Discussion: Which of the four styles listed above best describe your style? Why? Refer back to Table 1 to help explain your answer.
Activity: Utilizing Table 3, identify the most likely type of learning style(s) you have by examining your answer to the above discussion. Reflect on the types of strategies that best reflect your style.
Case study: self-reflection and professional development
By identifying how adults learn, administrators are better able to arrange approaches to meet the learning styles of those they lead and arrange for professional development in their respective school settings. This insight will serve us well when we are seeking by-in for new multi-media applications that will improve management aspects of the workplace and especially student success for all. Focus on a professional development situation in which you were a learner: a situation in which you were asked to learn a new concept. What was the concept? What was the setting in which you were to learn?
Discussion: In a group, discuss how you as the learner would respond to the following questions.
- How key was attention to the learning and the act of learning?
- What optimized your attention?
- What maintained your attention?
- What role did peer or personal motivation play?
- How much control as the learner did you have? Was it enough?
- How much did interest or need affect (your) learning?
Activity: Now plan a professional development activity by focusing on the following issues:
- How key is maintaining the attention of the learner in the act of learning?
- What would you do to optimize attention?
- What would you do to maintain attention?
- What role does peer or personal motivation play?
- How much control for the learner do you think is necessary?
- How much does interest or need of the learner affect your training?
Web resources
Adult Education Quarterly,
(External Link)
Adult Learning,
(External Link)
Adult Learning Activities, California Distance Learning Project
(External Link)
Community Partnerships for Adult Learning , U.S. Department of Education,
(External Link)
Educational Technology Clearing House,
(External Link)
How Adults Learn,
(External Link)
ISTE: International Society for Technology in Education
(External Link)
Mentor Information and Materials,
(External Link)
Iowa’s Professional Development Model
(External Link)
Teaching Tips Index,
(External Link)
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology , http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/index.html
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