LEARNING STYLES REVIEW

Having an inventory of your students' learning styles is essential for every teacher as this guides him/her in the preparation of materials and activities that match the students' best way of understanding concepts. This way, learning in the classroom will truly be optimized.

Here is a review of the three different learning styles. Find out who among your students possess each style.

VISUAL LEARNERS

• comprise 40%-50% of the general population
• learn best by seeing the materialsappreciate visual representation of the materials such as graphs, tables, charts, diagrams
• best remember what is read rather than what is listened to
• like videos, filmstrips, computer-aided instruction
• have the most efficient way of storing information learned

AUDITORY LEARNERS

• comprise 10%-20% of the general population
• learn best by listening to the materials
• appreciate using audio tapes and other types of audio recordings
• best remember what is listened to rather than what is read
• employ a much less efficient way of storing information compared with the visual learners
• do some type of transfer of information to a visual storage system

KINESTHETIC LEARNERS

• comprise 20%-50%of the general population predominant in male population especially African, American and Hispanic males
• learn best by physically interacting with the materials
• are in continual motion with hands, feet, and will move and doodle most of the time
• need to have frequent breaks when asked to accomplish a certain task
• best remember what is done rather than what is seen or listened to
• employ the least efficient way to store academic information but have the best way to store athletic and artistic information

Teachers are faced with the challenge of making every lesson truly beneficial to all students in the classroom; therefore, it is important that when the teacher prepares a lesson plan, there is always something that cater to everyone: something to see and read, something to hear and listened to, and something to do.

Phrase Your Praise

There are different ways on how we could actually praise a child for what he/she has done well. There are indeed a hundred ways on how to phrase your praise so that it continues to inspire, motivate and empower those boys and girls in class.

Wow*Way to Go*Outstanding*Excellent*Great*Good*Very Good*Well Done*Remarkable*I Knew You Could Do It*I'm Proud of You*Fantastic*That's Indeed Super*Nice Work*Looking Good*That's Beautiful*Now You've Got It*You're Incredible*Bravo*How Nice*You're On The Right Tract*You're So Smart*Good Job*That's Incredible*Good For You*I Like That* You're A Winner*Remarkable Work*Beautiful Work*Spectacular*That's A Great Discovery*Brilliant*You've Figured It Out*Magnificent*Marvelous*Terrific*That's So Creative Of You*You're Truly Responsible*Exceptional Performance*You Learned It Right*What An Imagination*What A Good Listener*Wonderful Job*I Know You Tried Real Hard*I Know You Care*Beautiful Sharing*Outstanding Performance*i Trust You*You Mean A Lot To This Class*You Make Us Truly Happy*You Belong*That's Correct*You're Wonderful*You Brighten Up Our Day*That's Perfect*A+ Job*That's The Best Answer*I Salute You*You've Explained It Real Well*I Have No Doubts That You Can Do It*That's Brilliant Idea*I Haven't Even Thought About That Idea*Your Output is Worth Displaying *

Start using them to your students and see the magic these can bring to them. You may also have other power lines which you can include in the list. However, always remember... your SMILE is worth 1000 words!

WHEN YOU'RE "NOT SMART ENOUGH": On Inspiring and Empowering Students

I would like to dedicate this blog entry to all you, kids, out there... yes, to all of you especially those who get easily frustrated and discouraged by the low grades they receive in school. Well, let me tell you one thing: Sure, grades are important, but your future doesn't wholly depend on what your card shows.

Let me then share with you this article, When You're 'Not Smart Enough,' which a colleague of mine shared with me a long time ago, and which I have never failed to share with my students to inspire them and to empower them.

1. Don't label yourself according to your grades. They measure how well you do things, not your value as a person - or even your intelligence. (It's a fact that some intelligent people don't do well in school.) And getting all perfect scores on all your exams doesn't make a student a better person than someone who gets a merely passing mark.
Besides, the abilities that grades measure are very few. Grades rarely show your ability to make friends, your knack to think up new ideas, or to solve problems in real life situations, or to take initiatives - all of which are important for general succes in life.

2. Learn about yourself as you go - and build on your strengths. Some people remember best the material they read; others remember best the lessons that they hear; still others learn best through discussion and hands-on.
Think about the way you seem to pick up things most easily, and look for ways to put your strength to work in all your classes. For example, Diana realized that she learned best through stories. When she began to think of History, a subject she disliked, as a series of stories about people and what they had done, her History grades improved.

3. Concentrate more on learning and understanding the lesson than getting a high score. Aim to learn. Some people can recite a whole chapter of a book or a long poem from memory, but when asked to explain it, they can't! It's because they only memorized but never understood it at all.

4. Learn from your mistakes as well as from your successes. When Dennis gets his graded exams back from his teachers, he goes over all the mistakes again, looking for the correct answer in his notes and in his books. This way, his mistakes help him remember what is right.

