Mythbusters Educator Edition: Learning Styles

The realm of Education has been long filled with the "newest and greatest" fads, gimmicks and methods. One of the many fads has related to student learning styles. Scientists proposed that students either exhibited one of the three learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Learning styles relates to how a student learns best. Students who exhibit the learning styles learn best by listening, seeing and doing, respectively. These are all how students learn best and as teachers we are supposed to work with the students to make the best learning take place. Many educators around the nation have students take tests which state which learning style they are. I remember taking numerous test such as these in high school "to know myself as a learner". Researchers have debunked these based on the lack of evidence and I agree.  

The first article that I found which debunk learning styles was found on Mind/Shift. The website states that the scientific research on learning styles is so weak and unconvincing and it is not justify incorporating learning style assessments into general education practices. In other words, students and educators should focus on other ideals, such as having students see information in a variety of formats. For example, flash cards, where students see the information in a pictorial and verbal format. Another article stated that leading experts believe the learning styles myth is not just a misconception but likely causing harm to students. The learning styles approach encourages teachers to teach students' according tho their intellectual strengths rather than their weaknesses In reality, students need to correct and compensate for their shortcomings, not avoid them. 

I do not think that learning styles are true. I myself learn using all three of these "styles". It is an educators job to tap into students ability and stretch their ability to learn in a variety of formats. As a future educator, I am responsible for knowing which education "fads, gimmicks and methods are worth wild. 


Sources:

1. Association for Psychological Science. "Education: Learning styles debunked." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 December 2009. .
2. http://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/
3. http://www.wired.com/2015/01/need-know-learning-styles-myth-two-minutes/
4. http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/04/13/do-students-have-different-learning-styles/

Need for Policy

In order to keep the Nation's students safe, the government and school policies regarding technology need to work cooperatively. Schools need to check with government agencies to find domain names and URLS of sites with inappropriate content(adult, mature, violence, non-academic, etc) and create or find security programs to block access to said sites. Schools should also invest in developing or finding a program in which alerts them when this content is accessed. 

Schools also need to invest time into teaching their students how to properly safe use the Internet inside and outside of school. Students are already aware of the benefit technology has to their learning, however, are uneducated about the risks careless searching and misuse of how technology can harm them later. The harms can include, but are not limited to, copyright laws, identity theft, pornography, etc. 

Schools need to be a safe place for students to go. School officials need to be aware of threats being made online to schools. It is imperative officials find programs in which certain key words can be searched to find if any material or content matches said key words. With recent school-shootings or violence in mind, it is important for school officials to take threats seriously whether technology is or is not involved. If/when I have children of my own, I do not see myself sending them to school if death threats have been made at their school. Death threats...and technology need to be taking seriously! 

Get Informed!

The use of technology is ever present within today's schools. Government officials and educators, alike, have implemented a variety of laws and regulations to ensure students are not subjected to mature and explicit content. Here are two very important acts that are in place to protect minors: CIPA and COPPA. 

CIPA
The Children’s Internet Protection Act(CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address the concerns about children’s access to obscene or harmful content over the internet. CIPA imposes certain requirements on school or libraries that receive discounts on internet access or internal connections through the E-rate program. The E-rate program makes certain communications services and products more affordable for eligible schools and libraries. The protection measures must block or filter internet access to pictures that are : obscene, pornography or harmful to minors. Before adapting internet safety policies, schools and libraries must provide reasonable notice and hold at least one public hearing or meeting to address the need. Schools subject to CIP have additional requirements as well.  

COPPA(Children's Online Privacy Protection Act- TITLE XIII) 
COPPA was enacted in 1998 and pertains to children thirteen and under. The act requires individuals who operates or maintain a website on the internet or any other online service to keep personal information from or about the users private. The release of personal information collected from a child by an operator can only be released or accessed with verifiable parental consent. 

Get informed! Check with administrators to know your school district's policies are. 

Here's to always learning...

-Emily 

What Do We Have in the Schools?-Technology Inventory

Technology is ever present into today's classrooms and is used every day, beginning first thing in the morning. In my current placement, the students start their day with the Word of the Day, which they copy with paper and pencil from the Elmo projector. Following, the students watch the morning announcement from GoogleDrive. For daily lessons, the teacher relies on the projector for all students to see, regardless of their spot within the classroom.

Every Thursday, the students have access to a class set of iPads. The students have a forty-minute block where they have "Have To Dos" where the students "play" interactive games for math as well as complete Accelerated Reader quizzes. The students are allotted some free time on the iPads where they are encouraged to play other games or apps already on the device.

After the students have their time with the iPads, the students have another forty minutes where they go to the computer lab. While at the computer lab, the students, again, have a  "Have To Dos" which includes Type to Learn and math websites. The students' engagement is increased when technology is used!

With my current knowledge of how technology is used within the classroom, I intend to find other apps and activities as well to enhance the students' experiences and understanding of what technology can do into today's world to make learning more relevant and engaging.

Here's to Always Learning...

-Emily

Feedly: Check it Out!

I just found out about this great website Feedly that lets you organize all your favorite blogs in one spot! Never miss out on a never blog post again. 

Here's to Always Learning...

-Emily

Now What? How to Use Blogs within the Classroom

Hello Readers!

I, myself, have had the experience of using a blog during a recent class that I took at the University level. For the blog, we were to write about anything and anything in relation to our experiences within nature. Our posts would be due once a week, however, my professor never got the rest of the class involved in anyone else's blog posts. The blogs were rarely mentioned in class.

As a future educator, I could see myself using blogs within the classroom. I would utilize blogs to highlight some events and or lessons that occur within the classroom. With the inclusion of a classroom blog, pictures as well as videos could be access that would not normally happen with traditional newsletters.The blog could be available to other family members of the students who live out of state. Also, in the blog I would include additional announcements that the student need to be aware of.

I would also incorporate blogs into the student's curriculum. I would have the students' create their own blogs to reflect on the events that have happened throughout the week. This would act as a "Letter Home" reflection and the parents, as well as family from out of the town, could be involved and aware of what is going on within the classroom through the week.

Here's to always learning...

-Emily 

50 Word Bio

Hello, my name is Emily Dawes. I am attending Grand Valley State University(GVSU). I’m pursuing a degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in English Language Arts. I am a member of GVSU's Sigma Tau Delta's International English Honor Society. I'm currently Teacher Assisting in a 5th Grade Classroom.