I absolutely agree. I have given my students a series of tests during the first week of class to analyze their learning styles so that I could better teach them. I have since noticed a increase in their test scores.
knowing the learning styles of the students will help an instructor to reach more of their students. If you just strictly use powerpoint, and do not incorporate other ways of learning into your teaching style you can easily loose students.
Hi James - We also have a Medical Coding program at my college. Those short term programs can definitely be challenging! Susan
I teach anatomy and Physiology, Medical coding, Insurance process (billing and claims processing).
It is quite a challenge when students are reading on average 5-6 chapters a week with all the demands of the various instructors. The classes are taught in 5 week mods so at least I can tweak my style.
Hi Anthony - Thanks for your post to the forum. Having students participate in the "active learning' that you describe really increases their retention of the material. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
A variety of learning styles is the key. After a learning assessment of the class has been done, I have found that a hands on approach is a very effective learning style that my students enjoy the most. In the earlier hours of the day I will vary the learning style with reading and small projects that can be done in separate group settings. This tends to keep the students motivated. I also enjoy power point demonstrations and I sometimes ask the students to put there own power points together on material they have learned and explain it to the class. They all enjoy doing this.
Instructors can use the preferred learning styles of their students to plan their lectures/course content. If I incorporate into my classroom different ways of bringing the material across to the students, I will keep students, who might drop out if they only hear lectures, for example. It can be a fun environment, more diverse. It enables students and instructors to interact in varioous ways, talk to one another, for example.
Hi Joan - Thanks for your post to the forum. You are so correct- students need to have variety in our delivery, no matter what their preferred learning style is. Also, switching things up keeps us from getting bored and stale! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Hi James - sounds like you are definitely on the right track! What subjects do you teach? Susan
I have just resently begun teaching. I was stuck in powerpoint and lecture mode. When I asked for feed back I was asked to provide hand outs and allow more interaction in the classroom. I try to now break my class into lecture/power point, handouts and more open discussion. I see better body language and I'm reaching some students that I have not in the past. After quizzes I allow extra credit if they can find the right ansswer.
Knowing the learning styles of students can certainly help students with mastery of subject matter. Using a variety of methods to present information can also keep the class from feeling a sense of boredom. If a class is always a lecture, even the auditory learner will become lackadaisical with the information presented.
When an instructor knows and understands the student's learning style, everyone will win. The instructor will face less frustration. Students will better grasp materials. The instructor will reach and touch their students in many different ways.
Knowing and understanding different learning styles helps me become a better instructor. It allows me to reach more of my students by incorporating different activities that appeal to the different learning styles.
Being able to identify the learning styles of my students enables me to tailor course content in order to maximize learning opportunities. I find the kinesthetic students the most difficult to accomodate, because some conceptual information does not lend itself easily to that model. It is a constant challenge to figure out how to present material in novel ways.
Hi Denise- Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree that having information about our students' learning styles upfront, can really help us to create lesson plans that work well. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
instruction is individual, so the instructor must be aware of each students learning needs.
Hi Lu!
Just as your college, my college also tests each new student that is enrolled. This is very beneficial to the instructors of our campus. From my experience, I have learned to create my lextures to reflect all of the different learning styles.
I think that is of great benefit for the instructors and faculty. I believe it should be policy to test for this and have this information available to instructors and facukty for review. If an instructor could already be familiar with their students learning styles beforehand it would give them better insight as to how to approach instruction in the classroom.
If I know the different learning styles of my students, I can reach all of the different types of learners effectively. I can tailor my lessons to include all types of learners.
Knowing the learning styles of students is almost a necessity in today's post-secondary classroom. I believe that students are conditioned to learning in an environment where their needs are met by differentiated instruction (as they should be).
I believe that the days of professing to students is over. Feverishly writing notes and expecting students to keep up and memorize materials is asking our students to fail. We need to allow students the opportunity to find what works for them so they can capitalize on their strengths.
