Learning Style Analysis

 

By Sarah Harmon

Interconnectedness of Learning Styles

According to Jenson & McConchie (2020), neuroscience today tells us that each person’s brain structure is unique and has neuroplasticity to change. All people learn from various inputs, or what Jenson and McConchie (2020) refer to as the 5 big players in learning: context, triggers, processes, systems, and structures. However, we also all learn differently because we have various learning styles and preferences that impact how we receive and perceive information.

Learning includes multiple categories, such as the affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domain. These domains aren’t isolated and disconnected from one another. Learning is connected to every part of a person’s being. “Most every process runs through multiple systems and engages not one, but multiple structures in the brain and body.” (Jenson & McConchie, 2020) The interconnectedness of learning is how we know that social, emotional, cognitive, and physical components work in tandem to improve or inhibit learning.

Impact of Learning Styles on Instruction

Recently, I gave a learning style inventory to a small group of students in the 5th grade. Even this small selection showed a variety of learning styles. Each person has unique preferences that motivate and enhance their learning construction and engagement. Here are some pie graphs to illustrate the difference in learning styles of 4 students. Blue represents auditory learning preferences, green for visual, and yellow for kinesthetic.

Learner 1Learner 2

Learner 3Learner 4

Visual represented the highest preference for learning, then auditory, and then kinesthetic. Understanding that each learner is unique and will take input as well as give output in varying ways, supports using a variety of instructional approaches.

Instructional strategy for each learning style

1. Visual
1. Use picture or symbol clues
2. Color code connecting ideas
3. Use graphs and charts to represent data
2. Auditory
1. Read aloud
2. Record audio clips
3. Use songs or chants
3. Kinesthetic
1. Use tactile activities or objects
2. Use motions or movement for ideas
3. Do hands-on experiments or projects

Learning Styles and Assessments

“Because long presentations (death by PowerPoint) are often difficult to sit through, formal presentations could be improved by being more engaging through interactive experiences (experiential learning).” If instructional strategies should represent multiple learning styles then assessments need to also be multi-modal and experiential. Aligning assessments with objectives and instruction is a best practice in teaching. Here are some ideas for creating assessments that will differentiate for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners:

●       Create authentic assessments that show learning along the way (Watson, 2020)

●       Use digital resources that have a variety of formats

●       Create formative assessments that involve a variety of tasks

●       Allow learners to display knowledge with choice in presentation

●       Provide rubrics, lists, or  examples to help students understand expectations

Evaluating Students’ Strengths, Needs, and Growth

Understanding the needs of each student can be challenging because of the many factors that influence learning. “Emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development are interrelated and influence each other.” (The Urban Institute, n.d.) A student could fail a test because they didn’t understand the content, fatigue, distraction, something that happened at home or with a friend, or the beginning of an illness.

Needs

 We may not always know whether a students’ basic needs are met but we know that students need rest, safety, exercise, and nutrition. As educators, we can provide snack, recess, and brain breaks to allow for the brain to rest from focused learning times. Also, recess allows for exercise which supports health and wellbeing for the body and mind.. Safety comes from creating a classroom culture that promotes acceptance, respect, and valuing each student.

 Strengths

 Assessing strengths is better understood by using learning inventories, surveys, observations, conversations, and understanding the student’s family and funds of knowledge.

 Growth

 Lynch (2020), lists examples of growth that is measured using data. Forms of data include formative and summative assessments, screeners, diagnostic tests, interim tests, and grades. Some tests, such as the NWEA MAP, have growth reports. Also, teachers should use feedback from observations, conversations, and digital resources that measure growth, such as adaptive/individualized learning paths. Goal setting and progress monitoring is an important way to measure learning with students.

References

Jenson, E. P., & McConchie, L. (2020). Brain-based learning: Teaching the way students really learn (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

 Lynch, M. (2020). 7 ways to measure student growth. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/7-ways-to-measure-student-growth/

 Taylor, K. (2021). A guide to learning styles and the best teaching strategies to use. Taught Up. https://taughtup.com/guide-to-learning-styles-and-the-best-teaching-strategies-to-use/

 Teach.com. (2020). Learning styles. https://teach.com/what/teachers-know/learning-styles/

 The Urban Child Institute. (n.d.) Social and emotional development in early childhood? http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/resources/publications/good-start/social-and-emotional-development

Watson, S. (2020). Differentiated instruction and assessment. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/differentiated-instruction-and-assessment-3111341