Friday, May 18, 2007
Field Dependent v Field Independent
These terms are used as learning styles and more. Do a little online research and let us know what field dependent v. field independent means in a classroom. What are the general characteristics of each? What are the ramifications in lesson planning? Which are you?
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According to the British Council for teaching English there are various types of learning styles, meaning that there are various ways in which our students can take in the information we feed them. Field-independent students "can easily separate important details from a complex or confusing background. They tend to rely on themselves and their own thought-system when solving problems. They are not so skilled in interpersonal relationships." Therefore, a teacher may want to let a field-independent student work on some activities alone. Field-independent students "find it more difficult to see the parts in a complex whole. They rely on others' ideas when solving problems and are good at interpersonal relationships", meaning they work best on activities in pairs or in small groups. For a teacher, this makes lesson planning extremely difficult because he/she needs to plan activities around the students needs and many times it is difficult to decide whether a certain activity should focus on the needs of field-dependent or field-independent students.
As a student, I am definitely a field-independent student because I brainstorm off of other people's ideas to create my own unique ones.
I forgot to include my source:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/learning_style.shtml
I found this article on field dependence/field independence that states that one who is field independent sees things and recognizes things quickly and easily. "A person who can easily recognize the hidden castle or human face in 3-D posters and a child who can spot the monkeys camouflaged within the trees and leaves of an exotic forest in coloring books tend toward a field independent style." Some characteristics include: great interpersonal/social skills, sense of their own identity,perceives the field in component parts. Field independent students enjoy working alone and are usually not affected by by the feedback they receive about their learning.
A field dependent person is "dependent on the total field so that the parts embedded within the field are not easily perceived, though that total field is perceived most clearly as a unified whole." Here are some characteristics of field dependence:socially unaware,perceives the field as a whole rather than different parts, and views the self as others view them. Field dependent students enjoy working with others, in groups, and find others' feedback very useful. Planning lessons to meet everyone's individual needs is difficult. Teachers may sometimes have to have a few different plans in mind so that their students are set in the appropriate environment to learn. There may be times when the teacher might tell the class that they have the option of working with others on an assignment or individually because of their different learning styles. I would consider myself to be a field independent student. Although I enjoy working with others and in groups, I concentrate better and I'm more productive when I'm on my own.
http://www.eltnewsletter.com/back/June2002/art1022002.htm
After doing some online research, I was able to find several online sites discussing field independence and field dependence. Some of the general characteristics of a field independent student are " they can easily separate important details from a complex or confusing background." A field independent student might rely on themselves when problem solving. This type of student tends to not be skilled in interpersonal relationships. A field dependent student "finds it more difficult to see the parts in a complex whole." This type of student might depend on others and their ideas when problem solving. Field dependent students, however, are better at interpersonal skills. These two concepts are part of the personality of the learners. The learner's personality influences how they aquire information and basically how they apply it as well. A field independent student might look at the whole picture and then start to analyze it by breaking it down into smaller parts. A field dependent student might begin by analyzing patterns of different parts of a whole before they actually look at the entire picture.
As a teacher, I feel that we should try and cater to both types of learners. We all know that children learn in a variety of ways and focusing on just one type would only be beneficial to one group of students. While setting up your class for the day might want to arrange the desks in groups or pairs to stimulate the field dependent learners. While the field independent learners might choose to work by themselves. I feel that if you allow the students to make the decision maybe they will benefit from that. A teacher must include both types of activities, it would only be fair. As teachers we must keep in mind that we must be fair to all our students.
As a student I feel that I am mostly field independent because I do like to work by myself and I find it easier to get ideas of my own that way. However, I also enjoy working cooperatively with my classmates. I feel that working in groups is a different feeling and sometimes you may feel like you have a great deal to offer to the group. I think it is good to be able to have a good balance between the two.
Sorry...forgot my sources also...
www.jstor.org/view
www.teachingenglish.org
According to the British Council for teaching English (which has nothing to do with teaching Spanish to HS students)there are various types of learning styles, meaning that there are various ways in which our students can take in the information we feed into them. Field-independent students "can easily separate important details from a complex or confusing background. Specially those like me that became with out knowing the language. They tend to rely on themselves and their own thought-system when solving problems,some how I think is because they are afrid to ask questions and thay are embarrased. They are not so skilled in interpersonal relationships. The teacher may want to let a field-independent student work on some activities alone. Field-independent students "find it more difficult to see the parts in a complex whole. They rely on others' ideas when solving problems and are good at interpersonal relationships", meaning they work best on activities in pairs or in small groups. For a teacher, this makes lesson planning extremely difficult because he/she needs to plan activities around the students needs and many times it is difficult to decide whether a certain activity should focus on the needs of field-dependent or field-independent students.
As a student, I am definitely a field-independent student because I brainstorm off of other people's ideas to create my own unique ones.
May 19, 2007 9:01 PM
Chrystianne R. S. said...
I forgot to include my source:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/learning_style.shtml
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