Learning Styles Multiple Modalities Multiple Intelligence and Cognitive Styles: Gardner s Seven Intelligences Cultural Learning Styles Tips for Incorporating Different Learning Styles into Your Classroom Strategies to Incorporate Different Learning Styles Learning styles encompass students natural and preferred modes of learning. Students will be more receptive towards (and better able to engage) assignments that enable them to work in an intuitively comfortable way. Knowingly or not, teachers package their instructional information. The form in which information is packaged and presented substantially impacts learning. Since students learn and retain information differently, your packaging will affect different students in different ways, inherently assisting some, while hindering others. (Learning styles are perhaps more difficult to assess than student readiness and/or interest since identifying your own learning style can be hard enough, let alone deciphering someone else s.) Two of the most broadly accepted categories for the variety of ways people learn and best process information are: 1) multiple modalities and 2) multiple intelligences (links to more information on both at top of page). Consider what you know about how you best learn information. For example, are you someone who needs to see something written down in order to remember it (visual)? Do you absorb things best when you hear them (auditory)? Or do you learn best by doing (kinesthetic)? When you ask someone for directions, do you draw yourself a map? Do you list out the instructions? Do you just hear them and remember them? Or do you physically need to follow someone there? For a student who relies on multiple learning styles to learn effectively, it can be frustrating to be in a class where the teacher emphasizes some styles at the expense of others. To better understand the nature of the different learning styles, think of an activity like cooking. A skilled chef must employ all of these methods to sufficiently complete the task she will visually inspect her ingredients, for example, to ensure quality. She will listen to the sounds of her ingredients for clues as to how her cooking is progressing a sizzle indicates the pan is hot enough, a bubbling indicates a heavy boil. She will feel the consistency of her dough, for example, to assess in a hands-on way if she got it right. And she will mix, blend, pound, shape, and endlessly manipulate her ingredients to radically alter their ultimate form. Cooking is often considered an ultimate art of creation. Effective learning the art of creating new knowledge must be just as visceral an experience. To engage your students, you will need to activate their senses so they hear your lessons, see your lessons, touch your lessons, and physically experience your lessons (and, occasionally, they just might smell your lessons as well). An appreciation of learning styles will help you to identify the ways individual students learn best. Consider the following needs of various learners, and the variety of ways teachers might address those needs: Multiple Modalities Visual Learners Need to see information to process it and learn best from visually presented or visually reinforced materials. These students learn most easily from visual tools such as: diagrams photographs, charts, graphs, and/or maps, etc. visually organized notes on overheads guided imagery or visualization opportunities to take notes or highlight key ideas flash cards color coded notes to help reveal the categorization of information
slide shows or movies mind maps, acronyms For visual learners, still time can be important, as these students may be more distracted than other students by movement or action. Auditory Learners Need to hear information to process it and learn best from hearing spoken words, participating in discussions and explaining things to others. Although it seems contradictory, some auditory learners may be easily distracted by noise, meaning quiet time needs to be prioritized as well. The following are tools you might use in your lesson planning to ensure that you reach those students who learn best this way: lectures, oral instruction auditory tapes reading aloud repeating ideas orally, reciting rhythmic sounds and songs poems, rhymes, word association group discussions music, lyrics Tactile Learners Need to touch and feel three-dimensional objects to process information, and prefer, in general, to experience the world through touch. Many teachers often overlook this learning modality. Examples of such approaches include the use of: experiments, labs tangible, three-dimensional objects props, physical examples field trips, exhibits, tours making models, dioramas index cards with facts to sequence textured manipulatives, like unit blocks, sandpaper letters or foam shapes Kinesthetic Learners Need to actively participate in a task to process information. They learn through experience and movement and make the greatest academic gains when they are physically involved in a lesson. To best teach these learners, consider activities such as: plays, acting out, role-playing games field trips writing notes, making lists opportunities for movement problem-solving props, physical examples associating gestures with ideas associating emotions with concepts experiments/labs
