I have just completed a 3 day conference called Thoughtful Education with 59 of my colleagues. (Given the size of our little rural school, that represents about 3/4 or more of the teachers) This conference was present by Vic and Ann, a couple out of Woodstock, NY who have been involved in education for a good portion of their lives and working with Thoughtful Ed since the 80's. (I was still in school then, lol) Vic and Ann played off each other very well and it is obvious they each have their strengths and they play towards them very well in their work and their marriage.
In essence, this conference wasn't about a brand new exciting plan to rearrange everything you do and try a whole new program, as so many are, but rather to amp up your teaching by recognizing a few facts, learning something about yourself and some very specific tools and strategies to use. We did a learning inventory and pinpoint our learning style and therefore our teaching style. They identified 4 basic learning styles.
Mastery - the paperclip. Organized, methodical. "Is this going to be on the test?"
Understanding - the magnifying glass. Questioning, searching. "Why?Why?Why?"
Self-Expressive - the slinky. Creative, think out of the box. "But the sky is green when I'm upside down, see?"
Interpersonal - the teddy bear. Personal, people driven. "How was your day?"
Turns out I am a Self-Expressive learner, while most of my kiddos are Interpersonal learners (that was my 2nd lowest style, BTW). Go figure. Still, it was insightful to think back over the last few years and tag my kiddos as different styles (my daughter too - she's a total Interpersonal) and realize I didn't really give them everything I should. Still, I did the best I could with the knowledge I had, and now I can do better. I know I have to teach all 4 learning styles to all kids because the kids who are exposed to all styles are the ones who gain deeper understanding on all levels. Mastery is a must as we have to know the facts before we can move past them. After that I can use all 3 of the remaining styles for a lesson or use different styles for different lessons, depending on how in depth I want to get into a topic. Very cool stuff!
One of the best things was all the tools (which are 1 step quick ways to address a topic in a different way for different styles) and strategies (multi-step ways to address 1 or more learning styles). We actually covered very few in the 3 days but we were given many resources to digest and as it fits with our curriculum and personality.
Vic and Ann will be visiting us throughout this coming year to review and revise the things we have learned and to introduce more and more tools and strategies. I have enjoyed many conferences during my multiple years as a teacher and this is no different. I learn something in each one (Ok, sometimes it's just a new way to entertain my brain while I wait out the lecture, but I'm still learning) but I am particularly excited about putting some of these techniques into practice this year. I am starting to look forward to the kids coming back and starting a brand new year. I just hope the school is ready. (Building project construction is just a bit behind, lol)
Wish me luck.
Interesting. The last thing on learning styles I saw (2007) was the standard auditory, visual, and kinetic. I think the view given from your conference is a lot more accurate as it sounds like it takes other factors into consideration instead of just "hear it, see it, do it".
ReplyDelete