By knowing the different learning styles of your students you are able to help your students understand the course content better and improve their academic performance in your class.
Knowing the different learning styles of your students also teaches you how to accommodate students by using different methods of teaching. After you have learned the various strategies to help students with different learning styles, you will be able to use those same strategies in the future and continue to improve them as you teach various students.
Hi Kevin, Thanks for your post to the forum. Absolutely -it is unrealistic to expect to address every learning style in every lesson, but as you mention if we give it our best shot we are doing a good job. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Since it is often difficult to get to know each student's style, I try to keep the delivery systems varied from day to day. I interweave lecture with games the students do on the lesson plan;sometimes, asking questions often helps to keep them engaged. The classes I instruct go for two hours at a time so I am continually looking for ways to improve attention.
Everyone seems to have their own way of "getting it". Some people you can talk to until you're blue in the face and they won't comprehend until you draw a picture. By utilizing different delivery styles, students will have multiple chances to receive the information in a way familiar and comfortable to them, thus increasing total learning. While not every topic in every subject can allow for all styles of learning, using more than one each time is better than not.
Hi Daniel, Thanks for your post to the forum. If you work to accomodate the learning styles, you will see progressive improvement in your teaching! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Teresa, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are right to share information about their learning styles and admit that they will need to adapt to other styles as well. Students generally react to this very well.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Nikki ,Thanks for your post to the forum. You have perfectly summarized the value of teaching to the learning styles! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Matthew, Excellent that you have Learning Styles Inventories as part of your curriculum! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Information can be more readily embraced and processed if a student can receive it in a way he/she understands: It is imperative that an instructor can provide information to students in various ways--ways specific to multiple learning styles--in order to access their learning style.
So far, I have found that my students do indeed have different styles of learning, and I've been teaching for only 3 months. I can see that it's going to be important for me to recognize those differences, and plan ways to maximize the effectiveness of my lesson plans. So far, I'm encouraged by the info I've gotten from this program!
Benefits of knowing how students best understand the information is a pivital part of learning. On the first day of lecture I have my students take a small assessment of their learning style simply to get an idea how much I should vary my learning styles for this particular group of students.
Each group of students brings a new challenge and one that we as instructors should adapt to. I inform student to be flexible when they are not in 'their prefered learning mode'.
Basically the major benefit for instructors is to know how your student learn best in this classroom setting and attempt to alter your lesson to thier learning styles.
Knowing the learning styles of my students help me increase the learning capacity of each of them. I see the results when some of my students obtain higher scores on tests after using their preferred learning style.
Knowing the learning styles of each student will allow me (or any instructor) to tailor lessons so that each student gets the most out of each lesson. Often time instructors teach the way they learn, which is not always effective. If I teach to target visual learners but many of my students are auditory learners then my lessons will be ineffective. It is imperative that we take the time to understand the different learning styles of our students and tailor lessons that incorporate those styles.
I am one of the Investment in Success instructors at our college. This class teaches students college survival skills, and one of the first assignments they complete for me is a Learning Styles Inventory. Knowing their results helps me in using instructional methods that address not only their strengths, but also their weaknesses. We brainstorm ideas for how to best use one's style in learning material, preparing for tests, etc. It's good for students to develop at least some level of comfort in using styles other than their preferred ones, because that ultimately makes them more well-rounded learners--and me a more well-rounded instructor.
Hi Patricia, thanks for your post to the forum. You went the "extra mile" to find a solution for your ESL student - Bravo! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Jesse, Thanks for your post to the forum. As you state, keeping the learning styles in mind when planning lessons is the best course. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Just asking students has opened my eye to each student’s individual needs. A student which English is his second language having a difficult time in medical terminology. I reached out to the librarian for audio versions of the medical terminology book and with success he was able to continue on.
I will be more ready to be an effective teacher
by making sure I am understanding each student's abilities
I find that thinking about the different learning styles allows me to plan different methods of delivering content. Even when not addressing a specific students learning style, it helps me to take all 4 styles into account when lesson planning.
