Personal Learning Styles
The focus of the essay is to analyze particular learning styles following a personal assessment, and to compare those results with how I personally view myself as a learner. For this assignment I chose Felder & Solomon’s test of learning styles (Felder & Soloman, n.d.). I am a sociology major. I am seeking my degree because of my ongoing interest in societal structures, how they operate, and the problems within socially constructed systems.
The Felder & Soloman styles of learning are described as eight different variations of types of learners. They are as follows: active and reflective, visual and verbal, sequential and global, and sensing and intuitive. Following a series of questions regarding the learner’s personal study preferences, the assessment determines which of each dimension the individual learns towards. The degrees are marked on a scale of odd numbers from one to eleven on each side of style counterparts. For example, on one side is visual from one to eleven, and the other is verbal from one to eleven, with between ones meaning balanced equally both styles. The further towards one side, the stronger the preference is to the learner. However, this is not a definitive guide to someone. The individual assessed is reminded that, “The ILS results provide an indication of an individual's learning preferences and an even better indication of the preference profile of a group of students (e.g. a class), but they should not be over-interpreted. If someone does not agree with the ILS assessment of his or her preferences, trust that individual's judgment over the instrument results.” (Felder & Soloman, n.d., 2)
For my results, it was indicated that I am strongly a reflective learner, moderately an in...
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...he Felder & Soloman method of assessing learning styles is quite accurate, with inaccuracies I found possibly being attributed to myself as a test taker rather than flaws within their guide. The learning styles explained to students can be an extremely useful tool as it is explicitly stated how to improve the learning environment, and utilize the knowledge of what is most beneficial to the individual. I believe that knowing one’s self is the first step for future improvement.
References
Felder, R., & Solomon, B. (n.d.). Learning Styles & Strategies. Learning Styles. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
Fielder, R., & Solomon, B. (n.d.). Index of Learning Styles. Index of Learning Styles. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.htm
This tool states that learning is made up of four basic phases, which includes diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating, that gives one a better understanding of how they learn. The booklet claims that learning can be cyclical and four basic phases. These learning phases are described as a concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The assessment asserts that knowing about your learning style can help you better understand how to maximize your learning, solve problems, work in teams, manage conflict, making career choices and how to improve
This essay witnesses my personal learning and teaching style and strategy. I aim to set forth the aspects of teaching and learning that I find help me become a better health care professional. Three of the major learning theories are discussed in order to find the skill sets that each bring to the table. By choosing the skills required in a clinical environment we can pick the required strategy accordingly. I believe that a unique combination of the tree theories where each is able to play to its strength and overshadow its weaknesses is the best teaching-learning strategy.
Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (2006). The Learning Style Questionnaire 80-item Version. London: Pearson Assessment.
After completing the Discovery Wheel and the Learning Style Inventory assignments which are presented by the text book Becoming a Master Student (Ellis, 2006, pp. 78-82), I discovered that I should trust my instinct now more than ever. I’ve always felt most confident when I had a chance to implement my knowledge and understanding in a lab or a real life setting. I learned that facts, figures, and examples are important parts in the way I learn. Breaking something down into smaller units and examining these units individually is something I enjoy doing, but that is not my preferred learning style.
I am writing this essay about learning styles. More notably I will write about my personal learning style. Also a quick idea of why I chose to go back to school to seek a degree. There are multiple learning styles out in the world audible, tactile, and visual. Audible learning style focuses on learning by listening and sound patterns. Visual learning focuses on learning by using pictures, drawings, shapes, paintings and sculptures. Tactile or kinesthetic learning style focuses on learning by a more hands on approach using gestures, touching, body movement, positioning and object manipulation. I am a tactile and visual learner and in the next paragraph I will discuss these findings.
Anderson (2011) suggests that a dual learning style has an important role in the development of skills. Using learning styles allows the student to understand how they work best and what their preferred learning style is. However learning style theories have been criticised extensively by many, there are many educational psychologists who believe that there is little evidence for efficacy of most learning styles models. According to Greenfield (2007) the practice is “nonsense” from a neuroscientist point of view. Furthermore Henry (2007) believes “Humans have evolved to build a picture of the world through our senses working in unison, exploiting the immense interconnectivity that exists in the brain” (Henry, 2007).The foundation of being a good mentor is building a good working relationship with the student (Walsh, 2014). The student – mentor relationship is crucial to the students learning throughout the placement (Wilkes, 2006). All mentors when working with students must have effective professional and inter-professional working relationships which will enable and enhance to support the learning for students. Part of the skills required maintaining the relationship with students and the multi professional team include; being organised, prioritising, providing ongoing support and constructive feedback and being able to liaise with other
To determine the best way I learn, I carried out two different learning styles questionnaires online. One may find that they are not always categorised in a specific type rather they may have more than one learning preference. Firstly, the most commonly used Neil Fleming’s VARK model. Fleming believes that there are four different types of learner: Visual, Auditory, Reading/writing and Kinesthetic learners. The second model I tried out was Soloman-Felder Learning Styles and Strategies.
Hawk, T. F., & Shah, A. J. (2007). Using learning style instruments to enhance student learning. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 5(1), 1-19.
Adjusting learning and studying strategies can be a fast easy way to improve a college grade from a B to an A. Through studies of learning styles I have been able to decipher my learning types. I am a visual learner, have an integrated brain, meaning I use both hemispheres, and ranked highest in bodily-kinesthetic and logic-mathematical intelligence.
“A learning style is a way of learning and refers to the way that you learn new information” (2). Most people have one preferred learning style and perform to a lesser standard when learning in a different style than what they’re used to. Nowadays, children are told to take a quiz in school to determine what their preferred learning style is, but after a few years, not many of these children remember what their preferred learning style is, or even if they do, they don’t apply it to their learning.
Wow! I have a personal learning style! If I had given any thought to my learning style prior to this course, I would have said simply, “Some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not.” Now I can say, “I am a grouper, a top-down learner, an owl, in the C-D quadrants, and my strong intelligences are linguistic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal”. What all this means, still, is some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not. But there I go again, simplifying the matter.
Advantages of someone in learning are not necessarily the same as what they deem as their strengths. If the assessment of a person is more to visual learner, or in other words information is processed best by seeing, the fact that he may feel that the information read is also beneficial to him should not be denied. One of the main purposes of this assessment is to help students who have difficulties in learning by helping them to determine the ways to select the information and translate it into learning strategies and skills to answer questions.
Manner, Barbara M. (2001). Learning Styles and Multiple intelligences in students. Journal of College Science Teaching. 30(6) p 390-93. retrieved April 7, 2003 from Eric/Ebsco database.
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.
Each person has his or her own style of learning. Learning styles include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. In the questionnaire, I learned that I am very much a visual learner. This reflection will show what I have learned about my unique learning style and how understanding learning styles of the children I teach will be helpful as I become a teacher.