5. Develop non-academic interests to balance out your life. Sports, church assignments and extra curricular activities such as drama guild, glee club, or school band, can develop your other talents. Such activities provide new friends and teach you more about yourself and your strengths. When you have interest outside of school, you are able to lead a well-rounded life. People who've made a name for themselves after leaving school will tell you that what you do outside the classroom is very important too.

6. Most importantly, put God into the picture. The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and learn not from your own understanding. In all ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed." Ask Him to help you make the most out of school. Make every effort to do your best and then leave the results with Him. He cares about your future and He cares about you even more than you do.

ABCs for Teachers

This video is actually meant for first-time teachers; however, I believe that this could also be a good refresher for those who have been in the profession for quite awhile and are somehow forgetting what the essentials of teaching are.
Watch, (re)learn, and enjoy!

AM I CAUSING YOU STRESS?

Is word stress causing you STRESS? Well, in that case, let me help you by sharing with you this very simple lesson on WORD STRESS.


I. STRESSED or NOT? Determine which syllable contains the major stress in each word.

1. in-teg-ral
2. au-then-tic
3. mu-se-um
4. an-ces-tral
5. ma-yon-naise
6. in-te-res-ting
7. se-ven-teen
8. su-pers-ti-tious
9. ar-gue
10. con-do-lence

II. What is WORD STRESS?

STRESS refers to the amount of force with which a syllable is said. ACCENT is the stress on one syllable over others in a plurisyllable; other names for accent are syllable stress and word stress.

III. How do I determine the accent?

In determining word stress/accent, consider the following:

1. Monosyllablic words have no accent.

e.g. stress calm choose
where meant rest

2. Every word taken alone, that is, not in a sentence, always has a primary stress.

3. The primary stress is used to differentiate a noun from a verb if the word can be used as a noun or as a verb.

e.g. NOUN VERB
SUBject subject
CONtract contract
REcord record
REbel rebel

4. Usually, the primary stress is placed on the vowel and not on the consonant because the vowels are more sonorous than the consonants.

5. a. Number words ending in –teen are stressed on that syllable.

e.g. sixTEEN fifTEEN sevenTEEN

5.b. Number words ending in –ty or –ieth are stressed on the first syllable.

e.g. TWENty SIXtieth FORty

6. Compound nouns have a primary stress on the first component, a secondary stress on the second component.

e.g. ANThill CAMPfire DUSTpan

7. Compound verbs have a primary stress on the second component and a secondary stress on the first component.

e.g. overCOME outDO outSHINE

8. Intensive-reflexive pronouns are stressed on the second syllable.

e.g. mySELF themSELVES itSELF

9. Words ending with the suffix –tion, -sion, -ic, -ical, -ity have a primary accent on the syllable preceding the suffix.

e.g. associAtion conFESsion economic
philoSOphical CHArity reliaBIlity


SOURCE: To More Effective Speech Communication

A STUDENT TO HIS TEACHER

This anonymous write up is meant to give every teacher the chance to hear out his/her student. I invite you to listen to what this student has to say to his teacher because I believe this is exactly what your students want to tell you.


Try to be a human being and not just a teaching machine.

Help me to learn to think and to judge by myself, not only to memorize ready-made answers.
Help me rather to find the answers myself, though this may be more painful for both you and me.

Listen to the questions that I may seriously ask however foolish they may sound to you. If you can listen, I might learn to listen too.

Do not teach only a subject, but rather, teach us --- students.

Do not expect of me what is beyond my talent or power and give me some encouragement from time to time.

Be strict enough with me provided you are just. I know that I need it, though outwardly I may rebel against it.

Please keep studying yourself and do not mechanically use in class the same yellowed notes which you wrote some ten years ago.

Do not judge me only in the marks which I get from the tests but rather by the effort I make.

Do not expect that I like the subject you are teaching best of all. Other subjects may be interesting too and perhaps even more so, at least with me.

Do not ridicule me, especially not before my classmates. It hurts and it will turn me against you. An earnest but kind word in private will be more effective.

Do not expect a word of thanks every so ofetn. I am grateful alright, but I find it difficult to express my gratitude in words.

Do not pity me, especially not in front of others if I do not succeed so well. Pity can be so embarrassing.

Do not point out another student in class as an example to me. I might hate him... and you... for it.

And if I happen to do well, do not point me out as an example to others. It would embarrass me very much. But an occasional deserved word of acknowledgement is most welcome.

Keep your personal problems and political ideas to yourself. I cannot solve or judge them anyway.

let me feel that you are interested in me as a human being and not just a name in your record book.

Remember that once upon a time you were a student yourself. Did you always get the best marks? And did you never forget a thing?

NOUN: there's a fun way to learn it

A sure fun and enjoyable way to teach your pupils about NOUNS --- Try it in your class and kids will surely love it!