Cognitive theory along with my experience as a teacher shows me that the most important thing a teacher can do is realize that each student is a different type of learner. Although I know that every child learns in a different way, I still do not test he or she to find out exactly what type of learner he or she is. From now on, every year, on the first day of school I will ask the children to take the questionaire, found at http://www.personalitypage.com/cgi-local/build_pqk.cgi. This questionaire is based on the Myers-Briggs Types (Lever-Duffy & McDonaly,2009.) Using this questionaire will be much more beneficial at the start of the year but it is never too late to find out exactly what type of learners you have in the room so you can plan accordingly. As teachers we each have personal preference but not every child learns as we do and that is what we must remember! "Cognitive styles is how one thinks" (Lever-Duffy & McDonald,2009), therefore we need to use tools to help several types of learner not just one.
Cues, questions, and organizers are ways in which we can target more than one thinker (learner) at a times because each one of these gives students an idea on what the topic is and varies from levels depending on the student. For example, the cues gives any type of learner a clue about what they are learning, the questions start from low leveled to high and the organizers are made so that students can grasp the concept regardless of the type of learner they are. Concept maps are an excellent way to show students the parts of what they are learning. Similiar to using tools that can connect with a variety of learners or thinkers, another important tool teachers can use during lessons with students is note taking. Note taking is extremely vital to a student because this is what the student uses personally to study or comprehend. For example, if the student is studying a character, the teacher can model to the students several note taking ideas and allow the student to choose which one can help he or she comprehend. What I have done in the past was give the students a choice between; using a T chart (Pitler,Hubbell,Kuhn,Malenoski,2007), sketching, listing, or webbing. Providing the students with the freedom of selecting their style of note taking makes it more personal for the student while allowing them to use their cognitivism in the classroom.
Veronica
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Hey Veronica,
ReplyDeleteYour reference to a questionnaire that gauges your students' learning styles reminds me of a similar questionnaire my whole team (at work) completed to get a feel for our personality types.
We were surprised that many of us had personality types that did not actually mesh with our behaviors in the workplace. It was also really interesting to see how better understanding the perspectives of those with whom you work affects your interactions with them.
I only mention it because I see a great parallel between my workplace questionnaire (personality traits) and your classroom questionnaire (learning styles). In both cases, a the small bit of time invested in completing the questionnaire up-front helped a great deal in co-existing in the long run.
Take it easy,
James Matthews
James,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you shared that experience with us because you showed proof of how a questionnaire can be so very benefical in the long run. Taking the time to figure out what learning styles our students have will help us create our lessons to target them and will also help the students build self esteem. For instance, some of my students feel so ashamed of themselves when they do not understand a lesson, but after they take this questionaire, they will hopefully understand that they too have strong points when it deals with learning. Of course now they realize, "I am a great reader but cannot do well in math" but it still ruins their self esteem. However once they know the WHY they understand one subject more than another, they will feel better about themselves.
Veronica
Veronica,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea of using the questionnare for your students every year on the first day of school. It is a great idea to get a heads up on how your students prefer to learn. Students might not know how they learn best and then after taking the test, they will know for themselves as well.
I am also contemplating using this questionnaire after reading your post!
Thanks for the idea!
Marie
That is a great idea of having them take the questionnaire the first day of school. I have always found myself struggling within the first couple of weeks trying to learn about my students. This will be an easy way to see what type of learner they are.
ReplyDeleteNote taking is very critical for students to be successful in the higher grades. It is a skill that needs to be learned while being younger so that it can be perfected once they reach middle / high school. Modeling good and effective ways to take notes to help the student develop the right style of note taking for that student. Giving them a good foundation enabling them to build upon it later.
What a great link: http://www.personalitypage.com/cgi-local/build_pqk.cgi. I also said that after reviewing a few weeks of graduate level research, that I would specifically assess each learner in my classroom. Like yourself, my acknowledgment for the differences was there, but I hadn’t classified them. I was going to develop a strengths and weaknesses, graphic organizer, and have my students try to each, set two goals for themselves, based on their data. Any suggestions to further this activity? Oh and bravo, for being prepared in your lesson and allowing for student choice for note taking. I bet the students really enjoy that!
ReplyDeleteMarie and Mr.Henry I am so very glad you loved the idea of the questionaire and I truly do hope you use it yourself with your children. I think it will only bring good and no harm. I know looking back as a learner myself, I wish my teacher took the time to realize who I am and why I learn better some ways rather than others.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I loved your idea on setting goals for students based on the data you will research. You asked if I had any suggestions and one that I thought about was having your students establish the goals in groups first with other students that are the same learners as they are. This way they can see they are not alone and help one another focus on areas they are weak at. What do you think?
I couldn't agree more that the questionaire is a great idea. You are correct that it is never too late to figure out what learning styles our students have. I believe you hit the nail on the head when you stated we have our personal preference, but not every student has the same style as we do. Furthermore, every student in the class learns differently from one another. While some may have many similarities, no two students are exactly the same so we should continue to differentiate our instruction so we are better able to meet the diverse needs of all of our students.
ReplyDelete