Hi Johnathan- Thanks for your post to the forum. I liked your ideas for our kinesthetic learners- thans for sharing!Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
As an example, in the past I have went to the grocery store to study unit pricing. And we have went to a building to take measurements.
Hi Johnathan - I am intrigued! What Math applications do you use on your field trips?
As a math instructor, I have a lot of leeway in how I reach out to my students. It's not a hands-on course where the students are learning a "technical" skill that they will need on their every day job. However, I can make it a hands-on class if I want to. The students love seeing me do demonstrations whether with a live object, or on the computer. The students love going on field trips (yes, I do, even in a math class). And I usually get the students so fired up, that when it's time for us to do just do the old-fashioned problems on the board, they are open to hearing me, listening to me, and discovering the new opportunities that await. So, what are the benefits of knowing the learning styles of my students? The benefits are endless.
Hi Isaac - Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, by including diversity in our delivery as we write our lesson plans, we prepare to teach to the learning styles. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
There are a number of instructional benefits of knowing the learning styles of students. students will be most interested in what they can relate to . For instance, If pictures are a toll that certain learners can understand using them would help to engage these learners. In addition by using several different styles of information delivery will help all students have a better level of comprehension and application in the career education setting.
I think the first few days of a class is essential to watch and learn about your students. It's funny because they are watching you and getting to know you and you are doing the same thing. It is imperative to watch the students, see how they learn and see if you can adapt to their needs. Better yet, just KNOW in advance that when you write your program, you will need to touch base to all the learning styles. This is why lecture, visual, hands on, demo, ect are essential to have.
The benefits are that you will know how to better serve your students. This knowledge can help the instructor to help students learn the material. Some students may understand when you explain things in a lecture and others may learn better when you demonstrate. By using a variety of different learning styles, an instructor will be more effective.
If i know what the learning styles of my students are i will be able to better communicate with each of them on so many more levels. we only have these students 3 weeks, so ineed to be able to identify styles quickly.
If you know your students learning styles, this would give you the knowledge to present them with many different types of learning skills and material needed so that the (whole) class could understand and learn. Therefore NO student will be left out. Which as time goes by makes YOU a more effective instructor.
By knowing the learning styles of your students, you, the instructor will be able to plan your method(s) of delivery to reach the majority of your students. You will be able to develope methods that can possibly assist two or more learning styles in one presentation.
I feel Knowing the Learning styles of our students is vital to being efficient at what we do. By understanding that first off, each student learns differently, you can adapt your style to each individual students needs. It is not about conducting class in one singular way, and expect all the students in the class to absorb the information.
Being that most of my students are hands on type learners, most of my instruction is talking and instructing them while they are working hands on.
Writing notes, taking quizzes, and sitting around waiting for my next words don't typically seem as effective.
Teaching is hard work. It's even harder if you are not teaching in a way that is compatible with the way your students learn. For that reason, it is critical that as a teacher I learn as much as I can about the way my students learn. In that way, I can structure my lesson plans and presentations more efficiently and effectively to reach my students and maximize the amount of information they assimilate.
I find every class has its own "personality" depending on the mix of students, what they are studying, and whether one or two people in the group focus or disrupt their cohesion. With such a mix of personalities it can be expected there will be a wide variety of ways to learn. Presenting the material in different ways will hopefully catch the interest of most of them (for at least some things!) and prevent the class from being too boring.
Knowing the instructional styles of students in my classes will help me to identify the students who may have difficulty with a particular assignment, such as a reading assignment. I can then plan to present the material to them in their preferred learning method such as a PowerPoint presentation. Overall, it will help me better balance my instructional delivery method in various courses.
Hi Paul - Yes, we can't realisticly be expected to address every learning style, but making the effort to do so as often as possible is great work! Best wishes - Susan
When working with adult learners I keep working with them and dont give up.
Hi Mark- Thanks for your post to the forum. Yes, adult students especially need to be managed carefully. Most have not been in school for many years, most have families/and or jobs, most are savvy consumers who expect to get what they are paying for. So, as you point out - do it right from the start or you're out! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Especially with adult learners it is important to understand how they best learn. If you lose them early they will either fail or quit.
