James Stewart Learning Portfolio in IT 645 Chapter 1

Question 2: My understanding on different learning styles and its influence on learning.

According to the chapter there are basically three types of learning styles. They are: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Our learning style depends on the condition in which we as learners acquire knowledge best.

Anything that has to do with the auditory senses is related to hearing. Persons who learn best by listening are auditory learners. An auditory learner is likely to benefit from lectures and discussions than any other medium of teaching. In addition, those persons who learn best by seeing are called visual learners. A visual learner is that person who would more than like benefit from graphics, pictures, and models or any other medium that provides a representation of what the teacher is conveying to the students. On the other hand, a kinesthetic learner is a person who learns best by creating something. These students can benefit by writing and building things that are graphic. These learning styles are just that—styles. It does not mean that there are not any other ways of learning it only means that a particular style is one’s preferred or best way of learning.

When a teacher knows the learning styles that are present in his or her classroom he or she can differentiate the instruction so that every learning style is met. For example, if a teacher decides to teach a class about the solar system there is no reason for every learning style not to be covered. The teacher could simply lecture while he or she shows a slide show of the different planets in alignment or have a 3 dimensional representation of the planets in the classroom. To make certain that the kinesthetic learners are not left out the teacher could simple allow the students to draw or build their own representation of the solar system. To further reinforce the auditory learning and visual learning styles the teacher could have the students to divide into groups and choose the person who is kinesthetic to explain the solar system in the steps that he or she built his or her representation. From this one can see that all of the learning style can work together in a cyclical manner.

Learning styles are only a part of what a teacher needs to insure that his or her students are successful learners, therefore, the teacher should not just stop here and think that it is a cure all. There are many other factors like cognitive styles that can also have an effect on student learning.

James Stewart Learning Portfolio in IT 645 My First Blog

Hello,

My name is James. This is the first time I have every blogged, so this is a new arena for me. I am doing this for a class that teaches teachers about computers, technology, and its different uses in education. I am open to learning new things, and I look forward to learning more on how I can use technology to enhance students educational outlook. At the present time I am an elementary assistant teacher. This is the second class that I have taken online so I am somewhat familiar with working on WebTC. I am most familiar with Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. I expect to gain basic knowledge on how to educate my students with technological advancements.