My Learning Styles

Learning styles... to know how each of your students learn is essential to helping them achieve. Research has found that actual student ability in an area has far less to do with their achievement in an area, than if the material is presented in a way that lines up with their preferred learning styles.

I took the Felder & Soloman test for myself, and the results that I got were as follows:

So I'm fairly balanced in Sensing/Intuitive, and in Sequential/Global. I have a bias towards Visual learning (as opposed to Verbal) and Reflective learning (as opposed to Active).

I wasn't inclined to agree or disagree with most of those outcomes, but one of them stood out in particular - my bias towards visual learning. One more recent example of this is my latest project, building an electric guitar.

I discovered a very cool business that sells DIY guitar kits. The concept is that you receive all the parts, paint and assemble it, and at a very low cost, you have a "custom" guitar of sorts. I'd been concerned about the assembly, because my relationship with instructions has been quite rocky, to say the least. I tend to ignore them, and when I do actually read them, I tend to miss steps, or read things incorrectly by accident. Unless there is a diagram of some sort, to me it would be quicker just to chuck out the instructions and work it out on my own. I hate flat-packs!

Back to guitars...

When I was doing my research, I found to my great joy, that this particular company has published a whole series of video clips on every aspect of building a guitar. I can follow each step clearly and accurately, and I can be much more confident that I won't make a complete hash of the project. It caters directly to my preferred learning style.

I also agree completely with the Reflective vs Active Learning. I find it difficult to work or discuss things in groups, and I prefer to work on my own where possible. If I'm in a group discussion situation, I tend to clam up and just listen. I like the forums, where I can formulate my ideas in my own time, and post them when I'm good and ready.

In a classroom, things are a little different, though.

There are a range of learning styles to take into account, so this presents a problem in how to engage all different types of learning. I think that it's not always possible to cater for all learning types 100% of the time, but now that ICT is far more readily available and easier to implement, it's easier to cater for a more diverse range of students. In other words, use of ICT has a bit of a shotgun scatter effect that will draw more learners in than the traditional use of books, worksheets and static media.

Technology in the classroom means that the use of video clips is more commonplace. Animations and interactive activities mean that active learners and visual learners have a greater chance of engaging with the activity. Online collaborative sites or software mean that reflective learners can feel more confident in contributing to a group project, and this has the additional benefit of group work being able to continue outside of school hours (possibly more in secondary school).