Hi Chris- Thanks for your post to the forum. It sounds like you "see" your students through numerous classes in their program. Is it totally online? That extended contact is certainly an advantage in getting to know your students and their learning styles! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
At Le Cordon Bleu, we have students of all ages and experience. It is very benefitial to know what type of learning styles I have in the classroom, because I have one time to demo the food and I need to get everyone to understand. I write on the board, I talk, and also demonstrate the objectives of the day. When I go around the room I can cater my instruction at a moments notice to their needs.
Good point Lori! A little spice never hurt anything, plus it helps wake up the students that are yawning! Good posting, Chris Graves.
Hello Harriett,
I agree, it helps us tailor our delivery methods to meet the needs of each student. My classes tend to be visual, kinesthetic, and auditory, not a lot of room for me to be written when teaching online. I think the visual "hands-on" approach works and I try to mix it up from time to time with my lectures. Good point made, Chris Graves.
Exactly Elven,
I teach online and that makes it difficult to get a good feel for the different types of learning styles my students have. So, I just try to see how the first class goes in order to get to know my students, then keep my options open in future classes, in regards to the delivery methods I use. Good Job, Chris Graves.
There are several instructional benefits of knowing the learning styles of your students. To begin, knowing the learning styles of your students will help an Instructor plan the way the course is taught. The ability to be able to know the different learning styles, and using that to your advantage while teaching, will help the Instructor focus their time and energy into the direction for the benefit of the students, thus keeping their interest in the subject matter.
This knowledge can be used to help make an instructor more effective because they can better plan how the class is taught and keep the motivational factor in gear and enthusiasm high. Thanks, Chris Graves.
I think that sounds completely appropriate, but do you ever evaluate the classes learning style so you can further change your lesson plans to meet your classes needs? Does that create a ridiculous amount of work? I'm new to teaching, and I am curious as to how experienced instructors/professors handle this.
If you know the learnning styles of your students you can tailor your style of teaching to their best way of learning. If you have an auto mechanics class with mechanics you shouldn't be conducting lectures.
Hi Jerry - Thanks for your post to the forum. It does seem sometimes that instructors must also be psychologists or detectives to get into how our students learn best. It certainly keeps our work challenging! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
I too, have mostly have kinesthetic/visual learners. I have noted that a quick overview of the accounting chapter then on to the working papers, helps to solidify what I need them to know.
It is nice if you can acommidate to a select students personal learning style but there are always limits preset by management.
One of the biggest benefits I can see is by knowing the learning styles, it can and will be easier to determine the students actual style by the questions they ask or the difficulties they may explain to you about learning the material. While we can attempt to prepare for each style, knowing which one the student has is imperative for tailoring our methods to them. The questions a student asks in the first few days of the class tend to have subtle ques as to their particular style. Knowing these styles before entering can help you pick up on the ques through their questions and you can mold the course content to adapt to their styles.
Students appreciate a design that is more personal than universal.
so you can help student to achieve their goal sucessfully.
A bit of prep time can go a long way in reducing stress on you and your students. Knowing the student's learning styles can make your job as an instructor easier and class will proceed a lot smoother. Varying your approach to target as many styles as possible will lead to less frustration and in turn more success.
IF YOU KEEP A BALANCE OF LEARING STYLES IN YOUR CLASSROOM IT WILL MAKE TOU MORE EFFICTIVE AS A TEACHER
Having the information on how your students perfer to absorb material gives the teacher a chance to tailor the lessons to encompass the learning styles that are present in the classroom.
Hi Tiffant- Thanks for your post to the forum. You gave us a very succinct explanation of the benefits of knowing our students' learning styles- thanks for sharing! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
The benefits of knowing the learning styles of your students include being able to test, lecture, and request participation in a certain way. If your lecture includes your voice, the textbook, and an eye-catching powerpoint, followed by a demonstration of certain material, you are able to reach all four primary learning styles in the same lecture. This ensures that all the students are getting an understanding of the material presented.
Hi Thaddeus- That would indeed be wonderful! LOL! Best wishes -Susan
