Since there are always diverse students in every incoming class, it helps me bridge the gap between different types of students and their learning styles.
Hi Cynthia, Thanks for your post to the forum. Good observation skills are a hallmark of a good teacher! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
We move quickly in our classroom also. Generally, by week three of the class, I can identify the styles of most students based on their behavior while I am delivering content using various learning styles. When a student is taking many notes, fidgeting a lot and not responding during discussions I toss in an exercise to help him or her learn the material. "Adjusting on the fly" may be just what I am doing too.
Simply knowing their style of learning will benefit them and your performance in class, and grantee a better learning experience.
Hi Maggie, Thanks for your post to the forum. Your observations certainly correlate with what we know about learning styles! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Hi Carla, Thanks for your post to the forum. That is excellent to receive that information at the start of their classes! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Our program moves very quickly as well with a strict protocol for delivery, however, I feel there is always room for adaptation. If you are learning the styles of your students on the fly, always be thinking ahead for the next class. You are guaranteed to have the same learning styles in each class enrolled.
The benefits of knowing the learning styles of my students are that I am able to understand my students on an individual basis. Each student's learning style explains the behavior expressed in class, whether the student seems to be distracted and not paying attention because they are doodling or having to go to the drinking fountain, fully engaged and answering all the questions, or not grasping the information from lecture but able to perform when in practical. Having this information before the first meeting will allow me to taylor the class and address the needs of all students so that they are learning the coursework and suceeding.
We have our students complete a learning style survey on their first day. This assessment determines whether they are tactile, visual or auditory learners.
Hi Sherri, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are doing a great job of assisting your students to adapt to various learning styles which will be useful in their careers. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Understanding the different learning styles of your students definitely will increase your effectiveness as an instructor. I teach in a dental hygiene program, so most of my students are "hands on learners" but we change things up quite frequently and try to change learning styles every 20-30 mins.
You can plan your delivery of new information in a manner that is beneficial to all types of learning styles. By including different types of learning styles in your teaching, you can help the students learn and retain information.
Hi Sherri, Thanks for your post to the forum. A good strategy is to vary your delivery style as much as possible. This will reach all the learning styles to some extent and also encourage students to adapt to other styles. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Douglas & Susan,
I agree, our classes move so quickly it is sometimes hard to cater to their learning styles. Although if the learning styles analysis is performed at the beginning of class, perhaps you can identify a majority of one or two types of learners and attempt the cater to them! For the remaining types of learners, give them extra help on the side if needed!
Hi Jamie, Thanks for sharing an excellent summary of the value of utilizing information about student learning styles! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
For me it is very important to know and understand how each student prefers to receive information. It makes my job a lot easier.
Knowing the learning styles of your students helps you to better understand your students and set them up for success in their educational program. Using this information, you can develop your delivery method for that day and craft a lesson plan that targets each learning style. This creates variety and captures the students' attention. Each student will have an opportunity to be in the comfort zone of their preferred learning style (which could bolster self-esteem); at the same time be challenged to grasp information using alternate learning styles. Students will become better learners, and this may help to enhance study skills, too.
Hi Tony, Thanks for your post to the forum. Having open conversations with our students really do give us so much information! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
i teach in a technical school which is 67% hands on in the lab s when i get my new class i explain to them our procedure of the course then listen to my students as they tell me by their reactions how they think they will do in my class. they will tell you how they prefer to learn, or that they will probably do better in the class or lab and i take it from there.
Hi Juan, Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, knowing the learning styles of your students will enable you to plan lessons to reach all the learning styles. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
