Results for: Elena Elder
ACT
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GLO
If your score on a scale is 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions
of that scale.
If your score on a scale is 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension
of the scale and will learn more easily in a teaching environment which favors
that dimension.
If your score on a scale is 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one
dimension of the scale. You may have real difficulty learning in an environment
which does not support that preference.
** I have elements of an active learner and elements of a reflective learner. I like actively discuss
materials with others, but I need to work with it alone. I’m okay with classes where I don’t do
anything but sit and take notes because for me that is ACTION that helps solidify the
information in my brain. Of course, if I was given the chance to do something interactive, I
would almost always be a willing participant.
** Again, I have both elements of a visual learner and a verbal learner. I like to see things, but I
also do really well when I see text written. The information need not be displayed as a graph or
chart, but having something to look at helps me remember what I am learning. I really enjoy
powerpoint presentations because they are a good mix of verbal and visual input.
Once you've done that, I'd like for you to write maybe three paragraphs (at least) on this
series of questions:
**What is your learning style? How would you describe it?
**Why do you think that's your learning style? What have you done or read to lead you to
that conclusion?
**How do you see your learning style fitting with this course? What aspects of the course
might fit well with that style, and what aspects might be a problematic fit?
** I’m not quite sure what to make of myself as a global or sequential learner
3.7
Independent
Moderate
2
Avoidant
Moderate
3.8
3.8
2.7
4.2
Collaborative Dependent Competitive Participant
High
Moderate
Moderate
High
Elena Elder
Learning Styles Assignment
English 305
Wayne Hall
October 2011
As I prepare myself to one day be a secondary education English teacher, I have spent a
long time considering all of the possible learning styles and preferences of my future students.
However, rarely do I ever take the time to consider my own learning styles or preferences. I
think this is simply because I feel that I am a fairly versatile learner. Sure, I may prefer to study
one way or gather notes from a class in a different way, but I am always finding myself willing
to give another method a try. I like to be able to say that I have tried to learn something in a
particular fashion before I say that it isn’t how I learn.
I took all of the online assessments to help me narrow down and focus in on my primary
learning styles. Two tests, the Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scales and the Index of
Learning Styles provided me with two vastly different responses – both responses I didn’t quite
agree with. However, the VARK questionnaire gave me a response that I agreed with. The
VARK questionnaire noted that I was a “multimodal” learner. I think this is correct because it
suggests that I am highly adaptable when it comes to my learning styles. This is the answer (or at
least some variant of this answer) I expected all of the tests to give me.
I know that I am more of a visual learner than an aural learner, but when it comes to
read/write vs. kinesthetic learning styles, I like to have a mix of both. I have always been able to
close my eyes and see in my head the notes I have taken during a class or recall a picture that
might help me remember a particular piece of information that I learned. Aurally, I like to
verbally explain things to people, which is probably why I turn almost every study session into a
“teacher” moment or discuss my essays with other people so that I can hear my thought process.
For me, read/write is a type of kinesthetic learning because my hand is performing an action
(writing) that my brain interprets as an active learning strategy. I remember things a lot better
when I write them down. Therefore, I am always making lists and always taking notes, even in a
class where I am not required to do so. Reading is not necessarily a strong way for me to
remember something. My brain needs to break down large chunks of information in another way,
so that is where the writing and visual learning styles come into play. If I have written something
down I can also usually see it in my head. I use kinesthetic learning to help learn math and
sciences. In order to understand math, I have to immerse myself in it – I must do the problem to
learn the concepts. The same goes for science; in order for me to be able to understand concepts I
must perform experiments where I can see these things in action.
I don’t think I foresee too many issues between this class and my learning styles. As I
said before, I am fairly adaptable when it comes to people asking me to do assignments in certain
ways. The one thing I will say is that my essay writing process may not be that of a typical
student. I do not create drafts of an essay as I don’t find drafting to be helpful. Instead, I
handwrite many outlines, diagrams, charts, and blurbs of information (I like to call them
“nuggets of genius”). Writing these things by hand helps me to become very familiar with the
information I am working with and helps to make the information feel tangible. That being said,
if someone asks for a first draft of my paper, then a second draft, and then a final draft they will
instead receive a pile of handwritten pre-writing and a final typed draft. Other than that, I like to
experience many different ways of approaching and doing an assignment. This helps me as a
future teacher to experience different learning methods, so that I might one day be able to
recommend them to students who are having trouble in the classroom.