A Reflection On My Learning Styles Education Essay

A Reflection On My Learning Styles Education EssayINTRODUCTIONThis reflective essay aims to draw formula from experience acquired from the Learning from Practice and Reflection (LFPR) mental faculty studied at level 1. My own culture during this period will be examined in addition to issues encountered in the progression of the event/activities endeavoured upon.In an endeavor to demonstrate significant comprehension of my schooling from experiences encountered during this execute, emphasis would be make on the retarding dah(s) employ and how these were examined and developed. My preferred and actual pursued percentages will in addition be highlighted to show how I developed and/or changed behaviours. How I pick out managed to develop sweet and existing skills will be assessed and the terminus to which I take myself-importance and my breeding. Fin all toldy, I would evaluate the potential scope of im developments make and in need of being made by looking up in order t o perceive how things would be d unrivalled and what I would do other than resulting from littleons learnt from past experience.The aforementi 1d analysis will be well structured to cover the different stages ( training, execution of instrument and evaluation) mired in the action pursued, and will be made against a backdrop of hypothesis and climatels that would be apply and act as supporting evidence accumulated from the faculty.In doing so, unity must also acknowledge the importance and relevance of such a topic due the wide scope it possesses to the extent of being applicable far and beyond this module, university life, hardly to greater dimensions at the peak of integritys c beer. Learning styles, preferences and skills learnt and take could be advertize sharpend and tailored around ones expertise in order to maximise ones potential and capacity. This would prove crucial and particularly beneficial in beas where thither is much at stake, non to mention the flexib leness come to in its transferrable nature (the acquisition of transferrable skills such as organisational, decision making, communication, research, IT take into account numeracy and group formulate) where its ideal could be implemented in atomic number 18as/situations of a less magnitude such as nurturing kids to adopt such tuition techniques a an early age when starting a family or customary every daytimelight experiences.LITERATURE ON development STYLES/CYCLES PREFERENCES lamb and MumfordThe process of schooling has been found to be multi-dimensional as various schools of thought contract come up with various theoretical models that conjure how good deal learn. Among the to the highest degree renowned is Kolbs (1984 1995), who presented knowledge as a steering wheel evolving on a constant basis. Viewing this one can easily reason perhaps why academics such as the handles of Kunzel(no-date) would argue from a mental standpoint that skill is a journey or a life long process. The diagram below illustrates the Kolbs (1984 1995) initial development of learning as a cycleSubsequently deduced from the original cycle above is honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle illustrated belowThe moment enhanced version seems to suggest that in every learning situation, the learning process involving the learner should move consciously through every stage of the cycle. However, this may be found contrary to practical veracity and experience which show significant preferences for one or to a greater extent than of the stages over others and that not all learners are well grounded in all stages of the cycle. Although some learners may positively or negatively dislike one or some of the stages, there is nothing to prove or indicate that such preference systems make learners better or worse than one some other.Relevant and outright aligned to distributively stage of the learning cycle, Honey and Mumford (1992) identified four different preferential methods in which pack prefer to learn, namely Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. People tilt to operate in just one or in a combination of these modes depending on the degree of preferences, because rather than being fixed characteristics, these are assumed to be acquired characteristics adaptable either through evolved circumstances or at will. Additionally, it is say as mentioned by Honey and Mumford (1992), that ones managerial approach normally reflects ones learning style or vice versa. Honey and Mumford (1992) also foundActivists tend to prefer being proactively involved and dominated by imminent and new experiences with a school of thought of wanting to give a go at some(prenominal)thing at to the lowest degree once. This consumes their geezerhood with action and problems are comm solo tackled through brainstorming. Honey and Mumford (1992) also suggests that activists are busy looking for another(prenominal) activity once the short bursts of excitement f rom one has sedated.Apparently according to Honey and Mumford (1992), activists are blase with murder and longer-term consolidation processes and are