Knowing the learning styles of the students allows the instructor to teach the class accordingly.
it makes it easier to keep student engaged.
I am also visual , demos and hands on task are the best way for me to retain and learn new infos
As a writing instructor, my instinct is, of course, to deliver written and spoken content - readings, discussion, writing assignments. That's great for those students who learn through auditory and written techniques, and not so great for the others. It's a constant struggle to insert techniques that will appeal to other students.
One point I emphasize early in a course is to think of any piece of writing as something that can be "built" and not just "written". (It's really just another word for outlining, a word I fear may have grown stale through overuse in high school or other education settings.) I encourage students to think about the sections and parts they need, and THEN worry about the words and sentences. To that end, I take a sample essay and print the paragraps out on separate pieces of paper, and then ask students to arrange them in the order they think the paragraphs appeared in the original essay. I also encourage them to arrange them in different sequences, to see how the structure of an essay can change and can create different effects. I hope that by doing this, the kinesthetic learners can better see how essays are not just written but are "built." Perhaps visual learners can get a better perception of the connection between "parts" and words and sentences.
Hi Susan
The most important tool in the teaching strategy is to use the 4 sensory modilities in our metode of teaching , auditory, written, visual, and konesthetic
Eric
Knowing the learning styles of your students enables you to create effective instruction for an enhanced learning experience.
Knowing the learning styles of my students will help me actually educate my students. I tend to have a very diverse group of students and this will also help me when developing and delivering the course content required.
Knowing the learning styles of your students can help you enforce the key points of what it is you are trying to teach them. Using the most effective means of delivery makes for a better class as well as a most informative one, and that means that you are a more effective instructor.
Thanks, Susan,
Good suggestions. I sometimes give the students links to interactive excerises and games to help them learn concepts. This is definitely visual and perhaps tactile as well?
Regards, Lyn
Only when we understand how our students best receive and apply new information, can we know how best to offer that information to them. The instructor's effectiveness lies in finding the most efficient route to the student's brain; know the learning style and you'll find the route.
Hi Theresa- Thank you for a very useful posting! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi Kesha - bWelcome to ED 103! Thank you for a very well written post. I especially liked that you mentioned teaching to the learning styles may"stretch" instructors. The pay-off is well worth the effort!! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
Hi Emma- Yes, as instructors we need to do everything that we can to reach our students. As you state , we cannot always accomodate everyone all the time,but we must make every effort to accomodate each studnt as often as possible. Best wishes - Susan
Hi Lyn - Welcome to ED 103! Most of my teaching lately has also been online and I agree, the tactile learner can have a tough time in the online environment,although I think most would shy away from online courses. The best idea I have come up with is to ask students to send digital photos of their projects or incorporate them into online presentations. Thanks for an excellent posting! Susan
Hi Tenisha - Welcome to ED 103! As you point out it is exciting to be creative as you plan delivery of your lessons to the various styles. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
Knowing the learning styles of the students speeds up the class because the instructor has a destination and now a map to take the students there. Rarely do all the students learn best in the same way. This knowledge tells you the way to teach to the students so they best comprehend and retain the topic.
By knowing the learning styles of your students, one can tailor the delivery of the day lessons in formats that best suit the students diverse learning styles. Also as an instructor you can become creative with your delivery of the lesson plan. You can up play one learning style more than another and see how receptive the class it the one particular styles over another.
custimze the class to thier needs.
Hi Susan and all,
Knowing how people best learn helps us to get the concepts across to as many as possible. I am not sure that I have ever taken a learning styles inventory and do not have access to this information about my students. If you know of a good one, please let me know so that I can take it.
I think I am audio visual. As a student, I needed to hear the lectures. I have often talked to myself when I was a student. ;-) I also found it useful to diagram the concepts I was learning and do this when teaching.
I do however bring up learning styles in class so that students know that I am eager to find various ways that will best help them to learn.
Suggestions for visual learners might be to concentrate on figures in the text. Auditory learners can listen to me explain the concepts.
Sometimes an instructor can reach both auditory and visual learners by painting a picture in their minds with words. Compare it to something visual, for example.
And of course, the written word is prevalent in all classes, through the text and assigned readings.
Tactile learning is a bit more difficult in my online classes. If we have assignments that ask them to complete an active project at home that would help. Suggestions for this?
Thanks, Lyn
The benefits of knowing the learning styles of your students is huge! You can adapt your course instruction to fit their needs while still giving the entire lesson and course directives! The better you know your student population, the better you can teach the required information to your students.
