Now that you have completed the learning and teaching style inventories, provide a description of your results. As you answer this question, describe how your learning style matches up with teaching style. As a teacher, what would you have to differentiate the curriculum for a student with your learning style. In what way would the learning in your classroom change if you modified your teaching style?
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ReplyDeleteFirst I took the online learning style inventory. I scored equally as high in three areas: Linguistic (word smart), Visual/Spatial (picture smart), and Intrapersonal (myself smart). Then I took the teaching style inventory. After I tallied the score and plotted my points I ended in Quadrant D for teaching goals and Quadrant B for teaching methods. The teaching style inventory suggests that I like to have students analyze using symbols and language. The learning style inventory shows how I learn best through visual and linguistic activities. I can see how both impact each other; because I like to see what it is I am learning I often require my students use visuals as well. As I reflect on the past year, I did often ask students to draw or demonstrate by modeling. In Social Studies especially I asked students to relate or compare a specific event to their lives. Although working in groups proved to be a challenge for my past group, I still prefer to have students speaking, sharing, and collaborating with their peers. To differentiate for a student with my learning style I would offer them a choice board where they would have the option to write, illustrate, or design something to demonstrate their understanding. For example, I could ask a student to create a political cartoon depicting the views of a loyalist during the Revolutionary War and add a caption. While other students may write a journal entry, a song, or produce an reenactment to show their knowledge. Based on assessment I could differentiate between students telling about the causes of the war and students telling me about the important figures during the time using a variety of activities listed above. If my teaching style changed learning would be more hands on with a mix of repetition. The modified classroom would probably have more labs during science. Which I actually listed that as something I would like to work on for next year. I think it would also be more structured, in the sense that students would practice spelling words and basic number facts more regularly
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that our teaching style reflects our learning style because we teach the way we learn. As educators, myself included, we have to make sure that we do not teach the way we learn best. We have to implement good practices to ensure our students learn.
DeleteShunta',
DeleteHave you used a choice board before in your classroom? If so, has it worked well for you? This may be something that I begin to incorporate in my classroom next year. Great idea!
Kara
DeleteI like your willingness to experiment. As you will learn in this course - the goal is for your to pick one element where you can implement differentiation and try. Start small, gain confidence, and expand.
I took the Teaching Style Inventory first. My results were both in Quadrant A. It implies that my teaching goal is rote learning which is basically memorizing facts and repetition. It implies that in my teaching method I prefer students to process information via symbols and language, and they work independently. Both of those results are how I learned best as a child, teen, and early college student. Now, as an adult, I still learn best through repetition, but I do not always like sitting and listening to lectures and working independently. I have to get up and move, and I like conversing with others in my group. What they understand and what I understand meshes together and sometimes I have a new understanding. Since being a gifted teacher, I have changed the way I teach. My students are more vocal and they do more group work in addition to their independent work. When I changed my teaching style, the students felt like the classroom was more of their classroom, and they were learning from each other. On the Learning Style Inventory, I scored highest in the Kinesthetic (Body Smart) and second highest in Logical (Number Smart.) I do like to exercise and move around versus sitting still for long periods. My students get opportunities to move around. I cannot sit still, so I know most of them will not be able to sit still past a certain amount of time. I also change the pace of my lessons so they do have time to move from one area to another. It makes sense that I scored high in logic as well as I scored high on teaching through repetition. I like math and these two styles seem to go hand-in-hand.
ReplyDeleteI am teaching a unit on the human body. We are learning about the organ system. We are exploring the human body through videos, books, human body models, and posters/diagrams. I have a child with my type of learning style (Kinesthetic and Logical) and the child already knows a lot about the organs of the body. To differentiate for a child with my learning style, the child would design a replica of the human body's organ system. While some students are illustrating the organs through pencil, paper, and crayons, the child would use Styrofoam and clay to construct a model to the actual size or the best that they could. The child could then present to the class his model of the organ system. The child would be displaying logic and body smart through this learning. They would correlate how exercise enhances the body's organs.
This was an interesting activity for me. When I took the learning style quiz, I found that my scores only varied by a few points with the excepting of interpersonal (it was 7 points from my highest). My highest were music (22) and kinesthetic & interpersonal (21).
ReplyDeleteWhen I took the teaching style, I was split between quadrants on both grids. I found all of this information interesting because I have a difficult time making decisions and sticking with choices. Though that seems like a bad thing, in my classroom it helps me think of many ways to teach concepts. I like "switching things up" and giving my students a variety of experiences. I did find it interesting that according to one of the grids, I like rote memorization with out practical application. This is interesting, because I feel as though I am always encouraging my students to make connections and apply things to their daily lives. I guess I need to continue working on this skill!