least creative in learning from passive situations centred on concept or theory that may include the likes of watching and listening to lectures or reading, but rather tend to thrive on and relish the repugn of new experiences. One may argue however, that this element of pertain does in fact involve implementation however short-termist it may be, so perhaps it is long-term implementation that activist dislike, but can tolerate short-term as long as it serves their needs of busy and preferences. Activists also prefer not to re realize their learning achievements and opportunities and dislike situations requiring detailed preparation, solitary work or repetitive tasks.Reflectors prefer to stand back, listen, observe and ponder on experiences from various perspectives, and learn best when doing this. This process usually involves c ollecting information (either first-hand or from others) to be thoroughly thought through from every likely angle beforehand coming to any definite conclusions, comments or actions. As a result, characteristics traits present in reflectors include postponing outcomes as long as possible al guidances exercising caution, whilst watching other people in action preferring to occupy a back seat in discussions and meetings, always depending before speaking, adapting a low profile and possessing a leanly tolerant, distant and unruffled aura. Honey and Mumford (1992) suggests reflectors are weaker in learning when rushed into things without time to plan or with inadequate data, when pushed into role play duties like chairing a meeting.Theorists as learners enjoy analysing and synthesising by combining and converting distinct facts and observations into comprehensive transparent theories. Theorists are said to learn best when presented with a concept theory, system or model irrespective of the potential distance from reality harmonized with such application. This philosophy relishes logic and rationality. Honey and Mumford (1992) state that theorists enjoy being intellectually challenged preferring to work with structure, a get purpose, and being allowed toinvestigate associations and interrelationshipsquestion assumptions and logicanalyse reasons and to generalise from deductionsTheorists are said to usually think things through in a well structured and logical manner with high perfectionist tendencies discontented unless and until things fit well into a rational scheme or sequence.Characteristic of this learning preference is corking interest on principles, theories, models, assumptions and systems thinking, and detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity in nature.Anything flippant, substanceive in judgement, obscure and lateral in thinking, tend to be of discomfort to theorists, who are weaker in learning whensupposed to do something witho ut clear purposeactivities are unstructured and ambiguousemotion is emphasisedfaced with shallow activitiessubject supporting data is unavailablefeeling out of tune with the rest of the group (Honey and Mumford, 1992).Pragmatists are to a greater extent than(prenominal) concerned with making things work on a practical reality by possessing a bully interest on implementing theories, ideas and/or techniques learnt (either recently or previously) to test if they work. This is a feat in slight contrast with reflectors and theorists. Pragmatists are said to positively (and perhaps proactively) search out new ideas and relish opportunities to investigate with applications. They enjoy getting on with things, making practical decisions and solving problems, and are confident and decisive when performing on ideas proving attractive. Pragmatists are also practical and raven-to-earth in nature responding as a challenge to problems and opportunities with a can do, there always a better way or an it is good if it whole kit and boodle attitude. Such attitude can be easily perceived as positivist and optimist in learning susceptibility or way of thinking.Honey and Mumford (1992) suggests that pragmatists are best at learning when there is a clear link between their current job or ( police squad) role and what is being learnt (the subject matter). They are said to enjoy exposure to processes or techniques clearly practical in nature with immediate relevance where there is a high probability for an opportunity to exist for implementation. As identified by Honey and Mumford (1992), points of impuissance in learning with such preference are where there are no immediate rewards, benefits and/or relevance existing from learning activity and/or event(s).After completing Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning styles questionnaire, my highest and second highest score was against reflectors and theorists respectively. This indicated that strengths and learning preferences centred o n those of reflectors and theorists and weaker in comparison to adapting traits of activists and pragmatists learning styles. Additionally, my personal results of Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning heap indicated that I preferred watching and thinking than doing and feeling which