Engagement Activity 1

I had the opportunity to complete the Solomon Felder test last year and am pleased after doing it once again that I now sit in the middle of sensing and intuitive but unfortunately I am still at the far end of the reflective, verbal and sequential scales. I thought perhaps after some study I may have become a little more balanced. Clearly there is still work to do. As a teacher and reflective learner I will be keen to explicitly explain everything to my students in class to make sure they have understood, much to my visual learners chagrin. As a student I like to take notes and read over everything I have been given. As a verbal learner I also like lectures and the lecture/student interaction. This relates to my reflective learning style as a class situation helps me to ask questions and clarify any problems I  might be having. I am very much a verbal learner also and realise that this may not suit the student of today. Engaging students with pictures and diagrams can help them understand and remember certain concepts and benefit their learning overall. As a sequential learner I like to follow steps to help me understand. Learning sequentially also means I can struggle to connect things together and often will miss the big picture. As a teacher connecting my subject to information my students already know will help the Global learners gain an overview and a better understanding of the information.
ICT will help balance out my learning styles as it will encourage me to be more creative with my lesson plans and encompass the different learning styles in my class. It gives both the student and the teacher the opportunity to explore information in various ways. ICT will benefit my active learners as it will suit their 'let's try' attitude and will help reflective learners find a balance as it won't always suit their note taking style. Intuitives will love ICT as it opens up possibilities and variety that is not repetitive. Sensing learners don't like surprises, so ICT is a valuable opportunity to allow these learners to adapt to change. ICT will assist the visual learner by giving them opportunities to see rather than hear. Again, the verbal learner will benefit from being exposed to this style.  ICT allows for many different possibilities for learning because it can help balance a student's learning style. This will ensure they have the best opportunity to succeed in the classroom.