To assist these learners, avoid extended seated deskwork without offering breaks. Important: We must emphasize, of course, that most students can learn in any of these modalities. While most students learn most easily in one predominant modality, many students have a balance of learning modes, and students rarely learn best in one exclusive modality. Back to Top Multiple Intelligence and Cognitive Styles Your students will possess different learning intelligences in uniquely varying degrees. This, of course, both complicates and clarifies your task as a teacher. While you clearly cannot teach in just one way, you can determine the most effective means to reach different children. Unfortunately, the larger society of standardized testing neither values, nor assesses multiple intelligences, so this responsibility falls largely onto classroom teachers. Gardner's Seven Intelligences Intelligences Description of Person With this Strength Most Effective Instruction Linguistic Intelligence (includes phonology, syntax, semantics, language pragmatics) sensitivity to the meaning and order of words and the varied uses of language highly developed auditory skills n Enjoys reading and writing good memory Spells words easily and accurately Uses language fluently (Probably the most universal of the intelligences) Lectures Word games Storytelling Debates Speech Reading aloud Reading, writing, spelling & listening exercises Logical-Mathematical Intelligence Ability to handle long chains of reasoning and to recognize patterns and order in the world Explores patterns and relationships Likes to problem solve and reason logically Follows sequential, logical directions Uses experiments to test things out Making charts, graphs, and lists Sequencing patterns and relationships Outlining Solving problems Calculating mathematically Predicting Questioning Categorizing Spatial Intelligence Ability to perceive the visual world accurately Enjoys art activities Reads maps, charts, and diagrams Thinks with images and pictures Pictures Slides Diagrams Posters Graphics
Likes jigsaw puzzles Movies Mind maps Colors to represent words or letters Musical Intelligence Sensitivity to pitch, melody, and tone Sensitivity to sounds in his or her environment Enjoys music Listens to music when studying and/or reading Taps or hums rhythms Chants Clapping Poetry Music that matches the curriculum Moving rhythmically Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence Fine-tuned ability to use the body and to handle objects Processes information through body sensations Requires hands-on learning Moves and acts things out Uses body in unique and skilled ways and is often well coordinated Manipulatives Games Simulations Laboratory experiments Movement Hands-on activities Action-packed stories Intrapersonal Intelligence Direct access to one s own feeling life Strong self-awareness Prefer inner world, to be alone May be introverted Journals Independent work Interpersonal Intelligence Ability to notice and make distinctions between others May be extroverted Focuses on relationships Cooperative or collaborative group learning Role-plays, dramatizations Back to Top Cultural Learning Styles The Research Although the prevalence of cultural learning styles is still a controversial and debated topic within the education community, much research exists to support the following conclusions: Minority students (including African-American and Latino students) generally do not respond as well to traditional lecture formats as do middle-class White students. Cooperative learning is an excellent alternative. American schools are typically designed for an analytical style of learning (with an emphasis on competition, independence and impersonal tasks). While most African
American, Latino or Native American students tend to function in a synergetic style (with an emphasis on cooperation rather than competition) when working towards the attainment of goals. Many recent immigrants and minority populations in America tend to come from cultures (Asian, African, Hispanic, and Latino) that value the collective society (and interdependence), while Americans, and most European societies tend to prioritize individual accomplishment above those of the group. The Potential Risks You may unknowingly create conflicts for students as they struggle to please both you, and your expectations of individual achievement, and their families, who expect them to cooperate and work for the good of the group. An influential essay, Cultural Values in Learning and Education, shares several helpful examples to illustrate the dissonance that can occur when different cultures clash. Example Teachers and parents may also have different approaches to praising and encouraging students academic development. Example The Implications Work to strike a balance in your classroom between an emphasis on individual and group achievement. Cooperative learning activities offer the double benefit of being both instructionally sound and consistent culturally with the values of many of your students. When you do place independent academic demands on students with collectivistic heritages, be extra sensitive to any innate discomfort they may feel with your instructions. Discuss the reasons and rationale for why it is important that they work in solitude, and reassure them that there are some activities when they work together and some when they work alone. Above all, recognize the advantage these students bring to your classroom. With a heritage that emphasizes the value of the collective, these children will demonstrate a unique perspective that benefits students of all backgrounds. Just as they may experience discomfort with independent work, they will likely embrace cooperate group work enthusiastically, and offer the rest of the class a rare glimpse of historical cultural values at work, and at play. Most importantly, remember that it is your responsibility to learn as much as possible about the values and traditions of your students if they are from a culture (or cultures) different from your own. Elementary School Example Greenfield, P.M, Raeff, C. & Quiroz, B. (1996). Cultural Values in Learning and Education. In Closing the Achievement Gap, 37, edited by Belinda Williams. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Back to Top Example The following is a real-life situation: A preschool boy is playing with a toy. A girl, the daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, takes the toy to play with it. The boy hits her. The teacher s response is to tell the girl that she should not take other children s toys. The Mexican
