Learning Styles

The Claim

Students have preferred learning styles so teaching to these preferred styles will increase academic success.

The Facts

The theory of learning styles has been around since the 1960s and proposes that children learn in one of three ways: visually, auditorially, or kinesthetically. Therefore, it should be known that because of these different styles, students should be taught in multiple ways as opposed to just one specific way. According to James Witte, Ph.D., founder of the Institute of Learning Styles Research, there are three different learning styles:

• Cognitive - how we think about what we are learning
• Affective - how we feel about what we are learning
• Perceptual - how we perceive our environment in relation to our learning

However, what we call learning styles in the classroom (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) are actually types of the perceptual learning style. This involves using the different senses to influence the way that children obtain information from the classroom environment.

There is a lack of empirical evidence and research that has proven that students learn best when taught in one particular perceptual learning style. Here is what is known about the way children learn:

• Every student has strengths and weaknesses in learning. This is especially important to remember when dealing with students with disabilities.
• All students can learn through some method.
• Instructional environments vary from classroom to classroom.
• Teachers’ instructional methods vary from class to class and often between subjects.

There is a danger in classifying students by learning style because it can result in a tendency toward pigeonholing students with these labels. It’s not uncommon to hear, “Johnny is a visual learner, so he does better in math” or “Jenny likes to move around and is a kinesthetic learner, so she needs to be taught using hands-on activities rather than lecture-type instruction.” Additionally, auditory learners are often viewed as being better at language arts, English, and social studies. Consequently, when a child is labeled with one particular learning style, it is often done through limited experience with one method of learning, or by making predictions about the ways in which teachers or parents think the student learns best. Additionally, there are many exceptions to these rules because children have strengths and weaknesses in a variety of areas.

Here are some really good points that illustrate why teachers should NOT teach strictly to specific learning styles:

• If a teacher uses auditory repetition and representation to teach geography to a child who is an auditory learner, the lack of visual representation of states, countries, or continents might lead to some problems. How will the student recognize them? Not being taught to visually recognize this material does not serve the student’s best interest.
• When teaching a visual learner the sounds of letters so they can learn to read, is it possible to only teach using the letters without the sounds? The student should be taught using multiple methods.

Instead of focusing on the ways in which we think children learn best, we should focus on two important things:

• Providing a balance of learning opportunities in the classroom so that children have opportunities to learn content in a variety of ways, and through different sensory experiences.
• Rather than focusing on the manner in which we think a student learns best, it is better to have a deeper understanding of the ways in which we know the student struggles or the student’s areas of weakness.

Here are some examples of ways teachers can address learning styles for all children in the classroom:

• For children who struggle either auditorially or visually with following directions, provide the directions in written, multi-step format on the board while reading them aloud to reiterate important parts of the directions.
• When using charts or graphs to illustrate lessons, demonstrate the illustration visually and out loud so that students understand the ways in which the diagram works and how the parts relate to one another. They may also benefit from working to put pieces of the chart or diagram together themselves using puzzle-like pieces.
• Some students struggle with activities that involve touching or doing because they have tactile weaknesses or physical disabilities that prevent them from participating in such activities. Still others have sensory issues with certain materials. And still more students may struggle with these activities because of the overwhelming need to touch and fidget with everything, making learning unconstructive in these situations. These children may benefit from more language-based learning experiences with verbal steps repeated.

Many teachers have learned to differentiate instruction using a combination of all three learning styles embedded within lessons. Here are some ways to accomplish this:

• Create learning centers that contain a variety of ways in which students can have access to the same material. Provide a book that children can read, but also place a taped recording of the book at the center so that students can read along while listening to the story being read aloud. Allow for movement activities during story time in which students can “act out” the story.
• For younger students, place word cards on items around the room so that they can learn the names and words for common classroom items, as well as their location in the room.
• Provide highlighting tape to highlight words in texts so that students can work on vocabulary in centers.
• Have students work in groups or pairs to practice reading silently and then aloud to one another. Group work is beneficial for learners of all types.

Conclusion

This week’s claim contains both fact and fiction. Although students often do demonstrate preferred ways in learning different content, this preference can vary across subjects. The most important thing to do is know a child’s strengths and weaknesses, and to provide a balanced approach to instruction that does not rely heavily on one style of teaching over another. A strongly encouraged and supported teaching method is to include the use of multiple-sense instruction. This type of teaching can allow students to retain the information through a variety of ways which can enhance their learning experience. Learning styles should be thought of in terms of the content we teach to students, not as the students themselves.