Summary of discussion question and
meeting on Perceptual Modalities:
For
the conversation on Perceptual Modalities, I asked individuals to look at
Powell’s Learning Styles to discuss which of the eight modalities they have
used within their classroom and within their own life. Then, they were asked if
they felt they used the eight modalities listed equally, or if they tend to
favor one or two of them.
Laurie started off the conversation
by identifying active learning as her main learning style within her personal
life. I believe this might be an aspect of the age range that she primarily
works with since she describes herself as being constantly on the move and
interested in hands-on types of activities, which is typical in a Kindergarten
classroom. Within the classroom, Laurie mentioned that she tries to cater to
every individual’s personal style by mixing a variety of modalities.
Allison
followed by explaining the way she uses visual representation, kinesthetic
aspects, and lecture within her classroom. She has found that visual
representations have been extremely beneficial for non-verbal students who have
been diagnosed with Autism. In my experience throughout novice teaching, I also
realized the importance of working with visual descriptions during my time at
Schramm School. The individuals I worked with were primarily non-verbal
students. We communicated through pictures and electronic communication
devices, such as a Dynavox. Allison then mentioned that kinesthetic lessons allow
for students to remain interested in the lesson longer, although she does not
provide these as frequent as she would like. I agree that kinesthetic lessons
provide wonderful benefits for students who need that physical experience,
activity, or demonstration. Most of the
activities involved, such as games or acting, require ample time to make
possible, which can limit the number of opportunities within the school day.
Allison concludes her discussion by mentioning reflective learning. Similar to
kinesthetic learning, this strategy can be beneficial, however, is also time-consuming
which can limit the opportunities within the school day.
Jyl completed the first round by
reviewing specific ways she utilizes each of the learning styles within her
classroom. She gave great examples including: Visual learning-bell ringers
analysis of graphs; Auditory- oral reading in the class book club; Kinesthetic-
jeopardy review and acting out concepts; Tactile: creating pyramids; Active
learners- team competitions; and Reflective Learners: daily bell ringers. I
believe that catering to different learners within the classroom can be
difficult at times due to time restraints and other factors. However, it helps
to be creative when planning activities and lessons for your classroom.
Laurie continued the conversation by
discussing how she reaches students who require tactile and kinesthetic
elements using a ball letter game and a sight word creation game. She also
mentions how it is interesting how different the learning modalities are
utilized throughout the different grade levels. For this class, it is nice to
have the perspective of many different grade levels. Though the implementation
changes from grade level to grade level, I feel the main goal is the same.
Allison explained a post-it note
game, which allows students to express their feelings of happiness and anger
applied to different situations. It seemed like a wonderful representation of
not only identifying feelings but also allowing them to go through the physical
changes within their body as they try to place the post-it note on the highest
part of the wall, providing a tactile element. Allison also brought up a good
point about her personal preferences, and how they relate to the way a student
may feel about the learning process. I feel this is a good way to understand
what our students go through. When we are able to reflect on our own learning
preferences, we can better relate to what our students are experiencing and
help better equip themselves with their learning process.
Jyl concludes the conversation with
discussing the “fun” element within a lesson. Referring to actively engaging
learners within the lesson to promote interest and buy-in among the students.
Jyl mentioned that she believes the learning styles aid in developing “fun”
lessons and activities for students. I believe she might feel this way because
the traditional way of teaching primarily relied on lecture and other
teacher-oriented tactics. However, as we recognize multiple ways we can
incorporate lessons we realize that catering to the preference of individuals
provides the individuals themselves with a sense of investment and engagement
within the activity because they understand and enjoy the lesson when it is
presented in a way they can connect to.