For someone that learns through music, conversation, and interpersonal skills I need to address these skills more often in my classroom. I love letting my students work in small groups, but I think varying the process/products, I can reach them more effectively.
My learning styles results were not a big surprise to me. I scored the highest in Interpersonal and Visual/Spatial. I have always been a people person. The visual/spatial is what got me through high school. During tests I was able to visualize my notes I had taken in class to recall my answers. My lowest score was in the Naturalistic area and this no surprise either. All other catagories were very close in numbers between 17-20. Looking at my teaching style results, the Goals Matrix was in quadrant B. I do prefer rote learning and practical applications. The Methods Matrix was in quadrant A. This was a little surprising to me because I would not have thought that I prefer students to work individually. I think a teacher can have students grouped in so many different ways that would help other students learn better and always seemed to have group activities in my lesson plans. As a teacher for a student with my learning style, I would have to make sure that I incorporate diagrams, charts, and a variety of hands on activities. If I modified my teaching style, it would include hands on activities and using computers more so the students could manipulate different outcomes.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this activity. I was not at all surprised by the learning styles results. My top three styles were nearly even. They were linguistic, intrapersonal, and logical. I find myself to be highly self directed and independent, especially when it comes to learning. I enjoy brainteasers, crossword puzzles, and smart puns. I love playing with numbers, and to-do lists are a part of my daily life. These qualities match up with the results of the learning styles inventory.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, there is quite a difference between my learning styles and teaching styles. The result for the Goals Matrix was quadrant C, meaning I prefer analysis, but there's no real practical application. Although I tend to think that I am constantly trying to find a real world application for our classroom learning, perhaps I need to focus on this more! The result for the Methods Matrix was quadrant D, meaning I like hands-on cooperative learning. This is a true picture of my teaching style and the way I like to run my classroom. My kids are generally all over the room working on projects together. I truly believe that they generally learn more from exploration and discussion than a lecture, memorization, etc. The part that I find fascinating is that I have never considered how vastly different this is than my own style.
In considering my classroom, I think that I should begin to occasionally introduce projects that can be completed independently if the students choose to do so. Although I do think it is important to learn life skills in cooperative groups, perhaps there should also be time for students who are self-directed and independent to work in a way that best suits their personalities.
I found both the learning and teaching style inventories to be informative as well as enjoyable. Such activities either reinforce or guide me discover things about myself that help me to better meet the needs of not only others, but also myself. For the teaching inventory, my teaching goals matrix interpretation fell in quadrant c. Specifically it stated, “Instructor prefers analysis to rote learning but does not focus on practical applications.” For the teaching methods matrix interpretation, quadrant b was my match. It states, “Instructor prefers to have students process information via symbols and language and work in groups.” The teaching goals and teaching methods interpretation do seem to fit. In order to analyze information, students must be able to process what they learn and apply it to the next level of thinking. Interestingly, this correlates well to my learning styles as detailed by the BGfL Multiple Intelligences Inventory. My highest scores were in the area of linguistic and visual/spatial (which corresponds to “process information via symbols and language”), interpersonal (which corresponds to “work in groups”), and kinesthetic (while this was actually my preferred way to learn, it was not indicated as a way that I chose to teach students, which I found quite interesting).
ReplyDeleteI scored max or near max on kinesthetic, linguistic, visual/spatial, and interpersonal. Being this type of learner will certainly help me meet the needs of students who learn like I do. For a student with a kinesthetic learning style, it would be necessary to provide them with plenty of manipulatives and hands on learning activities. These students definitely learn best by doing. Students who are linguistic have an affinity for words – loving to write as a form of expression, I should provide this student with ways for him or her to demonstrate learning through writing. Such products would certainly cater to their particular learning style. I am a big believer in the power of teams and collaboration – the chance to work with classmates to develop and refine ideas will help make the interpersonal learner more effective in the classroom. Lastly, the power of pictures cannot be underestimated. Students who are visual/spatial see their world in pictures, often taking the whole picture in first and then dissecting it to create understanding. .
