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Impact of 4MAT for teachers and students

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Impact of 4MAT for teachers and students

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Teachers have an effective way to differentiate instruction based on the learning preferences of  the whole student.

4MAT’s approach to meeting the needs of individual learners and creating engaging and meaningful learning opportunities will help foster academic success for students.

For more information on research studies that show direct impact of 4MAT in K-12 education visit:

The 4 MAT Research Guide
(Pages 31-54)

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YouTube has vast content that allows for teachers and/or students to easily search for topics of learning.

YouTubes's ease of use and accessibility across multi-technological platforms (computers, tablets, smartphones) allows students to produce  a personalized project to demonstrate mastery of a learning task.

This tool best meets the needs of 4MAT's imaginative and dynamic learners by providing a creative outlet to adapt their learning demonstration.

In addition, teachers and peers can comment on productions to provide feedback for continuation of the learning process.

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“The 4MAT system is designed to provide every student with a preferred learning task during every lesson. Listed below are the 8 instructional events proposed by this system.”
Image Source

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The goal of 4MAT is to  allow teachers to understand the individual learner at a deeper level (whole student approach).  This approach provides every student with a preferred activity/learning task in every lesson increasing student engagement and academic achievement.

“4MAT can help transform the quality of learning in your organization, for teachers and students alike.”
(aboutlearning.com)

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Seesaw allows students to share work, resources etc., in the form of a photo, video, drawing, uploading a file, note, or link, which enables students to express their thoughts and ideas in their most preferred way, which would support the different learning preferences of the 4MAT system.
Why? The teacher and students can view each other's items that are uploaded and comment on what is uploaded to the class for discussion. This enables students to see each others perspective, thoughts, and ideas on a topic.
What? Students can provide a description of what they have learned and their ideas on a specific topic using multiple different ways to present their information. As described above, students and teachers can upload a file, create a note, link, photo, video, or drawing.
How? The teacher needs to create an account and the students can access the class through a QR code or a text code on any electronic device. Students can go on the seesaw website or download the application.
If? Students and teachers are learning from each other using this particular program. They can provide resources, their perspectives, and question each others thoughts on a specific topic to have a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

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“The purpose of 4MAT is to create and deepen insight regarding learning. You will gain essential insight on individual differences, strengthen your understanding of successful communication and learn how to create more successful learning environments.” (4mat.eu)

“Her (Bernice McCarthy’s) goal was to create a simple and effective model for teachers that would help them reach out to more students more often.” (aboutlearning.com)

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Teachers also play different roles for students in each specific learning preference quadrant. All teacher roles are more student centered, where teachers aren’t just thought of as the “keepers of knowledge”, but students are actively finding answers to their questions. The visual below demonstrates the role of the teacher for each learning style.

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Pair with any presentation tool to create an artifact on Digital Citizenship
Netsmartz
Why? Students will be able to connect new information with personal experience and establish the  usefulness of it in their daily lives.
What? Students will analyzing and classifying the components of Digital Citizenship and researching information and facts about it.
How? Creating a presentation on Digital Citizenship will allow students to gain information that is personally relevant to them.
If? Students will learn from videos, games, collaborative and problem-solving activities as they navigate through the website. Pair with any presentation tool (student choice) to show learning.
Netsmartz DC Training to Teach

On the teacher side, videos and other resources are used to train teachers how to teach DC to their students at all grade levels.

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What are some Pitfalls of the 4 MAT System?

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What are some Pitfalls of the 4 MAT System?

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*Overload of information for students and staff to wade through and try to make sense of.  This can lead to a lack of buy-in from staff and willingness to take on "another new initiative".   It may also lead to student frustration.  If teachers are unsure of what they are doing, students will also feel unsure of their learning.  Add in the infinite number of technology resources that could be applied and used in  lessons, and feelings of frustration and information overload are likely to occur.

*Confusion of terminology (learning styles vs. preferences).  Learning styles has long been the terminology used in education to describe how students learn best. If students have been and are led to believe they are only able to learn in one main way, that poses problems for both teachers and students. Teachers in that they will struggle to reach all students effectively.  Students in that they will begin to struggle in many different areas of education and may feel they are not smart enough to learn and keep up with their peers.  They may be labeled as a result.

*Lack of time for quality training, , support (staff, admin, parents, students).  The 4 MAT system in not an easy or quick  system to implement.  At first glance it seems relatively simple.  To do justice to the model and see the full benefits of it, time to learn more about the system as well as build lessons around it requires support from administration.

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“The 4MAT System honors the distinctive style that each student brings to the classroom, while helping each student grow by mastering the entire cycle of learning styles.” (McCarthy, 1997)

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“The 4MAT System honors the distinctive style that each student brings to the classroom, while helping each student grow by mastering the entire cycle of learning styles.” (McCarthy, 1997)

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What you will see & won't see in a 4 MAT learning environment.

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What you will see & won't see in a 4 MAT learning environment.

