Week 1

Wow, this year has gone extremely fast!! It seems like just yesterday I was just starting my first day at CQU. Now I'm already into my first week of Term Two, crazy right?

It's been a very interesting start to the semester. I've met new people, new teachers and learnt new things. On Tuesday in the 2-4pm class we were introduced to Padlet software, this allowed us to capture the thoughts of every student around the class about their expectations of the course. Everyone appeared to have the same ideas, I have provided a sample of the wall post below.

Source: Padlet Software

The online material for E-learning this week was information which I had already been exposed to in the past. However, it was great to revisit the content as it enabled me to jog my memory and refresh my mind on various topics. A couple of these topics which really interested me this week were Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligence's.

In 1975 Howard Garner came up with a theory that involved  multiple intelligence. He believed that learners had a variety of abilities in many different areas which the contemporary learning theory could not account for. Below is a test I took which identifies my 8 different intelligences and the value of each.

Source: www.bgfl.org

I believe that Learning Styles are one of the most important concepts when it comes to teaching and allows educators to connect with their students. You are always going to find children who have different approaches to learning. As an Educator, you are never going to be able to cater for all learning styles all the time, however having an awareness of the different learning styles can help improve your methods of teaching.

As a Pre-Service Teacher I strive for student success. The feeling of your students being successful and achieving their best is extremely overwhelming. Not every learner is the same! Therefore, broadening your knowledge of different learning styles is going to give you an advantage and put you a step ahead.

Source: Image from Ministry of Advanced Education

Every student within your classroom is an individual. They all have their own abilities and capabilities to achieve great things in life. Some students may be academically ahead of others, some may be behind. Some students may be visual learners and learn more through pictures and images. Others may use sounds and music to understand what they have been taught. As an educator you may even find that some students prefer using words, while others prefer to learn best by touching ad doing. Therefore, it is our job to know our students and help them increase their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.

Teachers in this era say that the educational system does not allow them any time to make learning fun. Therefore, our job as future educators is to accommodate for every child and allow them to have the chance to achieve their best. Together as the future educators of the next generation, we are going to turn the education system around and begin to make learning fun and engaging for students in our classrooms.

Jenny Abel

Source: Google Images