WHAT KIND OF LEARNER AM I? One of the most prominent theories on learning styles is that by David Kolb, he proposes that learning is a cyclic process, it is whereby a student goes through a few stages that determines what learning style suits him best and how he likes to learn. In this essay, I will talk about David Kolb’s experiential learning cycle; I will explore the four stages of learning, his learner types and how my preferences relate to Kolb’s theory. I am a Diverger; therefore, I usually analyze a problem before giving my opinions. I like to investigate and see a situation from different angles, and I will support this by giving examples from past experiences, furthermore, I will reflect on how I can become a better learner.
There are a few goals that I hope to achieve before leaving Manchester. The first one is to know more about my content, mainly the vocabulary and speaking skills. The vocabulary review games were as much as a review for the students as they were for me. Grant it, they were learning objects in the classroom, such as a pencil sharpener and a computer screen, which aren’t stressed too much in speaking. If I want to teach a topic, I should try to learn as much as I can about it and never stop learning Spanish, this is also one of my goals.
I can learn about information that is trying to be taught by using hands-on problem-solving. I am improving my ability to be become a thinker by finding time to reflect independently on new information and looking for opportunities to work independently. I try to be sensitive to individuals’ feelings by giving positive feedback. I present constructive criticism in a way that I hope others would not take offense to. Knowing others strengths in an online learning environment helps me understand how they think.
By doing this, I have also learnt what plagiarism is and how I must avoid it. All work must be referenced and quoted to credit the authors and researches. This has taught me to be honest and sincere in my work which I will maintain right through my degree. The first tasks that we did on this module were a group work where the class was split into two and we were given clues to find out
Good communication is the way to resolve issues with the way students are being taught. If there was more class participation it would break down the monotony of just having a teacher read from a book or lecturing the entire time. “Knowledge emerges only through invention and reinvention,
According to my instructor, Denise Finney, cheating causes one to miss learning valuable information. (Finney, 2014) By performing my own research, I will learn about various topics in my field of study. When I complete my own assignments, I display what I have learned and am allowed the opportunity for valuable feedback. When I write my own papers, I am conveying my ideas. When I cite properly, I give credit to the author or source for information I use to support my ideas.
As a teaching assistant I have to ensure that the appropriate resources are available, also with working with SEN students as appropriate, I need to ensure that there is differential work available as all work set in lessons is usually to a generic standard. I would achieve this by prior discussion with the teacher that will be delivering the lesson. It is my job to know which students need supporting in different areas of the work, for example numeracy or literacy support. I can achieve this by using an in house computer system to research each individual student I would be working with. I would need to know if I will be working on a 1:1 basis or with a group so I can plan accordingly.
After reviewing the reading, we can make many assumptions about the authors’ argument. I think that this is quiet self-explanatory on the message the authors is arguing “that a teacher can help students, but the student “must do the learning.” you as a student can by taught many things but until you actually learn it or apply or are even able to explain it yourself then you have learned the concept applying to this concept there is quote in the book where it is said “Knowledge must grow in his mind if learning is to take place” (Adler and Van Doren; “The Activity and Art of Reading” page 8). I also think that the student has to put in the initiative to learn the concept themselves without the initiative of applying the concept you won’t ever learn the concept. Learning the concept is much like applying the concept of discovery that the Arthur was also referring to in the reading where it was mentioned in the quote “the learner acts on something communicated to him”. After the reading I see my role as a student as the learner or as the thinker which applies the concept that are being taught by the instructor.
The teacher was able to implement this by reinforcing grammars metalanguage that she required the students to learn. Problematic knowledge, however was not evidently demonstrated in the lesson. The teacher could develop this element by allowing the students to use a favourite book or other reading material. Then get the students change the text into direct speech, this will get the students to think about the process. The Quality Learning Environment focuses on the classroom, and how students and teachers are able to work productivity with an environment clearly focused on learning.
Material evaluation should become a need for ELT practitioners, as not many of us have the chance to choose our own material to teach but on the contrary, most of the time, we are given a set of materials to use in our classrooms. According to Tomlinson (2003) “materials evaluation is a procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials”. The real challenge though, is trying to find a way to make those materials fit our students’ needs and context. For this assignment, I was required to analyze and evaluate the efficiency of some materials from my course book and select some appropriate material to include as a supplement. I will explain the rationale behind the selection of this supplementary material and then will teach a lesson using it.