Hi Jennie,
It has been my experience that all of us has a dominate learning style, but we really has a combination of styles. Often times they are very evenly balanced, so we have to teach them using a combination of techniques.
take care,
rob
This is absolutely true! I learn from my students all the time and when I am aware of how they learn, it enhances my teaching skills.
Hi Ron:
Yes, all the learning styles are useful, and probably most students will benefit from instruction delivered in a fashion that incorporates these different styles.
I think that as faculty, we have the closet connection with the student directly. It may be that for a given course, lesson or topic, it would be beneficial to modify the delivery in a learning style that better relates to the cohort being taught. Of course, we don't always have that luxury, but it could be instrumental in better student outcomes when the opportunity presents.
Regards, Barry
As much as possible I believe it's a good idea to incorporate all four learning styles into your instruction. This satisfies most needs and couse timing.
RW
Definitely, we never stop learning!
Hi Jennie:
This is great!
Why this is effective, in part, is because it requires the instructor to think about the class in a slightly different way. That is, viewing the class as a collection of individuals rather than a single entity representing simply a quantity of individuals that has gathered at the same time.
An analogy might be like looking at all of your family members (and their needs) differently, rather than treating all exactly alike without consideration for their uniqueness’s.
Regards, Barry
This is one of the most critical elements of successful teaching in my opinion. Classes vary from cohort to cohort and student to student. By understanding how your students process information and store it for future reference and use (learn), you can make sure that you include that learning style as often as necessary in that class. I have never had a class that was a single learning style. However, I have had many classes that are predominantly kinestetic learners. Since they learn by doing, I have developed case studies and other exercises that seem to add value for everyone.
Hi Thomas:
Yes, knowing how your students learn is extrememly beneficial. I've found the process for discovering that key however, can require work, true interest, and effort on the part of the instructor in order to close in on the target.
One simple technique I've used is arranging an informal one-on-one visit with each student with the purpose of just talking about what's important to them. I've found they reveal a lot if one listens very carefully.
Of course, there are professionally designed testing instruments geared to identfy what type of learner the student is. But these are not infallible. So, I suppose one can run the gamet from very simple to highly advanced and developed.
I guess my point is that no matter what one does, it's going to take some effort on the part of the teacher to gain any meaningful insight.
Regards, Barry