American mother, looking on, becomes upset that the teacher did not reprimand the boy for his act of aggression. After all, this mother commented, in her extended family, material objects are shared. Possession or personal property is a negative concept akin to selfishness (Greenfield, Raeff & Quiroz, 1996). The mother s interpretation of the incident comes from her collectivistic view; the boy showed selfishness in refusing to share the toy with her daughter, and then he compounded his undesirable behavior with physical aggression. In contrast, the teacher s reaction is consonant with individualistic values of independence. Objects are the property of a single individual, even if only temporarily, as in school. Hence, the teacher treats the girl as the primary transgressor because she took away a toy belonging to another child. Back Example Consider the following fictional scenario: Erica tells her mother that she got the highest grade in the class on her math test. She says she is really proud of herself for doing so well and for doing the best in the class. She says she guesses she is really smart. When asked how the mother should respond, the teacher said: Agree emphatically that yes she certainly is smart and that the test proves that she is capable of doing virtually anything if she applies herself. Erica has done well and needs the appropriate recognition. It will obviously enhance self-esteem and increase her chances of success in life. In contrast, a Hispanic immigrant mother answered, She should congratulate her, but tell her not to praise herself too much. She should not think so much of herself (Greenfield, Raeff & Quiroz, 1996). This example demonstrates the teacher s view of the child as a self-contained, independent achiever. As far as the teacher is concerned, there is no conflict in this scenario because if the student did her best on the test, she is entitled to feel proud of herself. However, the mother perceived a conflict; namely, the student deserved credit for doing well but she should not value her achievement over that of the group s. Back Elementary School Example Mr. Verna knew from his own research that his 3 rd graders, all African American students, came from a culture with a rich oral tradition of call and response. After several months in the classroom, he realized that his students were perfectly willing and able to raise their hands and to wait until being called upon to speak. However, he also sensed that this was somewhat confining for his sometimes squirmy, often enthusiastic group. To break the monotony for them, and to respect some of their energetic inclinations, he instilled a weekly activity called Name That Number. The activity, a math game, required students to race through calculations (sometimes individually, sometimes in groups) and Mr. Verna permitted them to shout out their answers as soon as they were calculated. The answers would soon take the form of verbal exchange, as Mr. Verna would expand on the original formula by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing additional numbers. Students understood that this was the sole activity during which they were allowed to shout out responses, and Mr. Verna found that the looser communicative structure seemed to generate a great deal of energy and interest. Back
The following table offers guidance on how to successfully address a variety of modalities in your classroom. Tips for Incorporating Different Learning Styles into Your Classroom Work to identify students preferred learning modalities Survey students as to their own learning preferences. How to identify Your Best Learning Style (for Upper Elementary Students) (While this tool offers an example specific to upper elementary grades, it presents the basic approach so that you can adapt it for your own grade level.) To some degree, student self-assessments will prove helpful. By and large, however, deliberate and extended observation of your students will also be necessary. Understanding their individual demands will take time, and your knowledge of and sensitivity to their needs will gradually evolve as the year unfolds. You will, essentially, have to study your students. Avoid relying too heavily on any one style (often the one with which you are most comfortable). Even though students have strong learning preferences or natural tendencies, known or unknown, they rarely learn best in one exclusive modality. Most students can, and must, learn in several different styles, and your students will invariably represent a range of learning styles. For examples, see below. Simultaneously deliver content in multiple modalities. If you verbally explain a process, visually represent it at the same time, and if possible, pass out three-dimensional models that students can hold and touch. All students will benefit from exposure to modalities that may not be their primary style of learning. Such exposure will help them to internalize a more multi-faceted and nuanced understanding of the material. In fact, consistently denying students exposure to any of the modalities limits their perspectives and capacities, and often results in shallow, superficial learning. While it is important to always consider students learning modalities as you plan, that consideration occurs in the context of the other factors you must consider in making the instructional choices to most effectively reach your objective. You want to ensure that you incorporate a variety of modalities in your lessons, but don t try to incorporate every modality into every single lesson. Students need to practice engaging with material in ways that are not necessarily their strengths.
