It is important to provide approaches and resources that complement the learning styles of your students, because some approaches might not be the easiest to facilitate learning. Optional methods may help to “get the message across†easier than some approaches, as some learning styles will necessitate innovation in message delivery, in order to be effective.
-Tracy
The fundamental purpose of teaching is to transmit knowledge to others. This will happen more effectively if at least some of the lesson can compliment the individual learning styles of the students.
Hi James, Very well said!! Thanks for your post to the forum. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
A real challenge is maintaining the attention of everyone in the class when there are so many different learning styles present. I can see some students completely involved in the lecture or discussion, while others are a thousand miles away with a glazed look on their face.
I have found that by constantly varying my teaching style and stategy in a class, I can bring many of the "drifters" back from their last summer's vacation or their date last weekend. Also, it is rewarding to have someone answer a question correctly when you know a few minutes earlier they were not even paying attention. I can't hold all of the students' attention all of the time, but I'll settle for all of their attention most of the time.
Hi Sharena, Thanks for your post to the forum. That's it exactly! We just need to be sure to vary our delivery styles as much as possible to reach the diverse learning styles of our students. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Using a variety of resources and approaches are most important if you would like to engage all of your students and their various styles of learning in your classroom.
Hi Alexcia, Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree with your strategy of just trying to incorporate diverse delivery styles into our instruction. Best wishes for contnued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
As a professor it is important to cover all the learning styles of your students. Not everyone learns the same way, so you want to incorporate different learning styles into each lesson or trying a different style for each class session. This way you can ensure you have adapted each learning style.
It is important to give them the materials to help them better understand and get a better grasp on things they are learning
This helps them to fully understand their material and gives them a better understanding
Hi John, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, we can ledarn a lot by asking questions early and really listening! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
It is important to understand that every student is different and each person learns differently from the other. This is very difficult for the instructor but we must come to grips with reality. So then, we must take a few moments to evaluate and reevaluste to include every one in the learning process. Some times the connection can be made easy if we stop to consider who we have in the class and what each ones learning style is. I have found that students have a tendancy to let you know early in the class so that makes it easy to apply. Short questions and answers at the begining of the class gives us an oportunity to clues so that we can adopt to the different styles easily. I think this was mentioned in the presentation.
Hi John, Thanks for your post to the forum. That step-by-step delivery must be very effective! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Shawn, Thanks for your post to the forum. the General Education classes that I teach are usually viewed by my students in the same way. I also work hard to structure my courses to be sure that my students see their value. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
At Sanford Brown Boston we have many students that do not have business backgrounds. They need as much visual help as they can get. I use the overhead projector in accounting to introduce new journal entries one by one with shaded paper over the future entries. This shows them the journal form format and the need for accuracy and keeps me from writing freehand on the board and running out of space.
It's important to provide approaches and resources to students that complement their learning styles so that they can absorb and use as much of the information as possible. Memorizing information for short term goals (for example, a test) isn't the same as truly learning knowledge or a skill. By discovering what learning styles work best with students and classes, you can increase the likelihood that they'll retain that knowledge for future projects.
If you do not use lesson plans, or approaches that compliment your students' learning styles, your students will get bored. Boredom leads to other behavioral problems as well which could effect your entire class in a negative way. Above and beyond all, if they arent hooked and absorbing the information, you are both wasting your time in the classroom. If you are not presenting in a way in which they can understand or would prefer to take the information you may as well be talking in a foreign language.
Many students approach the course I teach as a requirement, meaning that it is not essential to their career objectives; rather, it is something they MUST do. For me, utilizing each student's individual learning style is a must if I don't want them falling asleep or playing on their laptop. I have to make the material relevant to their lives, and it is almost impossible to do that with a straight lecture format!
Hi Zekrayat, Thanks for sharing great examples of teaching to the learning styles! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Jasmin, Thanks for sharing some good examples of approaching the diverse learning styles. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
