Learning Styles
One of the major mistakes that instructors can make in the classroom is to consistently teach course content without varying their teaching techniques. The term "andragogy" means "the art or science of teaching adults." According to that definition, then if we are to be effective instructors, then we need to become in essence, "artists."
Mortimer Ardler states “The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.â€
Our objective as instructors should be to encourage and participate in the continuous learning of our students.
Stephen,
You make a very good point about the development of a teaching style. Instructors need to inventory their personal approach to teaching and then build their instructional style around who they are and how they want to present themselves to students. Then it is a refining process as more experience is gained with students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Yes, I have found it easy to repeat the same learning style. Going through this program however, I am learning that teaching is in fact an art and we should thus use an artistic approach as instructors. Keeping the students engaged is vital to teaching success and integrating creative techniques into the learning process is perhaps the most effective tool for instructors.
Philip,
"Reading" students as you mention is a good way to reinforce that they do learn in different ways. This way you can customize your instruction to meet the learning needs of the current students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Occasionally I need to remind myself that the students do not necessarily learn the same way I do. A great way to reach that point is to watch the students for their reactions to the lecture(as stated above).
Nicole,
Good way to read your students throughout the class sessions. By doing such you are able to adapt your instructional delivery to meet their needs for that learning session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I try to follow my students cues, if they seem to be struggling to understand a concept I will start over with a new appraoch to hit a different learning style. I also make sure to hit a few styles with each topic to make sure that each of my students can gain something out of each class.
David,
Well said in terms of teaching and learning. Someone said learning is like trying to take a drink out of a firehose and I find this to be true in many cases, especially for my adult students that have been out of school for a number of years. This is why we need to work hard at making our instruction informative and engaging.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
