Learning Styles Blog

A Question of Learning Styles: What has gone wrong in education?

2010-09-02T12:51:4812:00:00

Let’s consider formal education and ask a few formal education questions:

How many thousands of hours do students sit in classrooms experiencing lectures or lectures, deadly boring activities which bore them to death, which stifle activities their curiosity, and their spontaneously emerging interest?
What happens when a child experiences uncertainty about details of the presentation?
How many hundreds of hours do they spend reading books?
And again, what can students do when they encounter something they do not understand or evokes their curiosity? Will they raise their hands and ask?

Only those who are not easily intimidated. The majority of students, however, learn to ignore all but their most powerful urges. Slowly but surely their experiences at school result in a deadening of school experiences kill their inner sensitivity.

Unlike the way children learn informally before and outside school, the entire educational system discourages them from ‘tuning’ into their own inner learning processes. They become conditioned to disregard their own meaning, their learning needs, disregard their (learning) style and individuality in favour of acquiring machine-like behaviours and uniform outcomes uniform outcomes favoured by the system and those who represent it.

Consider the following: before children go into children learn by formal education, they learn miraculously by developing an inner sensitivity for their learning processes which is their day-to-day experience for years. When they go to school, in the process at school of being taught various subjects, the message they receive now is: what goes on inside your head is meaningless, pay attention and do as we tell you!

This whole dilemma has nothing to do with teachers’ intentions; this is not the issue. The problem is not WHAT is being taught but HOW it is done. The formal environment and traditional teaching methods continually discourage children from remaining sensitive to their own most essential capacities for learning. It’s the overall education experience education experience which turns, almost as a rule, highly energised, turns curious, eager and alive children into mainly tired, alive children into uninterested, uneasy, bored and frustrated students.

This is true for schools in every country I have visited so far, from Finland to Hong Kong, from New Zealand to Sweden, from the US to Denmark. And what’s even more alarming, this unfortunate development can be seen everywhere - despite the school, the teacher, even the socioeconomic family status of the student.

(excerpt from The Power of Diversity by Barbara Prashnig)

Wondering how to put it right? Start here.

What is a Teaching Style?

2010-08-26T16:59:3912:00:00

We all know that every individual has his or her unique style of learning, be it using visual props, listening to a tape recorder or pacing up and down the room. However, while working extensively with Learning Styles, Barbara realised that the same is true of those who teach: every educator will have their own special Teaching Style.

A Teaching Style is the way in which the educator communicates his or her knowledge to the students and delivers the curriculum.

But do styles of teaching really vary so much? When we think back to our school days, some teachers were better than others, yet they all used the blackboard or the overhead projector. It was all pretty much the same, wasn't it?

Yes, most teachers use the blackboard – or now the whiteboard - even if they themselves are not visually inclined. And most teachers will expect pupils to sit still in their desks. Still, in her research, Barbara discovered that the personal learning style of a teacher will always influence the way they teach, the way they interact with their students and the way they shape expectations of their students’ performance.

For example, if the teacher enjoys making study aids, they will bring those to the classroom, and they will probably give their students lots of hands-on projects to do, like building a model of the water molecule. If the teacher learns kinesthetically, they will probably deliver the lesson in a much more lively style, moving about the room and involving students in physical activities.

There are many benefits to knowing your Teaching Style.

Every teaching Style is unique. What is yours? Have a look.

Teachers Stressed at Work

2010-08-19T11:50:0812:00:00

It’s the end of another long day. Your head is pounding, your teeth are clamped and there are a thousand and one knots in your shoulders, each with a different story of obstacles you had to overcome today.

Stressed? You bet. Teaching is a wonderful and worthy profession, but unfortunately stress is the price you have to pay for it.

Or is it?

Research shows that stress is caused - in part - by our work environment as well as by the way in which we approach our tasks and master difficult situations.

Similarly, if you prefer to work in a relatively quiet environment, a noisy classroom will contribute to your stress levels. If you are tidy, it’s annoying having to work in a chaotic environment. If you don’t enjoy teamwork... you get the idea. Would you believe it, there are more than 40 such factors, and if just a few of them are impeded, stress is sure to follow?

So what can you do about it? The first step is to become aware of all the factors that contribute to your unique Working Style. To find out about your Working Style and what to do about reducing your stress levels, please click here.

For example, if your natural inclination is to work in a darker area with soft lighting, it is incredibly stressful to have to function in a brightly lit classroom. You may not even realise it, but every time you walk into that dazzling room with its blinding fluorescent tubes, your blood pressure begins to climb: up, up, up and up, all the way to the dangerous limit.

Teen Trouble and Learning Styles

2010-08-12T12:56:5912:00:00

It's not often that a popular fiction book, a thriller, deals with the thorny issue of parental responsibilities during their charges' teenage years. Harlan Coben, a New York Times bestselling author, has recently produced two such novels: Hold Tight and Caught.

Hold Tight delves into the delicate dilemma of "should you spy on your teen's Internet activities". Caught asks whether it's OK for teens to consume alcohol at home when it's against the law: if your child will go out and drink anyway, is it better for a parent to provide a safe haven of a beer keg at home.

Creative Learning doesn't have the answers to those questions, that's something every parent has to decide for themselves, having the full knowledge of their child.

What Creative Learning can do, however, is supplement your knowledge. Is your child likely to sneak out at night and go to a party, then accept a drive home from somebody who'd been drinking?

If their Learning Style has preferences in these areas:

learning with peers
noise
kinesthetic input
intake
external motivation
evening

as well as a non-preference in the following areas:

responsibility
conformity
routine

chances are, they may be a little more unruly than is safe for them.