While not yet in the classroom, modifying a teaching style can be both a positive and negative. The negative is simply a matter of becoming comfortable teaching outside of potential strengths and developing areas one may consider weak. For me, my teaching style did not necessarily subscribe to the use of manipulatives nor does instruction lend itself to the practical application of concepts. However, I may have students who need to learn by constructing or only understand if they see the real world value. I must be willing to step outside of what I feel is safe for me, in order to meet the needs of my students. Once my teaching style changes to meet the needs of the learner, however, the large, extremely positive impact of that is the learning needs of my students are being met, and the journey to understanding is well on its way. In the words of Dr. Tomlinson, there is a constant ebb and flow that exists when differentiation is done correctly; such ebb and flow results in a learning environment constantly changing but forever impacting the lives of the learners.
Learning Style
ReplyDelete1. Musical 25
2. Intrapersonal 24
3. Linguistic and Kinesthetic 23
4. Interpersonal 22
5. Naturalistic 17
6. Logical and Visual/Spatial 16
Teaching Style
Quadrant D = Instructor prefers analysis to rote learning and focuses on familiar applications (Example: Students are presented with real-world problems in which they use formulas and processes such as plotting designs for car parts using AutoCAD.)
Quadrant B= Instructor prefers to have students process information via symbols and language and work in groups (Example: Students discuss problems in groups.)
This was a fun, exploratory exercise. I will describe my results by presenting the major themes of my preferred teaching style first, followed by the corresponding learning style element in parentheses: analysis (all), use of real-world problems/solutions (kinesthetic); information processing through the use of hands-on applications (kinesthetic), symbols and language (interpersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal) and group interaction (interpersonal; intrapersonal; linguistic). My strongest learning style areas appear to match with my teaching style, which is interesting. This seems natural, but also speaks to the way that we tend to project and make assumptions about other peoples’ needs based upon our own.
To differentiate for a student with my learning style, I would probably ask them to interpret the content through a song, poetry, writing, or acting piece that may be shared with the class. I may ask them to use one of these project guidelines of their choice to initiate/moderate a group discussion.
If I modified my teaching style to one focused more on elements like rote learning, I believe deeper, personal, and comprehensive aspects of understanding would be sacrificed in favor of simple, shallow, conditioned behaviors. Gifted kids require complexity and higher level understanding to feel challenged and to maintain motivation.
My concept representation style leans slightly toward applied (rather than abstract) and cognitive processing heavily toward enactive (rather than symbolic). I feel that this could easily change, depending on the group I’m teaching. However, being an artist, I was taught not to teach meaning, but to allow the individual to arrive at their own meaning. Symbolic teaching may give the student too much guidance or paint the picture for them. Instead, I tend to value experiential learning, allowing for students to form conclusions that we may then discuss to varying levels of abstraction.
If I were to emphasize individual, rather than group/collaborative work, I think the classroom would be at risk of being creatively limited and there would be missed opportunities for students to recognize the value in others’ contributions, and to learn from others’ unique viewpoint. I do think there are individuals who suffer as a result of group work due to anxiety, and I would certainly be willing to accommodate their needs by assigning them a more passive or nonverbal role in the group, but one in which they could still benefit and learn from the process. Perhaps they could work alone, and then bring their work to the group for another student to present.
Knowing myself so well, I was not surprised that my preferred personal learning style leaned strongly towards Naturalistic, Kinaesthetic, and Visual/Spatial. I really enjoy combining these three in my personal life, I enjoying gardening, physical work, and building/creating things. Also high on my list was Intrapersonal, I believe that the older I get the better I know my strengths and weaknesses and how the make the most of them or minimize them accordingly. Next were Logic, Linguistic, and Interpersonal which are the traits and skills I have reinforced as a teacher and student. Although I enjoy a lot of different genres of music, playing or singing is not my gift, so I was not surprised to score very low on music smarts.
ReplyDeleteMy teaching styles coincided with my learning styles, both teaching goals and teaching methods fell solidly in Quadrants D. My teaching goals are routed in understanding and analyzing as opposed to rote learning. I have always preferred to understand something, figure new problems out from that understanding and then look at the big picture to see if I got it right over memorizing something I might forget. During this last year of teaching gifted elementary children my teaching methods have evolved and now play to my love of hands-on activities and teamwork. Realizing that reading and ELA are the focus of most elementary classrooms and because my 3rd-6th grade students only come to me for three hours a week I teach gifted from a STREAM (Science, Technology, wRiting, Engineering, Art, and Math) perspective, using real-world problems and team lab projects.
Because my teaching and learning styles lean so strongly towards action based cooperative learning and applied understanding that is suited to discovery learning and science I know I must be mindful of my language based individual learners or those that require more memorization or repetition to learn. I am looking forward to feedback and guidance on ways to expand my lessons into units that differentiate to all learners and challenge my students even more.