effectively rigid me in a philosophy category. This complemented the theorist style of learning more than the reflectors by suggesting that I preferredto dwell on observations and absorb thoughts into an integrated whole in a structured manner,logical reasoning, theories, projects and models,analogies, systems, case studies and lectures courtesy of Clarke (2010).Equipped with this knowledge, placed me in a better convenient position to benefit from choosing the to the highest degree suitable and adaptable learning techniques, experiences and opportunities at given activities/event(s)/tasks such as the group activity we embarked upon as on a module requirement. Additionally, there are options now availab le at least consciously where learning styles can be developed in order to expand the range skills available for learning purposes.Considering that by preference, with regards to the three main stages involved in any given task/activity/event (planning, implementation and evaluation), reflectors and theorists are more keen and productive in the planning and evaluation sides of things as opposed to activists and pragmatists implementation, it is of no surprise that I also enjoyed and performed better during these stages (planning and evaluation) of our group activity. Pragmatically speaking this does not suggest however, that Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle theory was not at all contradicted or called into question at times in reality, as it would be rather naive to deem it flawless especially considering the wide dimension of learning styles preferences theory and literature out there. This criticism of Honey and Mumfords (1992) learning cycle matches Smiths (2001) fourth criticism of the cycle which outlines that the ideological sequences do not necessarily equate to reality. Among other criticisms by Smith (2001) worth mentioning is the fact that heathenish conditions and experiences are not at all considered and acknowledged, not to mention the subjective perhaps pre-judgemental and weak confirmable evidence it relies on for diagnosis. The overriding criticism of this learning cycle is Smiths (2001) sixth but not least criticism which quite rightly points out that the relationship between knowledge and learning processes is much more complex than Kolb (1984) and Honey and Mumford (1992) suggest. Emphasising this point is the Islamic principle and philosophy describe so eloquently by Abdalati (1975) as the truth and knowledge are not entirely confined to sensory knowledge or perception alone. This principle is so firmly rooted when pondered upon that it goes further to expose the fact that any view held or derived by an single(s) without infal libility or divine revelation, is usually based on the rationalisation of ones own prejudices.LEARNING LOGThese were noticed and considered upon critical reflection of critical incidents aided by the utilisation of a learning log which kept track of how I was managing my learning. Consciously and deliberately, time was taken out to focus on my doing during the course as is the emphasis of this essay. The objective of this is to review thoughts that led to specific actions, outcomes, and lessons learnt from experience in order to be well equipped and informed for future practice weaknesses could be developed and retell mistakes avoided. From an enhanced version of the earliest known version of the renown proverb initiated by Julius Caesar, experience is the teacher of all things, author Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia (A.D. 77) mentioned experience as the best teacher, which does emphasis the rationale throne such learning methods. When use critically, the technique of criti cal reflection can assist one to hone skills. The learning log which in essence is a diary, a progress file or a journal of event/activities with short term reactions to activities, can significantly in the reflecting process.The learning log used during this module can be summarised into three main sections, these wereAn actual log this was a detailed/ shortened account of what happenedImmediate Reactions to situation/activityA Rear View looking back at what significant outcomes would I take away from event/activity, what lessons were learnt and if anything could have been done differently looking ahead for the futureOne of the most significant of critical incidents logged (courtesy of Gallagher (2010)) during our group activity within the period of this module was registering briefly that I had left my phone behind on the day we were supposed to be selling cupcakes at university and altogether realising it 15 minutes after leaving the house on my way to hoof it up the cakes fro m a group members house. My immediate reaction was one in rational non-panic mode with less emotional attachment to the situation I assessed the fact that it was not at all insistent to have my as opposed to the imperativeness attached to actually having cupcakes for sale, being on time to mend a good spot and to allow enough time to plan ahead on the day to make sure everything was in order running smoothly than rushing