Fitting the Pieces Together

 In my week one discussion, I stated, "As a student, I tend to learn through more unconventional means and tend to have more success if the instructor uses more theories. I know that I focus more on getting to the destination rather than the 'correct' answer; this is why I struggled so much in traditional science and math classes. I couldn’t see how my answer was wrong just because I got to it in a different manner. As the cognitive theory says, it is about how you acquire the knowledge, not necessarily the 'intended' response (Ertmer & Newby, 1993)."  After learning about all different types of learning theories, I still agree with my original statement; however, I have reworked my concept of what an ideal learning environment is like. 
In my statement, I say that I learn in more unconventional ways.  Through this course, I've realized that the unconventional methods I stated are actually not unconventional at all.  I learn more through cognitivism, connectivism, and constructivism.  Within these theories, I am a pretty common learner.  I have also realized that just because I don't retain information through behavorists methods doesn't make me an unconventional learner.  Most people struggle to gain information that way.
As far as learning styles, I said in the beginning that I am a audio/visual learner.  I still believe that to be true; however, I did have a little bit of a breakthrough in this course when I took the online evaluation to see what my perferred intelligence is.  It turned out that it is language, which I figured since I am an English teacher.  The breakthrough came in that I realized this intelligence is what stopped me from excelling in math and science, not necessarily because the instructors weren't teaching in the cognitivst theory.  As a language dominate learner, I would get hung up on the wording in the problem and the "deeper meanings" in the text, which made focusing on the linear problem difficult.  Furthermore, I had a few revelations with my 2nd and 3rd intelligence perferences: interpersonal and intrapersonal.  I didn't realize how much time I spend in intrapersonal thought until after that assessment.  I actually thought most people think about what's going on within themselves (mentally, emotional, etc.) as often as I do.  It really clarified some of the stress I put on myself and the importance I place on relationships and interactions.  The multiple intelligences section of the course really spoke to me .
If I gained this much insight into myself and my learning style and was able to clarify some elements of my life through this information, it is only fitting that I be able to do the same for the students I serve.  Therefore, as an instructional designer, I must keep in mind all learning styles from behavorist to multiple intelligences when designing learning activities.