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Not only does knowing the learning styles of my students help them to learn the material better but it also makes for a more interesting class. By addressing different learning styles I have powerpoints, lectures, activities and more in my classroom. This breaks up the potential monotony of teaching a subject from one learning perspective.
Hi Franz-You are reaching all the learning styles with your delivery. Many instrctors worry that they can't use each style in every class, and that's OK; as long as they teach in the way that you do -adding as much variation as possible. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Knowing students' learning styles help an instructor decide on the most effective methods of delivery of the course curriculum.
I teach courses of 17 to 20 students and each session, the group's composition is a little different in terms of learning styles. Some groups seem to heavily favor one method of instruction while other classes need constant variety in order to effectively absorb the material. I can vary my delivery accordingly once I understand the learning styles of my students.
Regardless of the composition of each class, I use three different instructional methods each day in order to be sure to reach all of my students: lecture, demo, and team practice where the students break into groups to "learn by doing". During my lecture, I provide a written outline and refer often to the map in my class room to help Written Word and Visual learners in addition to Auditory learners. During demo, I encourage kenesthetic learners to taste and to assist with the demo to keep them active and engaged.
Hi Craig- Welcome to ED 103! I am glad that you are finding our courses useful. Best wishes for success in your teaching career! Susan
Hi Susan
You can better adjust your teaching styles to reach more students. Being a new instructor these courses fabulous.
Thank you
Craig
The benifit is by understanding the learning style of the student explanation is more fluid, and less fustrating for student and instruictor.The purpose of instructing is to deliver information, using the right vehicle makes the student a more willing and succesful learner.
I think that the key here is student motivation and the entire learning experience. How many of us attended boring college lectures where you could barely keep awake!!!!! In my instructional experience, I have taught courses that students didn't particularly desire but the classes were mandated. There is nothing more daunting than to face a classroom of students who do not want to be there!!!!! This can be overcome by teaching to their learning style and by making the topic/subject something that they can embrace as a motivated participant. As a side note, I do very well with online courses, but my youngest daughter discovered that she needs virutally to be in the actual classroom.
It's important that we as teachers make an effort to adjust our curriculam to fit the learning style of all the students. When I'm teaching my class I try to incorporate as many as possible.
Hi Zafar- Welcome to ED 103! I am guessing that most of your students are kinesthetic learners which is why they respond so well to that sort of delivery. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
Hi Dariusz- What you describe is an excellent strategy for making sure you address the learning styles of your students. Susan
It seems to me that the main benefit in knowing various the learning styles of your students would manifest itself in your students' ability to retain greater amounts of knowledge in shorter periods of time.
However, many educators to not have the luxury of time it takes to assess the various learning styles their students possess. I find that if an educator incorporates as many modes of delivery as possible, students with varied learning styles will begin to benefit immediately and throughout the course.
I tend to spend little time assessing what the learning styles of my students actually are, and immediately attempt to incorporate as many modes of delivery from the very beginning as possible.
kinesthestic and tactile is more helpful among students and I have observe students learn fast this way. And also knowing the about different learning style aid in understanding all students of different ethnicity and background.
FYI...concerning VAK (aka VARK) learning styles, which I have research for 25 years, and although there is an abundance of literature on VAK learning styles, there is very little research on VAK learning styles. Since VAK is a learning style and not a cognitive style (yes, there is a difference), VAK has its foundation in our sensory modalities, which according to neuroscience, visual is by far the most powerful to the extent 90% of what the brain processes is visual information. Since visual is the most prominent learning modality, written content should integrated, whenever possible, with visual information to add *context*. But my biggest point is if one is to truly study the concept of VAK learning styles, then one also needs to study cognitive styles as well and the other side of the coin of VAK. That said, there is a significant amount of literature that questions not only VAK as a learning style, but the VAK instruments have very low reliability and validity scores which question the efficacy of VAK learning styles. Both sides of the literature and research needs to be presented and let the teacher make an informed decision as to whether or not VAK learning styles or any of the other 60+ learning styles should be identified and instruction modified based upon them. On a final note, it has been suggested in the literature that 70% of the variability in learning is due to 2 factors: Prior knowledge and intrinsic motivation, with intrinsic motivation being the ultimate trump card in determining learning outcomes.
Hi Jolly - Thank you for the research information. I think that you are misinterpreting what I ask instructors to do. I actually want them to adopt an overall instructional strategy based on the learning styles.
It is rare that you ever get an entire class that has one style; it is often difficult to assess your students styles, especially in a short course; and it it unrealistic to expect instructors to change their delivery completly with each new class. Therefore it is advisable to adopt the strategy that you suggest- teach to all the styles . Best wishes- Susan
The benefits of knowing the learning styles of your students are very helpful in planning your teaching strategies. You also get the most out of your students when they are comfortable with what they are learning when been taught to their understanding.
Hi Aminta - Welcome to ED 103! I liked the way you explained the significance of learning styles as a sort of "customer service" process. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
In order to deliver the content of your class materials and have your students reach a higher level of learning it is recommended that you cater to thier learning styles.
FYI...with over 70 different learning styles identified in the literature, adapting instruction and/or teaching styles to individual learning styles, although admirable, has not shown to be effective. The research has suggested that developing an overall instructional strategy based on learning styles has more promise than trying to adapt instruction to individual learning styles, given a hetereogenous classroom. Reseach on ATI (aptitude-treatment interactions) by Snow & Cronbach in the 80's demonstrated little effect on student performance overall, although it has been used successfully in remediation and individualized instruction.
The biggest problem with the VAK learning styles is that many teachers believe they affect learning performance, which is simply not supported by the research. In a converstation I had with a leading educational psychologist, Dr. David Merrill, he stated "learning styles are a convenient scapegoat for poor instructional design". What we can take out of the VAK is since 90% of what the brain processes is visual information, incorporating visual mediums into instructional content adds context to the written/spoken word