Even before I decided to be a Teacher, I had a knack for being able to explain something, whether it was complicated or simple, to any anyone. I know how to listen and read people, and can adjust my presentation to any audience. When I was employed as an Engineer and IT Professional, this seemingly unique skill was identified as especially valuable to my employers and I advanced rapidly. As a Teacher, it may not lead to rapid promotion, but I can see how developing this skill can benefit my students. Basically, my theory of learning is that we can all learn or have the ability to learn, but we have to know how we best learn in order to achieve that.
By identifying my audience on an individual basis with my students, I can assist each student to look at how they really learn. A student can experiment with learning a concept using various mediums and learning styles, and then assess which style works best for her. Now, this process is difficult for most students at first, because as we all know we best learn by listening to rhetorical lectures, taking notes, completing homework problems, and taking tests. After 11 or 12 years of school using the traditional lecture format, we students are comfortable with this way of learning, even though many of us don’t actually learn well or retain information using this system.
My theory is rather simple really, though implementing it is rather labor intensive for me.
Basically, over a few consecutive classes I take a singular concept and present it or goal is to foster my students to find and know how they best learn, and then set high expectations to expand their abilities. In order to accomplish this, I create an intranet web portal for each one of my 3 double classes. I use these portals to supplement and act as the classroom, with a student accessible, repeatable process and format for presenting each lesson. Prior to accessing the classroom portal, I teach the students how to determine what type of learner they are, such as a Video/Visual type learner. Once each individual student has identified their preferred learning style, I then instruct them on how to access and find information on the classroom-specific web portal. From that point forward, I will teach a new concept one way, and I will post my presentation on the class portal as I taught it and also using at least 4 supplementary types of learning styles. I only teach it one way, but then each student can access the lesson on the classroom portal and pair it with their preferred learning style and find the concept presented in a “friendly” way.
make it available using a number of different ways that are connected to a specific learning style. So initially, I try to break them of their dependence of their boring and
mindless following of the traditional lecture-only learning model. Next, I show one concept repeatedly, but in a number of different ways, each way based on a variety of learning styles. It is important to teach students that there are other ways of learning available to them, but in order to identify their best personal learning style they need to reflect and assess each separate learning style individually. I never assume that students have prior knowledge, nor do I set them up for failure. It takes a concerted effort over a number of classes to accomplish this goal of identifying each student’s best way of learning. I set expectations for this process with my students, and make sure they understand explicitly what we are trying to accomplish. Many of my students find this process to be very enlightening and empowering. Personally, when I see or assess a proverbial light go on above a student’s head and they make improvement, it is very satisfying. Repeatedly, I have witnessed how empowering it is for someone to go from struggling and average in school, to really understanding a concept, retaining that knowledge, and then even being able to apply it.
I have a straight-forward approach to helping students’ find their best learning style and creating a learning environment for achieving this in my classroom. My primary
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