User:Stephanie Draxdorf

About Me

A 23 year old recent graduate of SUNY Oneonta, Graduate student at SUNY Albany, I am now working to become a permanent high school mathematics teacher in New York City. Being recently certified in NYS, I have obtained a long-term substitute position for freshman Algebra 1 and coding classes. The Algebra 1 course consists of English Language Learners and coding is not exactly a part of the math degree I studied in college. While this role has been a challenge in some aspects, it is extremely rewarding. My goal has always been to present mathematics in a way that takes away the fear that most students associate with it.

I live in Brooklyn, N.Y. with my small family that I am extremely close with. In my free time I enjoy traveling, working out, spending time with friends and family, and snowboarding!

My Topic and Purpose

The topic of my mini-course focuses on different learning styles. Every person is different, and learns best differently. As teachers, it is important to understand how to adjust curriculum, modify lesson plans, and provide support for different learners. As students, it is beneficial to understand what learning style benefits your understanding of material best.

Learning Outcomes and Performance Based Objectives

Learners will be able to:

- Identify and apply the learning styles they are most comfortable with to their own learning.

- Understand how they learn best.

- Understand unique characteristics of each learning style.

- Demonstrate knowledge of supporting material for each learning style.

- Identify study strategies that are helpful and those that might be a waste of time for each style.

- Develop study strategies that are more effective based upon your learning style resulting in greater academic success.

- Analyze the use of multimedia formats from various media that support each learning style.

Needs Assessment

Instructional needs- No two students are exactly the same. Students are more comfortable in different subjects, learn at different paces, have varying strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly have different unique learning styles that best fit them. Although teachers may be working to a common goal, lessons cannot be uniformly presented to all students for this reason. It is sometimes hard to accommodate to a classroom full of students with different learning styles, but it is not impossible! When teachers understand their students needs, they are able to meet them.

Information gathered- Through a survey distributed to 40 random people or different ages and schooling, data was able to be gathered. Those who took part in the survey answered several questions addressing how they would approach different learning and everyday situations. Through their answers, we were able to draw a conclusion as to what style of learning they felt most comfortable using. Their answers provided me with data as too which of Neil Fleming's "VARK" learning styles they most fit. The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities.

Summary- A summary of the survey results are included within the course, where we will better examine the data.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

This mini-course is designed for a large audience. This course can benefit teachers of all grade levels to best present course material. Students will benefit from this course in understanding what support and structure they need to be successful. Participants will become familiar with the different types of learning styles, more specifically Neil Fleming's VARK model. In 4 sections, we will analyze and break down each of the different learning styles. Participants will be able to recognize and distinguish between the different styles and use this knowledge to their advantage in the classroom. This course will bring awareness to different students’ learning preferences and how participants can best meet their diverse needs.

Instructional problem and desired solution- As students, there is a need to understand how you best learn material. When students become self-aware of the learning style that best suits them, they are able to practice material in such a way for mastery. Teachers need to support their specific students everyday in the classroom. This means understanding the students needs and how to meet these needs. Gaining a deeper understanding of the way students learn can allow the teacher to aid in their learning.

Context for Learning- This will be an online mini-course that all educators, students, and the general public will have access to. The lesson will be broken down into 4 units. Within each unit the audience will gain a deeper understanding of Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic learning styles. There will be questions following each section to check for understanding and comprehension of the topic.

Task Analysis

Elaborate and analyze the objectives to identify more specific enabling and supporting objectives.

Curriculum Map

Curriculum Map for mini-course attached.