into things with less thought traits usually associated with lateness. So I decided not to go back for it and proceeded to my destination which was to a team-members house to pick up the cupcakes. This of course complemented a philosophy style of learning, with the only contradiction being that if philosophers due think things through logically and prefer structure, then surely there should have been provisional scope made in my thoughts to make sure I did not leave my phone behind especially in an important occasion as our big day as far as our group activity was concerned where communication could play crucial roles for organisational and logistical purposes. The counter argument to this would perhaps be acknowledging the fact that no man is perfect not even the best of philosophers not to mention a mere student and besides, surely not all group members would forget their phones so in such damage this was not a deal breaking error that would seal ones fate, but was easily absorbable and startle by other more superseding factors. In the looking back section of this log, lessons learnt was to go that extra mi to prepare a little bit more perhaps by making a short list of essentials and to dos and tick each one and I go along this ensures all bases are cover in events leading to a big day/event/activity/occasion/meeting and so on. This is something I could do differently in the future in any role applicable. Overall, I rated my performance and confidence in this critical incident as 4.PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNINGSubject to needful chang es a personal development plan (PDP) is most relevant to target impelled job/role as highlighted by Honey and Mumford (1992) and is usually utilised for unexpected opportunities and/or weaknesses. To monitor ad record progress, a PDP also identifies areas in need of improvement. Set criteria/targets are usually individualistic and unique to individual performance. Overleaf is a copy of one among PDPs made during module, but this drew reference to the group activityWhat I am going to doOpen the sales of cupcakes by woof up cakes, lay up stall and begin selling the cakes and the documented accounting for salesWhy I am going to do thisMy personal contribution as s a group member in an attempt to achieve success a goal that unifies all group members as we are all in this togetherHow I am going to do thisPlan ahead, through structured and logical manner, logical and rational reasoning over the logistics involved with the delivering of the above target. Make sure estimated time of ar river is early, cakes are ready for pick up on time, use selling, numeric and bilingual skills to the best of my ability to close as many sales as possibleWhen I am going to do thisOn the 21/03/11When I will review the results /how I will know I was successfulPost 21/03/11Courtesy of Honey and Mumford (2006)Quite similar to a learning log to the extent that it extracts from ones learning log and appraisal documents, but perhaps more challenging, target catchn and development orientated. A PDP would usually include dates, event/activity, achievement/results, interpretation of achievement/results against a benchmark, lessons learnt and any possible room for improvement or what could be done differently is under-achieving.OTHER RELEVANT MODELSVAKLeite et al. (2009) highlights one of the most renowned classifications of the different kinds of learning styles is Flemings VAK also known as VARK which is an expanded version of neuro-linguistic programming models. As an abbreviation the V AK stands forVisual learners prefer seeing/thinking things through pictures, handouts, ocular aids like PowerPoint slides and so on.Auditory learners prefer learning by listening via lectures, tapes, discussions and so on.Kinesthetic learners prefer learning by experience actually doing on a physical dimension be it experiments, moving, touching, and active geographic expedition to name a few (Walter et al., 2009).Upon taking the VAK survey, Visual learning was revealed as my preferred learning style and my goal thereon was to focus on visual aids as a main book of facts of learning in order to maximise my educational experience. However, to avoid getting too carried away with this model, it is secure not to recognise the fact that all three styles within VAK are required for effective learning in the pursuit of knowledge and experience as they are inter-related/-dependent and used more often than not interchangeably. Although it supplemented my other identified styles of learn ing (reflector/theorists/philosophy), my preference for visual aid for instance as a visual learner would still require listening when benefitting from a PowerPoint presentation being presented by a referee unless one was deaf or chose to cover their ears and kinaesthetic element involved would be efforts and energy required to access it in the first place be it using a computer/laptop, jotting down notes or taking a walk into the classroom again unless one was immobile or chose to be stationary. Emphasising this fact of objective criticism is the mere fact that losing