What is your teen's Learning Style? Find out today.

Chinese Wisdom and Learning Styles

2010-08-05T13:23:5612:00:00

(origin unknown)

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled. "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Everybody has his or her Learning Style. What are your unique flaws? Celebrate them here.

Toy Story 3 or Shrek 4?

2010-07-29T12:23:1712:00:00

Toy Story 3 or Shrek 4? Most reviewers seem to favour Toy Story. Which one do you prefer? The answer may lie in your learning style (which is not only the way you learn, but also the way you experience the world).

On the face of it, Toy Story 3 will appeal to anyone who:

likes to work / play alone
can work in a team
enjoys outdoor experiences and adventure.

Shrek 4 will appeal to anyone who:

likes to work / play alone
can work in a team
enjoys outdoor experiences and adventure.

But wait, there is one important difference. Toy Story 3 is all about accepting change, while Shrek 4 is about going back to the old and embracing routine.

Of course, you can be as analytic as you want. But ask a 5-year old which movie is better, and he'll tell you without hesitation: "Toy Story, because it didn't have all the kissing."

Learning Styles, Supervision and Conformity

2010-07-24T01:05:1512:00:00

WHAT ARE LEARNING STYLES?

Simply put, a learning style is the way a child learns. The full definition expands it into the way a child takes in information, processes it, and memorises it for later use. A child’s learning styles will consist of many aspects:

whether they are visual, auditory, tactile or kinaesthetic,
whether they have a need for silence, bright light or an informal work area,
what time of day they like to learn.

Please see the pyramid for more information.

NEED FOR SUPERVISION

The need for externally imposed guidance and structure should not be confused with another important Learning Style element: working under parental and teacher supervision. Children who display a need for supervision and adult authority do not necessarily expect instructions from the adults. They simply enjoy having an adult close by to give them support to supervise the work, to check it at the end of each task and to give lots of feedback.

While some children enjoy that kind of attention, others prefer to be independent. As long as their independence doesn’t result in uncompleted tasks or inappropriate activities, there is no need to offer them unwanted supervision.

NEED TO CONFORM

Another aspect of Learning Styles that may sometimes be confused with the need for guidance is conformity. Some children, particularly younger ones, draw security from having boundaries and knowing the rules. Others, however, tend to defy rules, sometimes just for the sake of the rebellion.

Non-conforming children still need positive feedback from teachers and parents. They learn best when they understand why a learning task is important and they become less rebellious when they respect the person who sets the rules.

What is your child's style?

Thinking Child and Learning Styles

2010-07-16T16:50:4712:00:00

As parents, we get used to being in charge. We are usually the ones who set the rules, decide when it’s bedtime and what goes into the lunchbox. We know best how to tie a shoelace and what their friend would like for her next birthday. We run the risk of becoming too prescriptive in our parenting.

This in turn might discourage our children from thinking for themselves. It's particularly true of children whose Learning Style has a preference for externally imposed structure and guidelines.

If a child has a high need for externally imposed structure and guidelines, he or she will always await instructions from the teacher before they approach their school work or study projects. Being told precisely what to do and how to begin a task gives such a learner more security and confidence. In extreme cases, though, this may create a dependency on teacher instructions and feedback.

Do you recognise this need in your child? No worries. You can teach them to become less dependent on others in learning, by showing them how to set priorities and how to self-structure their tasks.

So, next time you find yourself doing too much around the children - stop and think: is there any way I can empower my child to tackle this task themselves?

The idea is not to change the child’s wonderfully unique Learning Style: it is simply to teach them a life skill in a gentle non-threatening environment.

FIFA 2010 and Learning Styles

2010-07-08T10:28:4312:00:00

With the soccer fever reaching its peak, it's only fair to look at some of the teams and individual players' sport style. Tempting as it is to discuss the benefits of fair play versus "diving", of back kicks versus headers and of goalies who stay put versus goalies who venture beyond the penalty box, the Creative Learning take on soccer is somewhat more unique.

What we are most interested in, includes:

what learning style allows the players to remain calm and keep performing under the tremendous stress of playing in the World Cup;
what learning style makes the best soccer players.

In order to stay calm under pressure, your "crocodile brain" style has to be pretty much the same as your "acquired style", because it's the crocodile brain that rules when the going gets tough. Having flexible preferences in your environment and physical needs also helps, because you won't get stressed by the vuvuzelas or the time of day.

When it comes to the learning style best suited for soccer, many styles will be suitable, though people with a strong preference for external kinesthetic learning and movement will naturally feel more inclined to learn physical skills. You will also need a preference for team playing with a coach, a lot of both internal and external motivation, a desire to conform to the rules (woe to the players who think they are above the regulations), high perseverance and responsibility.

Motivation, high perseverance and responsibility are in fact the necessary Learning Style Elements in any recipe for success.

While we cannot offer you a personal analysis of your Soccer Style at present, we do have an LSA Golf for the golfers out there. Please write to us if you're interested in an LSA Soccer assessment.

The STOP-START Teacher

2010-07-01T13:50:0112:00:00

Wouldn't it be great if we could STOP-START the teacher any time we wanted? Like when our attention wanders, or when we didn't quite get what they drew on the board... what if we could just press the REWIND button and watch the explanation again?

Now you can. The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to the Internet community. Their menu consists of arithmetic, calculus, history, biology, finance... all in all, around 1,500 video clips that can be viewed online.

The learning style best suited to this method of teaching is:

studying alone
high responsibility
visual (reading)
visual (video)
auditory (external)
tactile
no movement needed.

What is your child's learning style?