Hottest Issues of the Philippines 2010

In school everyone learns differently; however, according to the article The Myth of Learning Styles, “The idea of learning styles is based on a theory… developed in the early 1980’s.” (pg 1.) A lot has certainly changed from the 1980’s as we learn new more material in every class we take. With this being said, someone the scientists referred to in the article “assumed” that learning styles challenged the way of the educational system when in reality, it is simply a myth. Students, like myself, only prefer to process information that they find useful or interesting to him or her. Thus giving us the problems of that teachers may take too long to cover one idea, and students may miss out out on information because he or she did not prefer that learning style.

For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.

This student’s preferred learning strategy compared to the learning strategy provided by V.A.R.K. is almost identical. The learning strategies that have been used throughout her education have always netted good results, which is evident by her grades. In the past other students have commented about her learning style and the amount of time spent on note taking, outlines, and writing out note cards, but she has perfected this process for her learning style.

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

It is practical to assume that students will do better in tasks that reflect their particular style of learning, so knowledge of students’ learning styles, including a variety of tasks will make teaching more inclusive. A learning style questionnaire could be handed out at the start of a course which, once completed will inform the teacher about the learning styles of the students.

It can be argued that the more modalities employed and presented to students, the greater their chance for successful learning becomes. As educators, if we appeal to all strategies of learning, we are more likely to enhance the learning of everyone in our target audience. This may be challenging as we ourselves tend to flock to a particular learning style, and in turn, tend to teach the same way. It also may be a challenge to address each individuals learning style, as it may be difficult, or even impossible to know each and every one of their learning preferences. However, the first step in overcoming that challenge is to be well versed in our own learning preferences. If we are well versed in our own

One change made in the public school system in recent years was the addition of common core. In the article “The Problems and Promise of Common Core”, Bari Walsh explains how common core is used to set learning requirements for students in all grade levels. This system has been adopted by 45 of 50 states in the United States (Walsh). A large problem

I will also initiate discourse in where students will teach the class at times to ensure that they feel that their opinions matter within the classroom.

“People need to know why what they are doing is worth the effort and how it connects to their personal and collective mission and values, or the endeavor will soon be stalled. We show that morality is often reflected in the work and used as a means to inspire others.” (Blankstein & Noguera, 2015). The teachers were organized, they ensured constancy and consistency through the teachers and students by having meeting and evaluating the work of the students in all classes. “Improving our school meant that we needed to improve instruction across the school. Quality instruction was the driver of our improvement. When we learned to teach differently, and focus on teaching our students the literacy skills they needed, the students learned the material better.” (Blankstein & Noguera, 2015). And this was the insight that inform my professional practice. In my school, we start working all the teacher as one team since last school year. This school year we are on the same path by improving our grading policy across the school and by helping each other to have a school of excellence. When something is new, fear is going to be there always, but it is our decision if we allowed fear to defeat use, or we can decide to fight our fears and conquer the

With the implementation of Common Core, many teachers and administrators are searching for methods of pedagogy that challenge students. Many district leaders are pushing teachers to write across the curriculum in an effort to not only increase writing skills, but to require higher order thinking from students. The Common Core standards were designed in an effort to challenge students to translate information, communicate their knowledge through writing, and make connections across disciplines. In both college and career, writing is a skill often seems to be lacking.

No teachers are similar as well as no students learn in the same way. Every teacher has their own unique teaching style which is based on their educational philosophy, their classroom’s demographic, what subject area they teach, and the school’s mission statement. Up until now, teachers are looking for a system that will engage students in the educational process and will develop the students’ critical thinking skills. Moreover, teachers want the classroom to be in order and in control, but they also want their students to appreciate the learning procedure. These teaching styles can be divided into two approaches – the teacher-centered and learner-centered.

needs are met and they feel as if they are respected by the teacher. Mutual respect is once again

That is why this strategy is effective and that is how it helps students both learn and master the new knowledge. Regular formative assessments are provided throughout this lesson by systematically monitoring the student progress at all three stations and providing the students prescriptive feedback. Plus, by giving enough time to learn the material, and by providing appropriate learning materials and instruction, all students can learn and master the objectives.

As a future educator there are many ideas or philosophies on how teachers should teach students. Students learn best when they are able to relate to the material that is being taught. Cohen (1999) writes, “This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world” The curriculum is based on the needs, ability, and experiences that the student has. From the curriculum, teachers create lessons that influence their students to actively participate and encourage development. The teacher is merely an organizer who offers encouragement as well as prompting the students to use critical thinking skills by challenging them with questions. Students then use this skill to cooperate in groups as well as discuss view point that they may not agree with. This form of duel communication is a skill that allows the student to become more comfortable with their social skills as well as team working.

Furthermore, promoting the expression of ideas in a free, non judgmental way in the classroom is of great importance. The way teachers can understand the student’s point of view on various topics and may be the outcome of this can be greater appreciation and understanding.