any one of the imperative senses directly associate specifically with anyone of VAK classifications would equate to having a learning disability irrespective of what type of learner/learning preferences one is/has.BELBIN TEAM ROLESSource XenerGie (no date)The above illustration outlines the nine different main team roles that people are scored on depending on how strongly they express behavioural characteristics of t he nine roles, which are more or less self explanatory. The boilersuit assessment process involved to derive such results is known as the Belbin police squad Inventory or Belbin Self-Perception Inventory (SPI), which was instigated by Belbin (1981 1994) to measure preference for the main roles. My SPI results indicated that my most natural roles (where I scored exceptionally high) were asA Plant described by Belbin (1981 1994) as someone with bright ideas who prefers to work on his or her own and generates ideas without considering the practicality or considering others views and can be bored easily by others inputs. Plants are also described as weak at communicating with, learning from, or managing, other people.A varan Evaluator Excellent in reasoning for solutions, views from a wider perspective when all options are considered, but similar to plants weaker at motivating, acknowledging, or facilitating others as rationality is favoured over emotions.A Completer Finisher Possesse s depth to expeditiously assist a team to see task(s) through but with major emphasis on trueness and perfection which can frustrate other practically minded members. Members feel safe by him although there still remains a tendency to annoy due to perfectionism characteristics.My results in totality with key for rewrite and interpretation purposes are illustrated belowCourtesy of Belbin (1981 1994)IM ImplementerCOCo-ordinatorSHShaperPLPlantRIResource InstigatorMEMonitor EvaluatorTWTeam WorkerCFCompleter FinisherVery Low0-50-30-30-10-20-20-30-1Low6-84-54-62-333-44-52-3Mid-Range9-126-97-144-74-75-96-104-8 superior13-1510-1315-188-98-1010-1111-139-10Very High16+14+19+10+11+12+14+11+Courtesy of Belbin (1981 1994)BELBIN self PERCEPTION INVENTORY EXERCISE DT360From the results shown above, it is clear that absolute coordinating and team actor roles are best avoided as I had very low scores on them, although on bonny I am capable of assuming shaper and resource instigator roles with r elative ease.Some may argue that a more objective and rational method of executing this model would have been to crying(a) each statement in order of preference with the highest rank being made on a statement that best described ones behaviour/personality rather than being confined to 10 points where it is inevitable that some statements would be unaccounted for even though one may have a degree of reply for them. Surely it would be fairer in dispersion and unbiased if all statements were accounted for to some degree, although keeping the key cloak-and-dagger among the statements and not revealed until ones completed the survey does account to an extent for objectivity. The model can also seem quite daunting and complicated for participants with poor numeric skills (as a total of 10 points has to be maintained for each number), to the extent that they may be easily confused, put off or end up providing a false reflection due to inaccuracies or poor calculations. Additionally, t he fact that Belbin (1981 1994) defines an ideal team as consisting of 4 members and anything over this constitutes of a group. This implies that the model is best applicable to teams than groups, but in practicality teams in the workplace and in most cases than not are usually exceeding 4 members. The contradiction of this is that the total number of team roles being tested are 9 (far excessive than 4), although one may argue that depending on the overall goal/objective/activity/event at hand, it may not be an imperative to have all 9 roles present in your team, but perhaps the best/most suitable 4 selections from the 9 that would best serve the overall task at hand.JOHARI WINDOWInitiated by Luft and Ingham (1955), a Johari window is usually used as a heuristic activity in an attempt to assist people to comprehend interpersonal relationships and communication much better and is seen as a cognitive psychological tool. In impairment of input and facilitation, in comparison to the o ther models same, this model tends to be less individualist and more interactive (imperatively requiring others input).As revealed by Luft (1969), in practice, a list of 56 adjectives is provided (to two the subject and peers) and utilised by both in the same way but independently input (picking 5 or 6 adjectives), to describe the subjects personality, which are then sieved and mapped onto a grid similar to the one found below (relevant to myself and completed for this module)2. BLIND self-importanceWarmSympatheticWarmProudSelf-consciousOPEN SELFHappyKindNervousAdaptableFriendlyKnown to self Not known to selfKnown to others3. UNKNOWN SELFReflectiveObservantLogicalAdaptableOrganised4. HIDDEN SELFComplexIndependentLovingModestDignifiedNot