DMontgomery Reflection 4 Chapter 4

Review

            Schools normally have the students study the powerful culture's way of life, according to Noel, (2008, p.125). She also states, students' identity development will be influenced by how teachers see them whether it is positive or negative. These concepts are normally based on the student's  socioeconomic level, ethnic group, and gender (Noel, pp. 125, 126). Our chapter also affirms that schools normally have a very structured style to teaching. This sometimes gives an incorrect impression of how students perform because many children do not ascertain information well by this learning style (Noel, p. 126).

            There are two main ways to view students. The first one is deficiency orientation. This view is that something makes the students inadequate. Teachers can believe a student is not sufficient because of being poor, and not given the experiences of "normal children" (p. 127). The teacher then believes the students are responsible for their failure and does not place the blame on the learning style that does not work for them (Noel, p. 128).

            In difference orientation, the teacher sees differences in student learning as positive. The teacher searches for a way to help students flourish. Learning styles of students are incorporated into the teaching (Noel, p. 129). Educators must find ways to find encouraging aspects of each student's knowledge.

            There are several physical settings that are preferred by students when learning. Some students like dim light while others need medium or very bright light. The preferred temperature can vary from very cold to quite warm. Some students would rather have a very relaxed atmosphere while others prefer a formal setting, like a classroom or library when they are studying.  Silence is sometimes a preference over studying with sounds (Noel, p. 134). For example, my daughter and I need total silence while my son and husband play music while reading or studying.

            There are four learning senses referred to in education, according to Noel (p. 135). Most people combine different senses while learning. The first sense is visual. A person reads or watches a video to learn. The second is auditory. This type of student listens to learn material. The third type is kinesthetic. A person practices or acts out to learn in this way. A tactile person writes or builds models to learn (Noel, p. 135).

            There are two types of cognitive learning styles. Students who learn in a step-by-step process prefer to begin with details and move to the big picture. I see this as a part-to-whole learner. Others prefer to see the whole picture and then learn the parts. This can also be referred to as holistic or right-brained (Noel, pp. 135-136).

            Many times learning style inventories are given to determine student learning styles. The Kolb inventory describes learners as having concrete experiences (feeling), reflective observation (watching), abstract conceptualization (thinking), and active experimentation (doing). Students can also be a combination of learning styles (Noel, pp. 138-139).

            Noel tells of different intelligences measured with standardized IQ tests. The linguistic intelligence is where an individual has a command of Language. Poets, comedians and attorneys have a finely honed linguistic intelligence. Logical mathematical intelligence is shown when a person can calculate math problems and use problem solving skills to find answers (pp. 142-146).

Reflect

            Children should always be given different ways to learn. Not all material should be presented in the same way in a classroom. Some children learn best visually while others may learn better by touching or listening or even a combination of two or more. Sometimes children use different modalities according to the assignment. Teachers need to vary their teaching in order to help students of different cognitive learning styles. Students could learn in a part-to-whole manner when learning math, and then in a whole to part when learning social studies.

            Of the different learning style inventories listed in the book, the Dunn & Dunn Inventory seems to gather the most useful information.  It looks at multiple pieces of learning. This inventory asks questions about environmental, emotional, sociological, physiological, and psychological styles of learning. Again, the type of style can be based on the activity at the time. For example, a child might like low light when studying for a test, but bright light when completing an art activity. If a student is hungry, that student is more likely to want to eat than if they just ate.

            I have used the Reading Style Inventory by Dr. Marie Carbo (1994) in my classes. She based her inventory off the Dunn & Dunn learning style model. This inventory shows degrees of questions.  One question for instance is "I always like to read about animals", the middle question says "Sometimes I like to read about animals," and the last one says "I never like to read about animals." She has 68 questions on the inventory. This inventory also asks questions about music, games, instructions, etc. After giving the students the inventory, it is then scored and you see the results so you can structure learning to the students. Of course, you cannot teach to every learning style during every lesson. Teachers need to make sure they use different styles in their teaching in order to reach all the learning styles.

Refine

            Students will always learn in different ways. It is my job to teach lessons that touch different learning styles. Students who are visual, do not always need to have lessons where they have to listen to lecture. Of course, much less lecture is used in the elementary schools than in middle and high school. Children who are visual learners need charts, graphs, or Venn-diagrams presented in lessons. If a child is tactile, he/she needs to be able to draw, make props, etc., to optimize learning.

            Music will be utilized in my classroom during individual work times. Students show less off-task behavior if music is played during these times. Of course, some students will not like noise while working independently. For these students, headphones will be provided to offer less noise. Some students will need to eat or drink while working. This is the intake part of the Dunn & Dunn learning styles model shown on page 142 of our book. Many students even need to move or stand instead of sitting during some assignments. This will be allowed as long as they are working and not being distracted. Giving a learning styles inventory will allow me to prepare proper lessons for different learning styles. I will pay particular attention to a child who is not performing well in order to change my lessons so he/she will learn more efficiently.                              

                                                   References

Carbo, M. (Ed. D.) (1994). Reading style inventory: Intermediate (RSI-I).

Noel, J. (2008). Developing Multicultural Educators (2nd edition).

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 7 October 2012. How to cite sources in APA  style.