LEARNING STYLES Discussion Unit 4

My Discussion Post ◦ From researching learning styles, I have learned that different studies give different names to how people learn. They all end up to the same idea that people learn by visual, verbal, mathematical, musical, bodily, interpersonal, interpersonal, naturalist or existential. All these learning styles have to be kept in mind when a teacher enters her classroom and gets her lessons plans ready. For students to be successful in the classroom we, the teachers, need to know how to adapt to all learning styles and making sure that we understand every kid in our classroom. ◦ I did one of the tests to see which kind of learner I was. Of course it was no surprise to me that I was a visual learner. I have known that for years because usually I need to see things to be able to understand the things I am reading and the projects I am completing. In becoming a teacher, one of my focuses will be understanding how each student I teach learners to adjust my teaching.

Peer Response ◦ Good points! I agree that students will have to adjust to the teachers way of teaching, because the teacher will not be capable of approaching every single learning type for every lesson. There are just way too many different combinations, but the teacher should still take into consideration the learning styles of the students.

Peers Post ◦ Learning styles is the way how people learn and process the information. There are different types of learning styles for example there is visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Each individual will have a higher percentage than the other style. For example not everyone learns the same way; I personally have a higher kinesthetic style of learning rather than a visual style. This syles can change as we progress forward to learn in the classroom and improve the way we learn. As we get older we can start to see that our own learning styles can change throughout as we continue to improve the way we learn.

My Response to Peer’s Post ◦ I agree that as we go through classes are learning styles tend to change. We tend to make observations of different ways to learn. I am a visual learner but in the past two years I have noticed that I also tend to learn as a hands on person. I think that is why on-line classes seem to be hard for me. I think everybody learners differently but we all have various ways of learning.

Peer Post by Heather Ivey ◦ Many people believe that they will learn best if they are presented information that carters to their preferred learning style. Ideally, you can identify the method in which you will absorb information most efficiently by answering a few questions on a quiz. Neil Flemings suggest thru his VAK model that three main learning styles exist, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners prefer maps and diagrams, auditory learners would rather listen to group discussions or read aloud, and those who fall into the kinesthetic group learn best when doing hands on activities such as creating a project. But, a study done in 2006 by Kratzig and Arobutnott suggest that on one person is really confined to just one particular learning style. During this study, several students were learning styles were accessed and then they were tested. Each method was covered by the test questions to see if the students would score better when using their preferred style. The results showed that performance did not increase at all in their preferred styles. In fact, in a separate study conducted by Salmon in 1984 showed that students actually scored worse in there learning styles when tested in that way. This result was possibly due to false sense of ease during testing causing participates into putting less effort into learning. ◦ Learning styles may appear like the best way to assess ourselves and be more successful at retaining information, but thus far there is no solid scientific evidence that matching teaching methods to a specific learning style has any positive effects on ones performance. Although I believe that teachers should implement each style into their teaching because everyone minds do not grasp information in the same way, I do not believe that one certain style will always be best for one person. Learning simply is not that black and white. We each fall into a spectrum that encompasses many ways of absorbing and retaining information. ◦ ◦ Kratzig, G., & Arbutnott, K., (2006). Perceptual Learning Styles and Learning Proficiency: Testing the Hypothesis. International Journal of Psychology, 98, 238–246. ◦

My Response ◦ I think sometimes we feel that if we know our best way of learning it gives us a sense of relief. I do think everybody learns in different ways but I also think we all have it in us to be able to adapt in learning other ways as well. I think you are right when saying that as teachers we should implement all the learning styles in the curriculum so that we do reach out to all of our students. Thank you for include your reference to were you received your information. It has been helpful to go and read it for myself.