Learning Styles Tests

I was curious about the results of the different learning styles test. Most of the time I do enjoy these "self-discovery" tests. It actually feels like going to the fortune teller and telling you what you will be in the future or what's going on with you now. 

I don't mean this in a negative way for learning theories, of course fortune tellers base their predictions on perhaps how you look or say things. Maybe, they will even give you a very broad and general answer that most of the time applies to 90% of the population.

Now on these tests, they are most of the time general, but they have specific targets for categorizing your learning style. It's not a prediction, but it's based on how you answer the questions. Like in any qualitative researches and theories, it's not easy to really quantify the exact number to be able to categorize a person. 

What I'm trying to say, perhaps, is best summarized by Clark, D. in  Learning Styles & Preferences:

"So the traits these assessments measure cannot determine which traits are consistent, and even if the trait is quite consistent, it has no real impact in how we will react when dealing with a given situation. When you add in the large test measurement error rate, the instability of traits due to aging, then it simply becomes very difficult, if not downright impossible to crate a valid assessment for learning styles."

Most of the readings about learning styles, theories and models will most of the time boil down to the same conclusion. 

However, I think it is still best to try to understand and put structure in trying to know more about the human mind and personality. We may not understand the whole thing, it may be inconsistent, it may change, however, awareness is the key to unlock more answers, and even more questions. 

By the way, the results of some of my tests are below. Quite interesting, and made me think and reflect on myself as a learner. 

Learning Styles Test Results (based on Honey and Mumford's Model)

Doing - 6
Watching - 3

Thinking - 4
Feeling - 5

If you prefer Doing and Feeling then you are in the organizing category:

• Good at adapting to changing circumstances and solves problems in an intuitive, trial-and-error manner, such as discovery learning.
• Tends to be at ease with people.
• Prefers the challenges of new experiences, involvement with others, assimilation, and role-playing.
• Likes anything new, problem solving, and small group discussions.

Seven Perceptual Test Results

Scores - Subject 1                                                   Learning Activities:
======
Visual: 24   -  Strong Acceptance                   Viewing movies, slides, demonstrations     
Kinesthetic: 20 - Strong Acceptance            Gross motor movement like in athletics
Print: 4 -  Minimum Acceptance                     Reading
Interactive: -1 - Mininum Rejection               Talking with others, Asking questions
Haptic: -4 - Mininum Rejection                      Touching, holding, or other fine motor activities
Aural: -7 - Mininum Rejection                         Listening
Olfactory: -35 - Very Strong Rejection            Smelling or tasting


References: 

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/perspective.html


http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/learn_style_survey.html  (based on Honey and Mumford's Model)

http://www.learningstyles.org/ (Perceptual Styles)

Epistemology

Reflect on your personal epistemologies, using Schommer’s dimensions. How do your personal beliefs influence:  the way you approach learning? (How do you study?)  the choices you make about what to learn? (What do you study)  the kinds of knowledge you intentionally acquire? (What do you learn?)
the goals that you set? (for mastery or for recognition?)
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How Do I Study? 

My mother told me that when I was little, I would already open a book and flip through the pages even if I can't yet read them. What my mom doesn't know was that I was really interested more about the pictures that were on the books. 

Whenever I read a book, I would visualize in my mind what I'm reading. I've been more of the visual learner. I grew up watching "Sesame Street" and Batibot. I learned the bible stories in cartoons called "Flying House" and "Superbook."  Both reading and watching TV gave me that "movie theater experience" feeling. 

In college, when I felt that all the subjects in my Chemistry classes were all theoretical, I would not take interest in them. But during Chem Lab, I would enjoy doing lab experiments because I know I'm learning something practical.  This makes me a kinesthetic learner. I've aced my PE classes and electives like Painting and Graphic Design. 

What Do I Study?

I believed that in my heart I'm really an artist, and not a pragmatic scientist. I enjoy creating something with my hands. Arts and crafts was one subject that would never bore me, and I can stay up all night just trying to perfect a painting. Back in high school, we had an art exhibit in school. My art teacher told me after the exhibit that someone bought my painting. For me, that event validated my artistic skills. 

Back in my college days, I was also interested in subjects concerning human behavior. Psychology, marketing, organizational behavior, operations management are just some of the subjects that I wanted to learn more about. 

What Do I Learn? 

When I was 10 years old, my parents would not allow me to ride a bike. They said that I'm a girl and I shouldn't ride bikes. However, I didn't see the logic of their reasoning. So, what happened was I borrowed my neighbor's bike and learned to ride the bike myself without my parents' knowing, of course. After several bruises and scratches, I was able to bike around our subdivision. (I'm more of a thinking and doing person, converging style based on Kolb's theory, a pragmatist based on Honey and Mumford's theory).

In the 90s, during the boom of computers, I was fascinated by the new technology. I thought that time that it was one of the practical invention and made our lives so much easier. I dedicated my time in learning to use the computer and mastering the use of different software and applications. I didn't have to take up a course to study computers. I was interested in them and I learned easily.

The knowledge and skills that I try to intentionally learn are those that I see will be useful for me in the future. 


For mastery or for recognition?

