Hi Sean - welcome to ED 103! Sounds like you have a "happening" classroom- keep up the great work!
Hi Jocelyne- Welcome to Ed 103! Thanks for a very valuable posting to the forum. You make an excellent point - the set up of the classroom can make a great difference.
Hi Jae - Welcome to Ed 103! I totally agree - making your teaching fresh and exciting will definitely make you more enthusiastic about what you do, and enthusiasm is contagious! Best wishes for continued success.
Hi Richard - thanks for your posting! Even though you are a new teacher you are obviously on the right track. Don't worry about using all the styldes all the time, just be sure to mix it up. Best wishes for continued success!
Knowing the different learning style of your students makes teaching more fun because it helps the teacher to accept and acknowledge his/her students the way the are. A well balanced teaching style leaves no student behind if the teacher changes gears to accommodate students learning styles.
Understanding learning styles help to make the classes more interesting as well as making the content more "learnable". This is easier for the smaller classes (6-10 students) that I have. You can almost use two or more styles to teach the same topic. Once you have a larger class size, maybe you can narrow it down to 1 or 2 methods. I have never actually assessed my students for their learning styles (this is my second quarter teaching). On the other hand I've heard students say that working through a problem on the board is much preferable to a lecture or Power-Point.
Awareness of the learning styles of the students obviously can produce a better course outcome for the student, yet there is a side benefit for the instructor as well. Incorporating more learning styles into the class can make the teaching of the course more exciting for the instructor. I believe an instructor is more effective and enthusiastic when they use a variety of ways to convey information.
By understanding how our students learn, we can tailor our delivery to meet all our students' learning styles. For lectures, I create my own power points, with text, & provide slides that require student discussion. During the power point, I discuss the content in further detail, which connects with the auditory learners. I also print the power points out so that "written word" students can take notes. Kinesthetic learners have the opportunity to draw or doodle on them as well.
Hi Everyone! I would like to add that with smaller classes, it is great to arrange the tables in the shape of circle or rectangle to create an environment that fosters inclusion and encourages discussion among the students. I've realized that students become more of a group, they support each other, learn each others names, and are more helpful to one another. Also, my students have so much to contribute, and with this type of setting, they feel more comfortable to share with the class.
Knowing learning styles should make your content delivery more dynamic. As an instructor I play the role of entertainer and the more dynamic I am in the class room the more engaged the student. If I can manipulate learning styles to fit proficiences the students need to know, then we have a "win win". visual learners have their needs met, Auditory learners have their needs met, etc...
Hi Caroline- You have perfectly summed up the advantages of teaching to the learning styles! One other advantage is for the teacher - it makes teaching the same material over and over much more interesting when you are regularly refreshing your technique.
To find out witch learning style each student is will help you to cover all the learning styles And help them to be a better student. I find that powerpoint helps alot for taking down notes, also demos help to get our points across of what we talk about & lecture. I find that almost 80% of my students are tactile, 5% auditory & 15% visual.
One benefit of knowing the learning styles of students is that it gives instructors the opportunity to develop a range of teaching strategies in their classroom. Even though students have preferred learning styles, a lesson with varied modalities encourages students to learn information in new ways.
Understanding different styles of learning can help me be a more effective instructor because my classes will have more variety and creativity. This in effect will promote student interest and will increase the passing and retention rate.
I discuss learning styles in my class and suggestions based on each style. I have found students, once they find their preferred learning style are somewhat relieved when they may have not been successful in the past they are ready to go at it again armed with new resources. I also can adapt my presentations if I find more students with one style.
You are correct. Many of my students find once we discuss learning styles and what they can do to help learn more productively that they are more effective in their learning. They also realize what might have caused failures in other settings and then become more open to all styles.
knowing my students makes me adjust to their style of learning
Understanding learning styles is essential to keeping students engaged. If one style is focused on too much, you'll lose the rest of the audience. As a culinary arts instructor, the majority of my students are kinisthetic learners who must get their hands dirty to understand. If I were to lecture all day, they would learn nothing.
Knowing and using the learning styles in the class room setting and curriculum design not only make the class more accessible to students, but also more interesting to students and the instructor.
I think having this knowledge and utilizing it, can help the effectiveness of teachers so that they not only can reach more students, but also help them move out of the knowledge stage and on to the higher thinking stages. By presenting things in more than one learning style, this allows students to make connections within their class knowledge and the knowledge they are gaining in other classes.
Hi Crystal- Welcome to ED 103! I had no knowledge of learning styles when I was a student and wonder what a difference it would have made if I did back then! Toady, we really do seem to make our students partners in their learning rather than just empty jugs into which we pour our knowledge - a major improvement!
When I know the learning styles of my students, I can adjust my class presentations. Often I make a conscious choice as to how I pesent material. I think it is important for students to be aware of their own learning style, just another way of taking control of their own learning.
