Where I’m at now
As I start this new subject (I’ve just completed Module 1), I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on my current beliefs, stereotypes and assumptions specifically about what resourcing the curriculum means to me, and to discuss my views on the rather jaw-dropping video we viewed about learning styles.
My initial thoughts are that a TL’s role is to support teachers in finding quality resources for their programs, which is basically what the subject’s title suggests. At present, I believe this would take the form of making time to meet with each year level in the school, discussing their needs, then performing a catalogue or Google search and spending half an hour looking for a great resource. Pretty simple, but I have a feeling it will be much more complex than that.
Things I wonder:
- How best to choose a resource that the school doesn’t currently have, without ordering it? I’d imagine budgets are tight and you don’t want to waste money on a disappointing product.
- Are teachers interested in getting help from the librarian? In my experience I never gave it a thought. I didn’t actually feel I’d be welcome to ask resourcing questions. So what are good ways of fostering that relationship?
- What kind of review/feedback processes should be put in place to ensure a resource stays or is weeded out?
These are some areas I hope to develop over the course of the subject.
The learning style myth
During Module 1 we viewed a remarkable TEDx talk by Dr. Tesia Marshik about learning styles. Before I clicked on the link I thought I knew what it would be about: that all students have a different learning style and so resources must reflect that. But I was quite mistaken. Dr. Marshik gave a convincing speech on the learning style myth, and how it has not been proven that learning styles exist, but it has been proven that everyone uses all learning styles to “store information in terms of meaning, not in terms of a sensory mode” (Marshik, 2015, 8:10). She went on to explain that although the concept of learning styles sounds too plausible to be false, that it can have a negative impact if we pigeonhole ourselves or our students as only able to learn in one particular style. Some learning tasks lend themselves to a particular teaching style, such as learning to ride a bike is best done by doing it, not by seeing it, but that is separate from assigning yourself a learning style.
How will this change my teaching? By being careful to select the best teaching style for learning activities, ensuring a breadth is used, and helping my students to not disengage from an activity simply because it doesn’t match their ‘self-appointed’ learning style. I’d recommend watching the video and would be interested in your thoughts on the learning style myth too.
Reference
Marshik, T. (2015). Learning styles & the importance of critical self-reflection [Video]. TEDxUWLaCrosse. Available from https://youtu.be/855Now8h5Rs