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Core Questions Students Can Learn to Ask Themselves

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Core Questions Students Can Learn to Ask Themselves

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iMovie is a video editing software that allows for users to create and share movies with others. Using iMovie in classroom projects is a great way to promote a culture of collaboration and cooperation among students. They can work in groups to create iMovies that includes text, photos,and sound to  represent  their projects. While watching works of others, students can have the chance of giving feedback to their peers.
When teaching and learning about digital citizenship, students are able to demonstrate an idea that they may have about what it means to be a digital citizen or ways to practice safe online behaviors.
Students are able to create:
-engaging presentations
-how to videos
-recordings of events
-digital storytelling
-book trailers
In relation to 4MAT:
Why? Students interact and collaborate together to listen, brainstorm, and speak about how they feel the movie should be created.
What? Students develop the skills that need to be portrayed in the video for other students to learn from.
How? Students experiment with the iMovie software to get their production just right and to portray the correct effects and emotions.
If? Students create the iMovie and adapt to changes along the way to create the most understanding for learning.

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To show students why they are doing an activity or assignment is huge. There has to be the usefulness included in the lesson otherwise there will be no buy in from the students.
While students find the relevance there has to be the celebration for learning. Students collaborating together to share in the learning is crucial.

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Using green screen technology allows students to create videos showing evidence of their learning.  They can visit the White house or go back to the Civil War. Fly through the air and defeat bullies in a single bound!.

Why? Collaboration becomes a key component within groups allowing students to choose the aspect of production that fits best with their interest or learning style.

What?  Theorizing and conceptualizing what components and materials are needed and analyzing each step from start to finish.

How? Students are engaged in all aspects of producing the video such as scripting, acting, props, direction and information gathering, providing students the ability to choose their area of interest.

If? Students who struggle with expressing themselves and their learning through writing (ie. essays) can show their knowledge of the topic using the learner profile that best fits them.

If? Students who struggle with speaking in front of groups can show evidence of their learning via green screen or a simple video that is completed in a more private environment.

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Without application there is no connection that can be made. Students can try and extend their learning based from where they start on the 4MAT cycle. All students will work through each quadrant, but it is important to try based upon the knowledge and extend to more complex ideas when appropriate.

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To image and define the concepts can often be hard within a lesson. By allowing for students to use the appropriate learning style, the connection can be more concrete within the actual understanding.

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It is important for students to have the opportunities to connect and examine so that examples can be connected together within the learning.
By connecting and analyzing, students are participating and engaging rather than just being lectured to.

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Inspiration allows for students to create mind maps and outlines electronically.
When teaching and learning about digital citizenship, it is important to show the cause and effect that actions have when using technology in the correct and incorrect ways.
In relation to 4MAT:
Why? Brainstorming is a huge component of inspiration and how to create the mind map or outline for the most benefit.

What? Classifying information to be in the mind map that creates the most meaning for viewers. Students are able to add their own meaning to the mind map with different images.

How? Students are able to manipulate the information that is learned and ask how does this apply to us. By being a digital citizen, students will be wondering that often to see how it relates to their life.
If? Students create their own learning within the creation of their mind map or outline. They have a voice in deciding if I add in this component how will I better understand the information.

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Blogger is an online platform for teachers and students to use in publishing their own thoughts through words, pictures, and video.
When teaching and learning about digital citizenship, it is crucial for teachers and students to demonstrate in a safe environment. Teachers have to be digital citizens that can show students how to behave and act appropriately.
Students need an environment to practice and demonstrate their knowledge of digital citizenship. This includes appropriate posts, respectful comments towards others' thoughts, and the ability to use language that is appropriate and kind.
In relation to 4MAT:
Why? Listening to others' ideas and feelings through text and sound.
What? Planning what each blog post will be about and how to make sure that it is following the roles of a digital citizen.
How? With each blog post is there something more that can be improved upon? As a digital citizen, it is important for the student to continue to experiment and continue to improve their work.
If? The actual work of creating the blog post from scratch and what will go into the creation. If readers don't like it, then what needs to be changed? Many questions to consider in that aspect.

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Click on the video, then click "View Original"

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Teach Toddlers Colors Numbers Preschool Race Cars & Magnet Truck

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Uploaded by Jolene Pikarski on 2016-10-16.

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DoInk

Veescope

WeVideo

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Click here for resources in Emaze

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The 4MAT process would start with determining which learning preference each student would fall under in terms of the 4 quadrants. This can be determined through the multiple questionnaires available. Examples of questionnaires include the following:

Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire

Multiple Intelligences Self-Assessment

Learning Style Inventory

Students would be placed in the specific quadrant they fall under based on learning preference. Each quadrant provides specific types of activities to support the preferred learning method. The visuals below provide information related to the climate, method, and teacher expectation in each quadrant.

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4MAT was created to provide a differentiated and successful learning environment that thrives on the different learning styles of each student in the classroom. Students are grouped into four different categories, based on their specific learning preferences as shown in the visuals below.