Learning Styles and Learning Theories

Learning style preferences is how someone learns best with emphasizing that preferences are not the same as someone 's personal strengths. The benefits of knowing and including the person 's learning style in the learning process will become an efficient problem solver, ability to learn more quickly and with ease, develop new study skills, improving capabilities in areas of testing, producing assignments or gain better teaching opportunities (Journal of Studies in Education, 2012). The VARK model is called, “preferred learning modes” believes individuals have different approaches on how they process information (Teach Make a

This type of instructional design also encourages engagement as it appeals to multiple learning styles and builds in time for me to interact with students in multiple ways (including one-on-one) (IE: Chloe can be quieter. I was able to touch base her to make sure that she understood the abstract vs. concrete exercise). Using multiple instructional delivery methods also provides me with opportunities to personally motivate students to be active in their learning (IE: Emily is very creative and likes small group work. IE: Taylor likes politics and would grasp the global climate change example IE: Big Mike works best when he has time to think individually before responding to a group. A notes handout helps him process key ideas before feeling pressured to apply them.

Learners that use the reflective practice are better able to understand themselves and the learning process. Being able to reflect can enrich ones learning and deeper ones achievements. Rogers observes, “Reflection on experience to action forms a large part of the learning process” (1996, p.109). The process of reflection enables a practitioner to evaluate, identify with and gain knowledge through experience, sustaining a possible improvement and transformation in not only the classroom but in the individual that participates in reflection. The process of reflection is a positive action that lets one review, analyze and evaluate in order to develop as a learner and a teacher.

When the time to take the test comes these students will find they are ill prepared for the test; and while it is not the teacher or the schools fault this will still reflect badly on them. Of course, there is still the problem with the test itself. It would seem that because of their structure, that standardized tests make it difficult to prepare students for them. Standardized tests are meant to evaluate what a student has learned in the classroom but knowledge is not the most important aspect of school. Work ethic and effort are also important factors in succeeding in the classroom, but these tests do not take these into account.

This argument goes along with the other two mentioned and explained above. There isn’t much that is positive to say about these assessments. It places so much pressure on students to perform well and pressure on teachers to teach what is going to be on the test. This brings negative energy to classrooms. An article by Greg Jouriles helps explain why we don’t need these tests.

Teaching in the read/write learning style is improves the learning experience for others especially for this specific learning style. The read/write learning style is a very common and useful form of learning that is taught in an educational platform because of the nature of the learning style. Therefore, knowing how to tailor one’s lectures to meet the needs of the students with the read/write learning style is a refreshing and revitalizing method in providing the information to those who are in a position to learn and encourages the information taught to remain intact and new in their brain. Furthermore, being aware of one’s learning style allows the individual to receive the information to be understood competently. Awareness of your individual learning style can provide it’s advantages along with its disadvantages.

This means that fewer assessments can be gathered so if they are not carefully devised fewer learning goals will be assessed at which can reduce content validity. A research done by (Chan, Y. F., & Gurnam, K. S, 2010) on portfolio assessment, some students commented it was a sheer waste of time whilst others stressed they did not know what to write as they were most of the time repeating the same thing. Another weakness of performance assessment is hard to assess reliability, which can lead to inaccuracy and unfair evaluation. Also, the teachers’ knowledge and expertise in a subject matter is vital and may influence negatively upon the students’ learning. Are the teachers experienced and trained enough to adequately apply authentic performance assessment with their

After this course, there are many elements of teaching that I had not considered before. Similarly, learning was just something you do but there are many factors that influence how we learn, why we continue to pursue learning and elements that may hinder that. This course offered a glimpse of the complexities that are involved with child development and how much educators have to monitor so that children develop at their highest potential. Sometimes teachers have to manage children’s behavior that may be out of their control and become flexible so that they can work productively with their students. It’s a rewarding field that doesn’t receive the credit that it should because the amount of work that is put in is extensive.

!! !Plan A plan tells you what you need to accomplish to make a complicated situation more manageable. Planning for the learning process is an important metacognitive skill. When a student understands why they are learning certain information, they are more engaged. This makes the learning process easier because students are thinking about what they are trying to accomplish.

I. Importance of Feedback Feedback should be communicated in language that is understandable for the learner, have a genuine purpose, and be significant for the individual needs of each student. Through feedback, teachers can provide the students with suggestions for development, learning strategies, and corrections for errors. The importance of constructive feedback allows for many positive opportunities. One important element is that feedback provides a foundation for positive student and teacher relationships.