Whitewater Rafting

What a cool analogy!  Even though I have never been an instructor or been whitewater rafting, somehow I can understand the comparison of white water rafting to teaching.  There is no predictability in white water rafting or teaching.  You never know what is around the corner or what problems you might run in to on your journey.  For example, what would happen if I lost my ore?  Uh oh…now that’s a dilemma!  I have no way of steering, should I just abandon ship or try and work it out?  What would happen if I planned out a lesson, taught it and no one got it?  Do I just throw in the towel and move on to another subject or do I try and figure out what would make my students get it?  I think that in both situations, you obviously can’t just abandon ship; you have to figure out the solution to the problem and move forward!

Assignment 1.1 - Tough Decision!

Step 1: Define the decision clearly.

My husband and I have been talking a lot lately about wanting a life free from yard work, pool maintenance and the constant repairs that our house currently requires.  In the next few months, we’ll be making the decision on whether or not to sell our house to live a more carefree lifestyle.

Step 2: Consider all the possible choices.

1.     Sell our current home and rent/buy a condo

2.     Rent out our current home and rent/buy a condo

3.     Stay in our current home and hire someone to help out with maintenance

4.    Just suck it up and deal with it!

Step 3: Gather all relevant information and evaluate the pros and cons of each possible choice.

Possible choices	Information needed	Pros	Cons
Sell our current home and rent/buy a condo	Is our house worth the amount left on the loan? Should we hire a realtor to sell our current home or sell it on our own? Do we need a realtor to help us find a condo to rent or buy?	Less maintenance Less stress More harmonious marriage Freedom to travel more More money left over at the end of the month	Having neighbors that share a wall. No yard for the dogs. Possibly losing money in the sale of the house. Losing the tax write-off.
Rent out our current home and rent/buy a condo	Do we need a property manager? Will the rent cover the mortgage? Do we need a realtor to help us find a condo to rent or buy? Will the new tenants take care of our house?	Less maintenance More harmonious marriage Less stress Freedom to travel more More money left over at the end of the month Being able to write off the interest and other expenses.	Having neighbors that share a wall. No yard for the dogs. Having to deal with tenants possibly ruining your house.
Stay in our current home and hire someone to help out with maintenance	Can we find someone that is trustworthy and takes pride in their work? Will we be able to afford the help? Should we enlist the help just for the spring and summer when the most maintenance is needed?	Less stress More harmonious marriage No packing More time for having fun on the weekends Being able to write off the interest.	Less money at the end of the month
Just suck it up and deal with it!		No packing. Pride of ownership. Being able to write off the interest.	Continued stress Continued bickering between myself and husband about responsibilities. Dealing with the constant upkeep of the house.

Step 4: Select the choice that seems to best meet the needs of the situation.

In doing this exercise, I believe that the best choice would be to stay in our current home and hire someone to help out with the maintenance.  Even though we would have less money at the end of the month, by hiring someone to help out for the spring and summer would allow us more time on the weekends to have some well-deserved fun instead of constantly doing housework.

Step 5: Implement a plan of action and then monitor the results, making necessary adjustments.

·         Determine how much we can afford to pay someone to help us out

·         Determine how much help is actually needed in order to free up some of our time

·         Find a reputable trustworthy person to fill the position

·         Enjoy the free time!

Assignment 4.2 - My Personal Learning Journal

This class I became more familiar with the different learning styles and teaching strategies that help students succeed.  When I began learning about my own preferred learning style I thought that I could only succeed in learning in a class that used teaching strategies that were geared for my preferred learning style.  Through the weeks, I have learned that what I really need is a class that uses teaching strategies that embrace all learning styles.

Although I have never been an instructor, this class has helped me understand the different types of learners.  I believe that by having a better understanding of the different learning styles will make me a better instructor.

I now understand that in order to reach all students in the learning environment, I need to consider their learning styles and personalities when creating my lesson plan.  I need to create assignments and engaging activities that include all learners and their preferred learning styles.  I believe this will allow students in my classroom the best chance at success!

Assignment 3.3 - Information Overload

As I was reading Victor Hugor’s blogs, I came across the blog “Learning Styles Don’t Exist?”  Mr. Hugor must have read my mind, because this was topic that I was going to write about for my assignment this week!  I must say that by reading all the information on Learning Styles throughout this course, I am now on information overload!!  The facts are that people learn in different ways and have a preferred style of learning.  But are these really facts?  I’m beginning to think the answer is “no”.  I had to think about this for a minute.  How is it that I learn best?  I am a visual learner.  Yep, that’s me.  But wait!  I now realize that if I combined the styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), I would learn that much more!  So what does that mean?  Do learning styles really exist?  A week ago, I would have said “absolutely!”  Today, I’m not so sure….

Create assignments for every learning style?

"Educators should create assignments for every learning style so that students have the best environment to learn in."

Here are my thoughts...

I believe that as educators it is our responsibility to put forth the effort in teaching so that students maximize their learning and retention.  So why not create assignments for every learning style?  I realize that this requires a lot of extra work on our part as the educator, but I believe it could really add a lot of value for our students.  For example, as you create your lesson plan, create different assignments based on the different learning styles of your students. Throughout the class have the student pick which assignment to complete based on their own learning style.  From a learners’ point of view, I would love to have different options in the classroom!  What do you think?