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=Welcome to Styles of Learning=

   Cassidy, Simon. (2004), ‘Learning Styles: An overview of theories, models, and measures', Educational Psychology, 24:4, 419 — 444 “As teachers, we need to use our teaching repertoires in such a way to capitalize on the characteristics of our students to help them achieve increasing control over their own growth” (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 337)
 * Learning Styles: Theories, Models, and Measures **

 Exposing students to content the different learning styles that are different to them will cause varying degrees of discomfort. We have to handle this by teaching students to handle discomfort productively” Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 338) “The student does not learn unless he is faced with a learning situation that causes some level of discomfort” (Thalen, 1962) “To stimulate development we deliberately mismatch student and environment so that the student cannot easily maintain the familiar patterns but must move on toward greater complexity” (Joyce, et al., 204, pg. 340) Developmental stages theory states that the assimilation of new information will inevitably force the accommodations that lead to the successive stages of development (Piaget, 1952) A fifteen year study of teachers found they experience significant discomfort when learning and applying new instructional strategies. Only 10 percent of teachers, after implementing the new model of teaching, were able to handle the discomfort. Most teachers were not able to implement new instructional strategies without significant support (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 340) Mismatches between the teaching model and the learning style of the student creates a challenge and increases discomfort (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 341) The challenge is not to select the model of teaching most closely aligned to the learning style of the student, but to teach them to adapt to different teaching models and expand their learning styles (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 341) //Dynamic disequilibrium //: expose students to new teaching modalities that expand their learning repertoire (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 341) Marginal learners are those who have difficulty adjusting to the learning environment and profiting from it (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 342) Frustration occurs when the student learns that she cannot be productive in that environment (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 342) Students may be marginal in one environment, but not in another 1.  Teach to the Middle – the do nothing approach 2.  Teach to the Bottom – Industrial Solution – Identify strategies that match the learning style of the marginal learner 3.  Differentiate – Find out what bothers the learner and Increase the structure of unstructured models and reduce the structure of structured models of teaching. 4. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Teach students the skills required to relate to different learning environments. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">a. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">1982 Study in teacher training found that the more a teaching model is different from the customary teaching style of teachers, the more uncomfortable they are in using it. Practicing the model helped them become more comfortable by identifying areas of weakness and providing direct training where they were having problems. (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 348) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">b. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">When a student is uncomfortable in a learning situation, we identify an objective to help the learner become competent in relating to that learning environment <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">c. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Learners become marginal when they are asked to work at a faster pace than they are able to master the learning environment (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 349) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">d. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">There are no silver bullets for marginal learners, it’s all about learning how our students learn and helping them relate to new learning situations <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">5. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Intelligence of Growth “The best schools teach students how to learn” (Staples, August 23, 2009) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">a. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">All human beings are born with the intrinsic will and capacity to grow intellectually (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 349) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">b. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The learner needs to confront problems and diverse opinions to reach beyond the present stage and develop the constructs that will sustain growth at another level (Thalen) (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 349) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">c. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Purpose of education is to create the conditions enable us to acknowledge the //disequilibrium of change// as a prerequisite to growth (Joyce, et al., 2004, pg. 350)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Discomfort and Learning **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Marginal Learners **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Solutions for Correcting Marginality **