Saturday, January 19, 2008

paradigm shift

I have always thought of myself as verbal (as you ALL know!) and perhaps a little ADD. I have trouble paying attention in class unless I am:
1) taking notes or
2) talking.
verbal, right? but then as I showered and wondered why i enjoyed that step class when it was so frustrating and fast i started to think....
...i remembered this dance class i took with my sister back in the late 80's or early 90's. It was hard but as we worked and learned it got better and that felt good. Then I remembered the dance classes I took in college (modern, african), the acting classes I loved and how physical they were, the swimming lessons I took early on saturdays in high school (i could already swim, i just wanted to get better), the salsa and the swing dances i have gotten into over the years.

I never realized how much I worked out in the past. Then I realized that I wasn't doing any of those things as a workout, but to learn them. Then it hit me - I like to learn through movement.

I am a kinesthetic learner.

I know, who cares, right? It's just a learning style. But this is groundbreaking for me. I always thought I learned by listening and then writing and talking. I do DO that, but I think I prefer moving around and doing something to talking about things. I think I channel that moving around energy into my voice, since that is all one gets to move most of the time.

How could I have never noticed this before? I mean, it is my job to figure out how my students learn and then present material to them in ways that is more easily accessible to them. How could I have missed this about myself? And more importantly: what does it mean for the future? How can I apply this new self-knowledge to improving things in my future?

I need to think about it more, but one thing is clear. I need to give this part of me more to feed on. I like moving and learning by doing. So I should do more of that.

well, I started this post days ago and then never came back to finish it. I will call it finished now and perhaps this will get me back into the swing of writing on the blog again. I want to keep writing here and so: I will.

1 comment:

bapeduc8r said...

We often see ourselves through the eyes of others. Teachers constantly present new information in an auditory format, forcing you to tap into that part of your brain. Our generation did not value learning styles and teachers weren't trained to explore different ways of teaching. I'm glad you found your calling and remember everyone has his or her unique style of learning and I believe it can shift depending on the skill taught. Your students will be better off now that you've discovered your calling.