Ensure that the take-home messages are presented from several angles in several formats. Rest assured that you don t have to cater to every learning style at every step of every lesson. Rather, be sure that the most critical points of your lesson are emphasized in multiple modalities. When you deliver challenging content, ensure that all students will be presented with the material in their preferred mode. Try not to ask students to process both difficult work and an uncomfortable mode of delivery. Spread activities based on different styles throughout a unit. Consciously work to ensure that throughout a unit you include activities that will effectively engage all types of learners. Back to Top How to Identify Your Best Learning Style (for Upper Elementary Children)* The teacher should start this activity with an introduction, covering the following basic information: 1. The three senses auditory, visual, and kinesthetics 2. The two reasoning types deductive and inductive 3. The two environments intrapersonal and interpersonal Students might then be asked to check the factors as they apply to different subjects to discover learning preferences. The Three Senses: Auditory listening I prefer to follow verbal instructions rather than written ones. I find it comfortable to add spoken number mentally. Visual seeing, reading, and visualizing I score high on tests that depend on reading comprehension. I can read formulas and understand them. I prefer maps to verbal directions when I am trying to find a place. Kinesthetics moving, touching, writing and doing. When I write things down, it clarifies my thoughts. I have to manipulate formulas in order to understand them. I like to draw pictures. I am good at using my hands. I enjoy lab classes.
The Two Reasoning Types: Deductive Reasoning I like to look at the big picture first, then get the details. When learning a new game, I like to know all the rules before playing. In an argument, I state my premises first, then draw conclusions. Deductive Reasoning I like to see examples when first learning a new subject, before developing an I prefer to learn the rules of a new game as we go along overview. The Two Learning Environments: Intrapersonal working alone. When solving word problems, I have to figure it out for myself. Doing school work with a group often wastes a lot of time. Interpersonal working with others. Before making a decision, I usually discuss it with my family or friends. I like to do my homework with others. What are you best at? Ideally we are good with each learning styles. However what we do best can depend on our mood, the subject matter, our friends, and the teacher. Our goal is to monitor our learning effectiveness and to adjust our learning styles for maximum advantage. *Lower elementary children will likely have difficulty identifying and/or articulating their learning preferences. You might try interviewing them about their most basic preferences. Back Multiple Modalities Examples You could, for instance, use a variety of modalities to teach fractions. You might: talk through a real-world example of dividing up a pizza among friends (auditory), demonstrate the division of the pizza via a chalkboard diagram (visual), provide students with cardboard wedges that form a circle and ask them to manipulate the pieces to divide them among different numbers of people (tactile), and ask student volunteers to be slices of a pizza pie; then separate some volunteers from the group and ask the rest of the class to determine what fraction of the whole is being represented (kinesthetic) In this way, students have several opportunities to grasp the meaning of fractions, and will most likely find it easier to apply the new knowledge since they have already interacted with it in several different forms. Here s how one teacher, Laura Nalley (DC 98) describes her approach: Although it is impossible to include every learning modality in every lesson plan, I tried to use a variety of modalities as
much as possible. For example, when teaching students greetings in Spanish, we learned and sang a song about greetings, walked around the class and greeted each other while wearing neckties (for formal greetings), listened and responded to a tape of other teachers in the school saying greetings in Spanish, and read cartoons that depict people greeting each other. Over a few lessons, I knew I met the learning modalities of all of my students, and their mastery of the material was usually evident. Back Strategies to Incorporate Different Learning Styles Note: some of the examples in the table below are saved in pdf format. Some pdfs will open with documents turned 90 degrees. To straighten, look for the rotate button in the top toolbar, and choose Rotate Counterclockwise (the little black arrow on the right). Please note, many pdfs have multiple pages. Multiple Intelligence or Learning Style options (to differentiate both process and product) Students select activities or are assigned an activity that is designed for learning a specific area of content through their strong intelligence (verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, musical, etc.) For examples, see the Tools section.