I know I am posting this later than was prescribed by the class but I am so fired up right now about the topic of learning styles that I can barley contain myself. Firstly to all of you who paid $8.95 to have your learning style emailed to you, ... I am sorry. You have my condolences because their is a wealth of information to suggest that learning styles are bogus psychology. No really google it! Bing it I don't care it doesn't hold water. I mean no disrespect to the people who contributed to the formation of this course and the material presented its just that it is not as cut and dry as learning style theorists would have you believe.
When you answered the profile questions how many times did you have a memory of a certain moment in your own learning that influenced your choice??? I did for almost every one. Does that mean that a single moment in my life is really a good indicator of who I am? No! Whether or not a particular moment in my life painted me as a saint or a sinner doesn't describe who I am in total. It certainly should not be the case that my responses to a few questions, for which I had a particular memory about an incident in my life, dictate how I prefer to learn. Check out the video below of Professor Daniel T. Willingham Cognitive Psychologist from the University of Virgina.
All of us who are taking this class have learned things in a multitude of ways and been successful. That's why we have degrees. A much more important pursuit to find ways to help our students become good learners.
It is my belief that If we stop asking students to perform only rote tasks and instead focus on providing kids with authentic tasks that require analysis and synthesis of ideas that they will bring their overall "learning preferences" to bear on the task. Furthermore we can focus on what teaching and learning is all about, in light of the fact that "facts" are free on the internet, helping students to make intelligent decisions with the facts that they gather.
I didn't pay for my learning style inventory and I take issue with the fact that MSU has made this a requirement for a course, despite the fact that there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that it simply isn't true. I urge anyone who has a role in the editing of this course to take this into consideration as it is revised and improved.
I will agree with you on the point of not paying for the results of the test. I should have made a recommendation in the course lab that you not to pay for this result, but I at this point, I am unable to make changes to the labs. This is no excuse; I will ask to have this warning added the next time I teach the class.
ReplyDeleteI have taken the Meyer-Briggs test numerous times and in different ways (short and long, free and paid for). I did learn to influence the results somewhat because I am on the bubble in two areas. In defense of these tests, the main point of providing them is to get generalizations and tendencies, not absolute proof as to your personality or that you will always act a certain way. The tests can be helpful in understanding how you may fit into the work force.
Thanks for sharing the video on Learning Styles. This is good information to consider. As I mentioned in another person’s blog, if possible, I like to choose my teaching method based upon the concept I am teaching.
Your statement about moving from requiring students to complete “rote tasks and instead focus on providing kids with authentic tasks that require analysis and synthesis” is a shared preference. Paper and pencil are not always the best solution to a problem nor is going to a site to learn and apply the math skills needed for creating a bridge. A middle ground may be more appropriate, so when we spend time providing simulations using technology, we want to look at all aspects of learning.