Learning style factors
Creating instruction responsive to different learning styles and strengths:
Research outcomes:
Teachers can increase students’ motivation and success by responding effectively to students’ learning styles. Students differ in their approaches to learning. Every student has a cognitive or learning style that represents the general approach the student takes to learning and organising material. This may involve a preference for interactive learning, working with materials that are respectful and representative of one’s culture, as well as working on content or in a manner selected by the student. Teachers too often examine students’ failure by considering personal and social problems rather than focusing on the child’s special interests or learning styles to determine the best approach to providing instruction. Teachers who use the instructional methods with every student or who use a limited range of instructional activities will create a situation in which some students become frustrated, experience failure, and respond by misbehaving.
Adjusting environmental factors to meet students’ learning needs:
Research indicates that most students are significantly affected by approximately six of the factors that influence students’ learning. By adjusting the classroom environment and some instructional methods, teachers can easily create a learning environment more conducive to many students’ unique learning needs.
Teaching methods:
References:
Jones, V & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems. (8th ed.). Sydney, NSW: Allyn & bacon.
Research outcomes:
Teachers can increase students’ motivation and success by responding effectively to students’ learning styles. Students differ in their approaches to learning. Every student has a cognitive or learning style that represents the general approach the student takes to learning and organising material. This may involve a preference for interactive learning, working with materials that are respectful and representative of one’s culture, as well as working on content or in a manner selected by the student. Teachers too often examine students’ failure by considering personal and social problems rather than focusing on the child’s special interests or learning styles to determine the best approach to providing instruction. Teachers who use the instructional methods with every student or who use a limited range of instructional activities will create a situation in which some students become frustrated, experience failure, and respond by misbehaving.
Adjusting environmental factors to meet students’ learning needs:
Research indicates that most students are significantly affected by approximately six of the factors that influence students’ learning. By adjusting the classroom environment and some instructional methods, teachers can easily create a learning environment more conducive to many students’ unique learning needs.
Teaching methods:
- When presenting material, use visual displays, such s writing on an overhead projector, to assist students who are visual learners. Research shows that 40 percent of students learn more effectively when they can read or see something.
- Allow students to select where they will sit: Students vary in the amount of light, sound, and het they prefer and may, in fact, self-select seats that provide more productive learning environments for them. Research proves that allowing students to select their own seats, are presented as part of a procedure to make learning more personalised and effective for all students.
- Permit students to choose where they wish to study: Some students work most effectively at a table, others in a soft chair, and others seated at a traditional school desk. Students work best when they could move around the room and do their work on clipboards.
- Be sensitive to individual students’ needs to block out sound or visual distractions: Teachers can discuss differences in learning style with the class, and allow students to select a quiet study carrel. Also, observe students to see whether they appear easily distracted during seatwork. Move easily distracted students nearer to the teacher’s desk.
- Encourage healthy snacks/lunches: Encourage students have healthy snack by midmorning.
- Provide opportunities for students to select whether they will work alone, in pairs, or with a small group: Students can work with peers to complete assignments, study for tests, work on long-term projects, or critique each other’s work.
- Provide adequate structure for both short-term and long-range assignments: Students work more effectively when seatwork is preceded by substantial direct instruction. Likewise, students need the structure provided by periodic conferences with the teacher or an assignment checklist and timetable for longer assignments.
- Give students instruction in study skills: Both reflective and impulsive learners can benefit from learning to organise material prior to writing a formal paper. Some students organise material best using an outline format. More right hemisphere-oriented students may prefer to organise by mapping – a process of making connections in nonlinear fashion. Likewise, visual and kinaesthetic learners profit from learning how to make notes.
- Employ individual goal setting, self-monitoring and contracts: these devices can assist students who require structure and concrete evidence to enhance motivation.
- Realize that some students require more frequent breaks than do others: teach students how to take short breaks without disrupting the class.
- Consider that students doing poorly in a subject might perform better if that subject were taught at a different time of day. It is somewhat difficult to make this adjustment, but dramatic results can be obtained by switching a student’s basic-skill lesson from morning to afternoon. Secondary school schedules that rotate the periods at which classes are taught allow students to study all subjects at a time when they work best.
- Increase the length of time you wait calling on a student to answer a question: This added time assists more reflective learners. Again, it is important to explain and teach this procedure to the class before implementing it.
- Develop learning centres that incorporate a variety of learning modalities: Learning centres can be created that allow students to learn visually, auditorially, and kinaesthetically. Learning centres also enable students to make decisions concerning light, sound, as design preferences, whether to work independently or with other students, and to select activities that allow them to deal with the material supportive of their own cognitive learning style preferences.
References:
Jones, V & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems. (8th ed.). Sydney, NSW: Allyn & bacon.