily subjects that are like that seem to be very rare in the course I'm studying so Ive had little trouble with this so far.
Sensing/ Intuitive Learners
SEN
X INT
11 9
7 5 3
1 1 3
5 7 9 11
<-- -->
I am clearly an intuitive learner, being right over on that end of the scale with a score of 9.
Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors. However, if you are an intuitor and you happen to be in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas, you may have trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results.
This explains why i was so bad at maths and science in grade 12. I could never remember the facts and formulas. Give me a simple equation and a set of rules and i would not be able to solve it, give me an ad in English though and ask me to critically analyze it and i could write a thesis on it. I love thinking abstractly and doing this in new and innovative ways, this explains why i used to love writing essays and answering short/ long response questions in exams but could never write a report or a succeed in a maths exam. The one part of the suggested help for intuitve learners though that i see myself having difficulty with is the last line where they suggest i check my question answers. With a maths question i probably would, it was tedious to complete the first time and will be just as tedious to complete the second time so it makes little difference. With a english question though ill write my answer out and i will not re read it. If i do i will continually be re writing and adding to it, with new ideas coming up each and everytime i read it, id never finish the exam at that rate! Probably why i never start assignments early, i plan out how long i need and start it when i have to. If i do it beforehand ill write it, edit it continuously right up until the due date. Rather than spending one day on it and completing it i would instead be spending 2 weeks on it with the same result. It will probably be of better quality but will take 13 more days than the required one day.
Visual/ Verbal Learners
VIS
X VRB
11
9 7 5
3 1 1
3 5 7
9 11
<-- -->
Seems like im also a very visual learner with a score of 11.
If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.
This one Ive always known is true. I learn from pictures far, far more than a set of verbal instructions. I can listen to a lecturer for hours on end on how to do something and still not understand but give me a picture and ill get it right away. Sadly though not many textbooks have many diagrams and the ones that do, the ratio of pictures to writing is probably 1 picture for every 5 000 words. I remember things visually far more as well, i remember diagrams shown in lectures and can explain what they depict/ show to others but ask me what else the lecturer was talking about that lesson and i couldn't tell you. I like the idea of color coding everything though, I'm not an organized person at all though so its very unlikely to happen but the idea still appeals to me.
Sequential/ Global Learners
SEQ
X GLO
11
9 7 5
3 1 1
3 5 7
9 11
<-- -->
Similar to the active/ reflective learner scale i seem to be pretty balanced in this area leaning slightly towards being more of a global learner.
If you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you. Fortunately, there are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don't lose faith in yourself; you will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding of how it connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential thinkers would never dream of.
This one is also very true. I love seeing the bigger picture, the details mean very little to me when i understand the general concept. The piece of suggested advice that really stood out to me though was the suggested study method. "Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks". Luckily i discovered this early on in my schooling and it seems to work well for me, especially come assessment time. Allot of my peers i notice do little bits of each assignment and finish them at them all at the same time. Ive never been able to do this though, i set a week per assignment and work solely on it in that time period until its completed. This caused allot of trouble in certain subjects in school, in particular ones where the teacher set checkpoints where she would try and break the task up into sections each week in an attempt to help the students.
Studying teaching now i see that this is an excellent thing to do due to scaffolding the learning for students but for myself as a learner this was an absolute nightmare. I cant do little parts of an assignment and piece them all together at the end. In some cases i would meet the set checkpoints set my teachers but come assignment time what i had done would require heavy editing to the point of basically re writing the assignment. Other times if i knew the teacher wasn't strict on the checkpoints i would ignore them and follow my own schedule of setting a time frame, whether it be a week or a few days before the assignment is due working non stop on it. Allot of people Ive spoken to think that this is silly due to the great workload that it gives but it is far easier to me than the other method of little bits at a time. I always saw it as my assignment is in at the due date so that's what matters right? Whether i work on it 10 to 6 everyday for days or 1 hour a day for 2 weeks, the result is the same so it doesn't matter which method you chose. I was lucky enough to have had a few teachers in my schooling who seemed to understand my way of learning and didn't push the checkpoints on me. Actually looking at this blog, its a perfect example of this. First week i didn't get a chance to work on it due to group meetings from other subjects, but here i am today planning to work on it for the next 4 hours nonstop till my next group meeting and i have all of tomorrow set aside for E-Learning until its complete. I probably should have scored higher on that scale looking at my extensive response to it : p
2. In a traditional classroom of 25 students, how would you support the range of learning styles each lesson?
Active- Group work, students worked both as a class and in pairs.
Reflective- Time was allocated for individual work time before and after teacher clarification.
Sensing- LM provided a real world application and repeated the problems on the board establishing a set method to complete the problem.
Intuitive- Real world application would be of great help, same with the linking of the new to prior knowledge. The LM also provided student with a summary before going into the details.
Visual- All of the work was completed on the board, with each step being laid out one after the other until a solution is reached. Having this example on the board will be super helpful to visual learners.
Verbal- Throughout completing each of the problems the LM will be explaining each step out loud.
Sequential- Each step in the problem, from the question to the solution is displayed on the board and explained all of the way through.
Global- A few example problems are completed as a group, when students seem to have grasped the concept they can continue on at their own pace to complete the rest of the problems.
3. With your current knowledge of ICT, how could your design and digital pedagogy support your learners better?
By keeping a record of student observations in regards to their individual students learning preferences or difficulties in a simple organization method such as an excel document, lessons can be designed to cater to these identified difficulties and the results recorded and organized in a far easier method than the traditional pen and paper methods. Using digital record keeping methods are far easier edited and pulled up than paper folders.
Another excellent digital resource i would use to support students would be creating a Weebly for each term. This Weebly would layout the learning to occur each week with additional activities and explanations being made to students in their own time, whether it be in the classroom or at home.
Being quite good with technology at the present time, i also feel comfortable using a variety of learning objects and other digital resources in my lessons to support students and enhance their learning.
4. What sorts of profiling questions would you be asking about your learners to ensure you cater for everyone's preferences?
Where is ______ demonstrating difficulty in their learning?
What measures can be taken to compensate for this recognised difficulty?
What type of learners are present in my class?
What activities seem to provide the most difficulty in teaching?
What type of lesson do i as a LM seem to focus most on?
How can i change my lessons to meet the needs of the majority while catering for individuals?
How can the learning be adjusted to build students in the recognized problem areas?
What scaffolding is necessary to ensure all students are able to learn the necessary content?
What checks for learning will occur prior, during and after the learning?
What support is available to me as the LM to support struggling students?
5. How does ICT support differences in learning styles?
The content being taught in the classroom is available online in a hundred different ways. While i the LM may be focusing on teaching the content through one particular method to cater for the majority of students, students who need additional support, especially the ones that struggle with the learning style i am focusing on in that lesson can be directed to a computer. The computer will have a LM selected website or learning object open on it that presents the same content in a different style more suitable to the individual student. Although this will not be possible in all lessons, it is important that the option be available when necessary to those students who despite repeated attempts to understand the LMs explanation, they have another method available to them. It is also important to note that the LM will select the style that caters to the majority of students, so although not every student will understand the content immediately as as easily as some of their other classmates, with practice and work they will just as a good an opportunity to succeed.
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