As I grew older, I noticed that the goals that I set for myself changes. Before, my goal was to experience the world and different cultures, I wanted to travel and meet different people. I wanted to be physically in a place and not just read about it. I wanted to learn a lot of things, but I was spreading myself too thin. I was a jack of all trades and master of none. 

Now, my goal is to become a useful member of the society, to be able to share my experience and reach out to others. I believe that  I should focus my time and energy to things that really matter and that I'm passionate about. 

We only have one life to live, and I believe we should make use of it wisely. 

Will I be a good teacher?

What kind of teacher do I want to become? What strengths do you want to have? What kinds of potential weaknesses might you need to overcome? 
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I was reflecting deeply on the questions above that came from our module. It's difficult to say what kind of teacher I would like to be. 

I was able to encounter this kind of dilemma before when I got pregnant. When I got pregnant though, it wasn't planned, and I was in the situation before I was able to react. However, I did have a choice, and I chose to raise my son the best possible way I know how. I wanted to be a good mother, I wanted to give him unconditional love, and yet instill in him good values. I want him to grow up and be a well-balanced person, and that he knows that, as his parents, we will always love him and be there for him. I read books on how to raise my kid, I look to my parents and parents-in-law for advice as well. 

Now, as a teacher, I want to be the one who will be able to make a difference and instill good study habits to my students. I want to share and create experiences with them, teach them the realities of life, and let them know that they have a power to change themselves and change the world in the process. I would encourage them to discover and be curious about everything around them. 

One of my strengths, I believe, is that I am able to immerse my self and empathize with the situation of others. However, I am always positive that whenever there is adversity, there's opportunity to for growth, learning and be able to work with others. 

I saw a documentary in GMA News TV about poor and far flung provinces, where they lack basic school facilities and they lack licensed teachers. It was really sad, but I admired the courage and strength of this one teacher who, despite all adversities, managed to travel from her house to school using a boat for 2 hours, in order to teach the children. Her meager salary was not even enough to cover transportation costs. However, she made it her mission and vocation to provide these kids education. 

Situations like this are not impossible and it can easily be resolved if people work together for a common cause. If one person can do it, how much more with three or more people?

Another strength that I have would be that I am a good observer of people. I can easily notice if one person has a problem. Also, I can easily adapt to a different environment and different kinds of people. 

In my strengths,  there may lie my possible weakness as well, sometimes I may divert from structure. I may not always stick to schedules or deadlines, just because I think that learning should not be forced or some may take time. I will be the teacher who would want to break from traditional teaching, since I believe students will remember better if they are motivated and having fun. 

I may not have experience yet with formal teaching, however, I know I would need to strike a balance between my strengths and weaknesses.

Sometimes, like a mother, a teacher will be able to just know what's best for her students.  

Quotes by Carla

We were asked to create some positive quotes about teaching. Here are some that I thought about:

Teaching others help us learn about ourselves as well. 

Sharpen the saw, learn. Teach what you've learned, in order to learn more. 

To make the world a better place, teach children to appreciate the world.

I will try to come up with more quotes. Just to explain how I came up with those thoughts, I believe that a teacher will not know everything, that a teacher can make a mistake. I had this notion before that teachers know everything, but as I grew older, I know that no one is perfect. No one can know everything. So, a teacher should continually learn in order to be better. 

The Teacher and Learner in Me

How have I myself (i.e., the teacher candidate) learned in school and how do I learn most effectively? Why do some people  learn better than I and I better than others? 

How do we know if a person has successfully learned? Can you suggest a "fairer definition of learning and academic achievement? 
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I was 5 years old when I enrolled in kindergarten in our provincial university, also a laboratory school. (By the way, I didn't really know back then why it was called a laboratory school. Now, I know it's because we had student teachers who were teaching us and they are learning to become teachers as well.)

Even if kindergarten was 25 years ago, I still remember vividly, the activities we had. I sang and loved the songs my teacher taught us. Just to name a few, I remember, "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" and  "Father Abraham" were among my favorites. We also had a production number, and it was about Pinocchio. 

I remember I celebrated my birthday (which fell in the month of September) in class. I dressed up and I blew the candles on my cake. After that, I wanted to stay in class, but apparently those who had their birthdays, can go home and skip class. 
Also, it was during that time that I learned to read, the first name I read was "Carmela".

I had the most memorable moments in kindergarten. However, I felt that my grades 1 to 6 years passed by so quickly. There were a lot of great memories there as well. During these years, my teachers always gives me comment in my report card, that I was too quiet that I should participate more in class. I know now, upon learning the Theories of Learning, that teachers need to observe as well the students. In a class of 30 or more students, it would be difficult for a teacher to really know and understand each or their students.  

In my mind, I wasn't really that "bibo" kid in school, however I learn very well, and was consistently in the honor roll. Many teachers associate being "bibo" with the success of a student in class. However,  I think since each student has a differently personality, it could be that he just has an introvert personality, but still is able to observe and listen well. 

