Week 1 Reflections
First Impressions
The post heading sums it up but I suppose it could come off as a little dire. Ultimately it sounds like the course is hugely adaptable depending on the level of each individual student which actually seems pretty smart. The other major point Wendy made was that it is necessary to be working diligently from week 1 which, on one hand is obvious and expected, but on the other hand I never do it. So - the gauntlet has been thrown.Engagement Activities Week 1
Activity 1.1
I entered into this first engagement activity a little hesitantly as I have not had good experiences with these type of standardised quizzes in the past. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself relatively balanced in regards to my learning style. My test results ended up as such:
ACTIVE X REFLECTIVE
11 9 7
5 3 1
1 3 5
7 9 11
<-- -->
SENSING X INTUITIVE
11 9 7
5 3 1
1 3 5
7 9 11
<-- -->
VISUAL X VERBAL
11 9 7
5 3 1
1 3 5
7 9 11
<-- -->
SEQUENTIAL X GLOBAL
11 9 7
5 3 1
1 3 5
7 9 11
So then, while I'm glad that I am fairly close to the middle on everything I can't help but feel I've missed the point of the activity which was to identify my learning style. The questionnaire describes a score between 1-3 as being balanced between the two dimensions of the scale so I don't think I can take a whole lot of direction from that. The only thing I was moderately preferential to was Visual learning and I'd be surprised if that's not the most common preference out there (please comment if you registered on the other end of the scale).
At the end of the day I think the results are pretty accurate as I have always been an all rounder and never a specialist. I feel that by being able to learn in a variety of ways I can better teach in these ways. Access to ICTs greatly enhances the opportunities to appeal to a range of learning styles by giving both the student and the teacher access to a far greater variety of learning tools and objects than they could ever hope to physically access in the classroom.
Activity 1.2
The multiple intelligences test on http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/multint/multint.htm yielded not unexpected results but at the same time if I were asked to describe what I thought was my learning style I would probably not have given the same answers as the test results.
(Sourced from http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/multint/multint.htm)
The fact that this rates my music and naturalitic intelligences considerably higher than my maths is somewhat erronius in that the test was reading into my answers and saying that I learn best or am most interested in these things, when in actual fact I'm not bad at maths but I like to sing and be outdoors. What I found interesting was that I rated highest in linguistic and kinaesthetic intelligences because it made me sit back and consider whether that truly represents me. I believe that sometimes we don't consider ideas until we see them laid out in front of us (feel free to enjoy the irony of a visual revelation coming from looking at a chart that says I'm not inclined to learn visually). I should point out that whether this test represents me accurately or not, I do think it is worthwhile especially for learners who, as I mentioned earlier, may never have considered their learning styles or intelligences until faced with them.
At any rate, this is not a blog about how good this test is, rather it is to consider what impact this understanding of my intelligences should have on me as a teacher and indeed on my learners. It's important to know your own strengths and I think being aware of how I learn assists me in life-long learning, thus enhancing my teaching practice and in understanding how I will work best and be most comfortable. I think it is also vital to be aware of different learning styles and check myself so as to ensure I'm not only teaching the way I learn but accounting for all intelligences.
(Sourced from http://www.gp-training.net/training/educational_theory/multint/multint.htm)
The fact that this rates my music and naturalitic intelligences considerably higher than my maths is somewhat erronius in that the test was reading into my answers and saying that I learn best or am most interested in these things, when in actual fact I'm not bad at maths but I like to sing and be outdoors. What I found interesting was that I rated highest in linguistic and kinaesthetic intelligences because it made me sit back and consider whether that truly represents me. I believe that sometimes we don't consider ideas until we see them laid out in front of us (feel free to enjoy the irony of a visual revelation coming from looking at a chart that says I'm not inclined to learn visually). I should point out that whether this test represents me accurately or not, I do think it is worthwhile especially for learners who, as I mentioned earlier, may never have considered their learning styles or intelligences until faced with them.
At any rate, this is not a blog about how good this test is, rather it is to consider what impact this understanding of my intelligences should have on me as a teacher and indeed on my learners. It's important to know your own strengths and I think being aware of how I learn assists me in life-long learning, thus enhancing my teaching practice and in understanding how I will work best and be most comfortable. I think it is also vital to be aware of different learning styles and check myself so as to ensure I'm not only teaching the way I learn but accounting for all intelligences.
Summary Week 1
Technology wise, week one involved the creation of a blog, joining a group wiki and adding myself to the group blog lists. The new part here for me was making a blog. Hard to make? No. Hard for me to regularly update? Yes. Personally I haven't been a huge fan of blogs in the past because they are fairly self indulgent and I expect a lot from something on the internet to make it worthwhile coming to on a regular basis. As I look into a little more open mindedly I can see how they are excellent for tracking progress, sharing ideas and information and most impressively allowing people to keep up with the scary pace of the world by being able to post ideas instantly. We often claim that the world of computers moves so fast but in order to be effective teachers in this digital age it is imperative that we use whatever means available to us to stay relevant and engage our students. Week 1 down, Ro-dog out.
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