Strengths:
·
The
question created was clear and provided individuals the chance to reflect appropriately
·
The
question allowed for individuals to access higher order thinking while
reflecting and responding
·
Individuals
were able to relate to real-world teaching experiences
·
Individuals
were able to relate on a personal level
·
The
topic provided multiple right answers to the question (open-ended)
·
The
discussion was through, and allowed individuals to provide each other with
positive examples of how to use the modalities within the classroom
·
There
is no grade/age limit of the types of modalities used within the classroom
Weaknesses/Ways to
improve:
·
The
question limited the responses of individuals to Powell’s learning styles,
without considering other founded learning styles. To improve this, I would like to have
individuals consider more modalities brought forth from research.
·
With
the vast amount of answers possible for this response, the time limit seemed to
hinder the amount of deep discussion. I would like to spend more time
discussing uses within the classroom.
Summary of task on Perceptual
Modalities:
The task on perceptual modalities
asked individuals to complete the Perceptual Modality Preference Survey
provided by the Institute for Learning Styles Research. Then, once the
questionnaire was completed, they were to discuss the results of the individual
questionnaire with the other group members and answer the following questions:
1. Were the results you received as expected?
2. Do you believe your learning style has
changed over the span of your lifetime?
3. Discuss the similarities and differences
between all group members.
The
discussion started out with me introducing the task then explaining the results
of the survey I completed. My results showed that I tend to prefer Kinesthetic
and Haptic elements while learning, where Olfactory and Print are my least
preferred. My learning style may have changed slightly over time. However, I
believe I have preferred the hands-on, movement of learning throughout my
educational experience.
Laurie
then discussed her results, which were not surprising to her. Her most
preferred is the interactive, which may be due to the conversational aspect
that she prefers. Her second preferred learning style was kinesthetic where she
tends to be active and moving while learning. I believe kinesthetic learning
would be especially beneficial to younger students, which may make her a good
match for the Kindergarten level. Similar to myself, Laurie’s least preferred
was Olfactory. Laurie also has a hard time sitting and listening with auditory
learning, which has been problematic in the past.
Allison’s
results showed that her most preferred style was interactive, the same as
Laurie, where she prefers conversations and working with others. Her next
preferred was visual, which help her a lot. Similar to Laurie and myself,
Allison’s least preferred is also olfactory. It was a surprise to her that she
had kinesthetic listed as her second least preferred since she thought that is
one as positive to her learning experience. I believe this might be due to her feeling
stronger about the other learning styles than the kinesthetic elements, even
when she thinks it should be higher.
Jyl
had visual as her strongest learning style, which did not come as a surprise to
her. It did surprise her, however, about print being the second preferred since
she feels auditory would be more beneficial. She brought up a good point about
using multiple styles to combine to create a better achievement. I believe we
cannot rely on one specific learning style but instead, should mix multiple
together. Just like everyone within the group, Jyl also had her least preferred
as olfactory. She mentioned this might be due to smell having a negative
impact. Meaning that when one says, “That smells!” or “What is that smell?”
they are referring to something smelling displeasing.
Overall,
we prefer different styles, yet had similarities as well. Thinking ahead to a
classroom setting we are going to be in charge of teaching individuals with
multiple preferred styles, as well as incorporate what works best for our
personal beliefs as well. Laurie brought up a good point about if how we teach
is related to our personal learning style preferences. Beyond that, we need to
make sure we are incorporating as many of the learning modalities as possible,
even when there is a time constriction.
Strengths:
·
The
task asked 42 questions regarding preferences which provides a through,
in-depth analysis.
·
The
questionnaire provided individuals with a detailed summary of most preferred
and least preferred preferences.
·
The
questionnaire gave a quick description of each area to limit confusion.
·
The
questionnaire provided hints on what to do with the most and least preferred
results.
·
The
discussion allowed for comparing and contrasting to connect concepts and ideas
Weaknesses/Ways to
improve:
·
The
task required one representation of an individual questionnaire of learning
modalities. Next time, I would like to have individuals take more than one
survey/questionnaire. Then, have them compare and contrast the results.
·
The
questions from the Preference Survey from the Institute for Learning Styles
Research were repetitious.
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