When I was in grade school, we were divided into sections every year. So the students with the highest grades, goes to Section A, the next goes to Section B, and the lowest goes to Section C. A student can move to a higher section once his grades are higher. I think this creates a notion to those in the lower section that they are not good enough, thus they may not be motivated to learn. I was in Section A, and it's good because you are always being praised by your teachers. The praises I got from my teachers and getting high grades, really motivated me to learn and do well in school. 

Now looking back, I think it's not the best way to learn. Praises and avoiding to be in a lower section are just social fears of not being accepted if you are not good enough. 

I think a "fairer definition of learning and academic achievement" would be to allow students to interact freely with each other. I think we should do away with labeling. I think that a person who is good in sports, should not be "punished" because he doesn't do well in math. The role of the teachers should be to let the students find their interests and not pushing it to them. Also, lessons should be made interesting so that it captures the attention of different types of learners.

Now, I know I wrote a lot of things on this post in my eJournal. I would want to actually elaborate more in most of the topics I brought up here. Maybe, I would do more entries about them once I have the time. 

Research Methods

What phenomena (events, situations, or conditions) might you be interested to investigate? What research method do you think would be appropriate?
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When I was young, I had dreams of becoming an astronomer so I could discover new stars and planets. Now, it seems that a lot of things have been discovered and it seems there's only a few "unknown things" left. It's amazing how in just a few thousand years, people evolved exponentially. From living in caves to living in condominiums, from creating fire through sticks to having electric stove tops, discoveries and inventions happened so fast. 

Research and experiments made it possible to create new theories. These theories serves as a map as well for others to follow. Henry Bauer's map metaphor indeed is very helpful and precise in explaining what theories are and how they serve us. 

As with Bauer's map metaphor "when theories contradict each other, the difference can be resolved by gathering evidence." Imagine this, what if Ptolemy's theory that the earth was the center of the universe was never contested by Copernicus? It would probably have delayed a lot of discoveries and inventions.

One event I would probably want to research about is the development of a child's self-esteem through education, how it relates to his learning and later on, his success in life. I'm sure a lot of educational psychologists already researched on this. Basing this on Culatta (2011) on "Types of Educational Research", research methods that I would use on this would be descriptive and correlational. I would be observing students with low self-esteem, then by gathering information in the classroom, I can also use them and correlate them in the future success. 

I know there are a lot of factors in play on this event, that it may be difficult to get a controlled group. I know that when it comes to research there, you invest a lot of time, resources and patience in order to come up with a very good result. 

I know that even if a lot of new things have been discovered and invented, there is still a lot of opportunity to discover and invent. We don't have to go beyond space, because the human mind and behavior has more mysteries than the outer space. 

References:
http://www.intropsych.com/ch01_psychology_and_science/model_building_and_mapping_reality.html
http://www.innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/educational_research.html

Teaching and the Role of Teachers

When I defined my idea about teaching and the role of teachers, it was straight to the point and simple. After reading the answers of my classmates, I saw that actually, it's more than what I thought. For example, teaching is not simple, as per my classmate, Vanessa Jones Enrera,  it is a "complex process". This was further clarified by Gloriecar Amor Alvarico that we have a lot of roles to play as a teacher.

It is a process because as teachers we prepare for teaching and this preparation requires a lot of researching, experimenting, organizing, evaluating and re-evaluating. 

With the onset of technology, it is indeed true, that "students are more open to learn using the computer and less receptive to teacher-student setup." This was mentioned by Christine Rose Padayhag-Bersales on her post in the forum. I think this is a challenge for teachers and would-be teachers, like me. We should be able adapt our teaching styles accordingly, maybe even use technology to our advantage, to be able to help our students learn. 

A teacher's goal is for her students to learn and be able to guide them. In order for this to happen, she has to adjust and adapt to her students' level. Because when you understand how a person, thinks and feels, then you would be able to understand as well the best way to teach him. 





I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.   
                                                   - John Keating (From the movie, "Dead Poets' Society)

Bridging the Distance

    When I was 9 years old, I used to play "teacher-teacheran" with my younger sisters and neighbors. They were the students, and I was the teacher, of course. I would gather them in the backyard, in the makeshift "classroom", with tables and chairs. I don't exactly remember what I taught them, but I had activities and quizzes for them. 

    Now, 21 years after, I asked my sisters if they remembered what I taught them. They said they don't remember, but they remember that it was fun and they always wanted to do good in the activities and quizzes. I guess I really wanted to be a teacher at heart. I believed in sharing knowledge and explaining things so others can understand. 

    So again, 21 years after, I told myself that I should follow my passion. We only have one life to live, and a lot of things to learn and teach, so we have to just grab them and pursue those passion and dreams. 

    This is where my new journey starts, this should have been my path all along. This path lead me to UP Open University. 

    At first, I didn't know how I would be able to learn through distance learning which was a new concept for me. However, I know with the onset of new technology anything is possible virtually online on the World Wide Web. 

     I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, but after going through the modules, forums and e-Journals, I found it very challenging. I knew then that in order to fully commit to this course, I should manage my time wisely and make time for a lot of reading and writing. 
     
     I fully commit myself to this certification program. I know that like my sisters and childhood friends, I would find learning this program fun and that I promise I would do good in it.