This week was special in many aspects. First of all, we were reminded of the fact that while planning and conducting classes we should adjust teaching methods to support Multiple Intelligences. Howard Gadner identified 9 of them: Verbal-Linguistic; Logical/Mathematical; Visual/Spatial; Bodily/Kinesthetic; Musical/Rhythmic; Intrapersonal; Interpersonal; Naturalist; Existentialist (http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm).
The best thing to start is to offer students a learning style quiz that will give a clue which learning style each student belongs to. Such kind of activity will also make students reflect on how they learn best and it could be an insight to choosing learning strategies to facilitate their personal learning process.
Of course, while applying technology to teaching/learning we should consider it from the point of view of effectiveness in order to reinforce teaching/learning process. I’m definitely going to take my students to PicLits.com (thanks Ricard for this great resource!) http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx to let them try their hand at creative writing. I am sure they haven’t done that before and hope they’ll enjoy the activity.
Technology offers us a variety of choice and that, in it’s turn, ensures we can find the right tool and activity to meet a particular student’s need.
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteI love Piclits too. I have only explored it a little, but it looks great.
I believe that a good way to start this topic with students is to give them a test. These tests are fun to do and they help the students become aware of their talents. From there, it is easy to help them use their strengths to learn the language.
Natasa
Hi Helen,
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with you that it’s very important for us teachers to implement some sort of learning styles diagnostics in order to help both ourselves and the students know what types of materials and tasks should work best for them. This kind of information will be valuable in helping us design lessons that are really learner-centered and help the students learn most comfortably and effectively.
It’s a shame to admit that I have almost never done that before, but in my future classes, perhaps I will think more seriously about activities that may help shed light on my students’ learning styles before starting teaching them anything.
Thanks for sharing your reflection, and see you in our last week.
Ky
Hello, Ky!
DeleteYou are right. Using tests and quizzes we can learn more about our students and organize the teaching process better.
Helen
Hello, Natasa!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, tests would really work great.
And many thanks for "The incredible Vocabulary Machine"!
Helen
Hello!
ReplyDeleteYou are right Hellen! Sometimes we don't have a lot time to get to know our students well enough to be able to tell what their LS are. So, I like the idea of having some sort of diagnostic test at the beginning to be able to know the kind of learners they are. We usually apply a writing or speaking test, but it's very important to understand how they learn in order for us to plan accordingly. I have always said that no matter how many times you teach the same course, it's never the same course because you never have the same students. That is, we may know the content but our activities and the way we approach the class is not going to be the same because that depends a lot on their LS and their MIs right?
Thanks Helen for sharing!
Hello, Roxana!
DeleteYou are absolutely right. We have to adjust our teaching strategies constantly to meet our students' needs best.
Helen
Hi Helen
ReplyDeleteYes you are definitely right to say that
the best thing to start is to offer students a learning style quiz that will give a clue which learning style each student belongs to. It will certainly make them to reflect themselves to learn in more comfortable way on one hand and on the other help us to select the best tools by identifying their intelligences and styles.
And I completely agree on the right selection of a tool is a must, otherwise in the name of using technology in the classroom, it may invite some problems and create a sort of perplexity.
sagun
Hello, Sagun!
DeleteYou are absolutely right. We should try to find the best tool or activity to help each student to thrive.
Helen