known to othersHandy (2000) describes this concept as a house with 4 rooms moving in a clockwise direction elbow room 1 represents traits of my personality that I share in common with peers in terms of awareness. These adjectives were selected by b oth me and peers.Room 2 represents traits of my personality that I am unaware of, but revealed by peers. These descriptions were selected by my peers only without my input.Room 3 represents traits of my personality that were oblivious to both me and my peers. These were in effect selected by the other aforementioned models revelations and indications these adjectives that best described my found learning preferences/styles. Handy (2000) describes this room as the most mysterious where the unconscious or subconscious part of us noticed by neither ourselves nor others.Room 4 described as confidential the part of us known only to us and not others. These adjectives were selected by only me.The limitation with this window is that the number of adjectives does not always tally with what is required and an uneven distribution of selections would have to be made more often than not which may invalidate findings to an extent in terms of bias. However, this only tends to be an issue if a req uirement is made to ensure an even distribution of adjectives across all 4 rooms is achieved. There is nothing to suggest in the theory that an uneven distribution across the rooms is unacceptable or invalid, rather the main emphasis is actually only made on an even independent selection of adjectives between subjects and peers. The problem with this is, if I did not select any adjective that matched my peers selection, would mean room 1 would remain empty. There is also some ambiguity on the frequency of selection required for each participant is it confined to once or are multiplex frequencies of selection allowed to offset such limitation?CONCLUSIONPLANNINGThis was part of the group activity that I enjoyed the most and quite rightly so as indicated by the learning cycle/preferences models. I was proactively involved in this part of the session and my confidence in doing so was mostly thanks to completing most of the learning style/preferences models in precedence to the actual activity. I made the most of knowing where my learning preferences, strengths and skills lay by maximising my potential input/contribution to the group activity. Demonstrating traits of a reflector, theorist, plant, monitor evaluator, completer finisher, in a visually orientated dimension meant this role and stage of activity was performed naturally. One of my most productive and influential contributions at this stage of the activity was the highly imaginative idea to suggest that we considered raising funds for charity as this seemed feasible under the circumstances considering our limited resources in terms of lack of financial support (a concession from which the idea to submit a funding request stemmed from although this attempt ultimately prove futile), and limited capacity to produce a lucrative venture under such confinements such as limited timeframes and manpower. Deciding on actually which charity (in this case red nose) to support/represent came from another team memb er. I must admit that I did not pay much interest or attention on the ins and outs involved in seeing through, although I was quite passionate about the idea. paltry forward perhaps I should develop my pragmatism on this aspect a bit further in order to be more specialised on hands-on experience.IMPLEMENTATIONIt is obvious that this was not my strongest point and as opposed to the brainstorming phase of the activity, I was not too much involved in this part of the procedure. My main input in this stage of the process was merely driving to picking up the cakes from a group members house (who happened to be more involved with liaising with the producer and negotiating on a price) setting up the stalls and a passive participation in selling on the day of sale. During this time I was better at observing spanners at work, how they work and generating ideas from gone wells and not gone wells. I was more committed to tracking our progress on sales projecting sales based on current sales a d how long we may be expected go on for. It was my idea that we always made sure we had spare change available, which required for each of us to bring coins along on the day. This highlighted preferred passion for the evaluation sides of things as similarly expressed for the planning stages. There is a lot that I have learnt from the implementation process and there is also a lot more to learn provided I am more involved in this stage, the realisation that theories do not always work in reality for instance would more easily verifiable and assessable. evaluationI did enjoy the evaluation stage other than the aspects of implementation involved in this process. My evaluation skills contributed toward the drive that was derived from projected findings on sales that led to us completing sales three hours ahead of enrolment whilst generating a healthy profit of 64.5% and a total contribution of pou