The more aware you are of the learning styles of your class the better you will be at the main function of your job as an educator... transferring the knowledge you have to your students and having them know what to do and why they are doing it.
I think it shows you have a personal interest when you go out of your way to meet the needs of your students by trying to use as many methods possible to impart knowledge to them.
Hello Class,
Knowing the different learning styles can help instructors determine the best methods of instruction to maximize student learning.
Hi William - From the description you give of your teaching, it sounds like you have all bases covered - keep up the great work!
I think I cover all the learning styles of my students--I think, however knowing the learning styles of my students will allow me to reach every one in my class. This in turn--I feel-- will result in more student success within my classes
This is all very interesting, and will be more intresting when I enter the class room next week. I now realize how important learning style is to the students we are teaching. I think-- looking back to my classes-- I have covered all learning styles when I teach my classes. It would be interesting to see if I favor one over the other. I demo, talk during the demo, show examples of what I demo, have a book showing how to do what I did, and I have the students do it. I would feel bad if I left some students out.
the four major learning styles are very important to understand. they really help me to teach well to the diverse group of students that we have. many ages, background experiences and cultures add to the fun learning environment
I can tailor the material to reach more students more effectively.
In a school where there are so many diverse students, it is vital to the success of your class to understand the different learning styles. In my class, I cover all the learning styles within the course delivery set-up. It is very successful and students write that they are learning.
Hi Jack - I like your analogy of teaching to the learning styles - "a juggling act"! That is indeed what it is and if your performance is good your students will undoubtedly be successful.
Hi Cathy - You have obviously already discovered the benefits of teaching to the learning styles. Thank you for sharing your success with us!
The benefits of knowing your students learning styles is it will make it easier for you to deliver class content and have the students understand and retain the information. I have always taught my class through a means of visual, auditory, and kinetic activities. I design my delivery of content using two of these 3 methods. Many students learn the best when the methods are combined. When I get to know my students and their learning styles I find we are able to cover more material in a class, have better group discussion/projects and they enjoy the class more.
Knowing the learning styles of my students makes me a better teacher, because I can give them the tools to be sucessful. I have all 4 groups in my classes.
Let me refer to my forum entry in the way of a reply:
I am fortunate to be teaching in an environment(the kitchen classroom) that is able to combiine most learning-style delivery methods as long as I pay attention to their needs. For example, the tactile learners are cooking; frequent chef demonstrations help satisfy the visual learners; a flip chart with assignments and recipe conversions helps those who need to see it in writing; as well as constant verbal coaching and time checks. The trick is to keep all fronts working, which takes a bit of juggling.
Now, as to how this can make me a more effective instructor, it is the ballancing of these delivery methods, along with the knowledge of which students benefit most from which methods, that should, hopefully, improve my effectiveness in the kitchen classroom. Then, I should be able to apply this information in the laying out of my lesson plans (the juggling act).
As a Merchandising instructor, I have found that when I apply a teaching approach that combines visual, tactile, written and audio information, the students actually remember the material and are able to make connections with other situations and classes.
Hi Susan - As you point out, putting the advance work in to address the styles in your lesson plans pays off in the end - having just a few students that need extra help is much less daunting a task!
Over time, I added components to the classroom to address each learning style. I have always known I was a visual/ auditory learner, so I started with how I learn best. when I studied learning styles in my masters program, I slowly added other components to the class to make sure I covered other learning styles. By doing this, I have found I am able to engage a higher majority of a very large class. There are always one or two that need more attention, but that is much less overwhelming as an instructor.
As a Culinary instructor I have students who enjoy reading, tactile involvement, audio and visual information. It is important to incorporate all of these aspects in each class. This has been effective for me to reach each student. In addition, we have some students from other countries that are dependent on the visual and tactile information in order to keep informed. You do not always know when they are struggling with the language barrier so it is important to include the different modes of learning.
The instructional benefits of knowing the learning styles of my students allows all students to understand the subject matter in different way.My teaching style would need to be versatile as opposed to repetitive.
Exactly, David! We can teach them to pass any test but unless they can use the knowledge/skills in their career we have not done our jobs.
Studennts are in class to learn the skills necessary to function in the business world. Although, they may pass exams, complete courses and graduate, if knowledge is not gain students will have difficulties functioning in their employment.
Givne these challenges, it is necessary for instructors to understand their students, develop and deliver the course material in a way that students will gain maximum benefits.
