As a teacher, you may encounter learners with different needs, preferences, and abilities. How can you tailor your teaching strategies to suit each learner and help them achieve their goals? In this article, you will learn about some common types of specific learners and how to adapt your instruction, assessment, and feedback to meet their needs.
Visual learners prefer to see information in the form of images, diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, or videos. To effectively teach this type of learner, you can use visual aids and multimedia to illustrate key concepts and examples. Additionally, it's important to organize information in a clear and logical way, using headings, bullet points, colors, and symbols. Encourage visual learners to create their own visual representations of the content such as mind maps, sketches or posters. Provide visual cues and reminders for instructions, tasks and deadlines.
I'm more of a visual learner myself. As a teacher, I normally reflect my dominant learning style in the teaching process. To give examples, I use Venn diagrams, mind maps, and lists to organize what I teach my learners. What I found after every course I finished is the positive effect of visual organizers on my learners in their learning style and journey. I believe that whatever a teacher wants to transmit must be given through clear examples, drills, and rehearsals by learners in context.
Differentiated learning is a teaching approach that I employ to tailor instructions to my learners' individual needs. Given that I teach mixed-ability classes with diverse learning preferences (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic etc, I make sure that every learner gets the most out of each lesson. To realise this, I maintain an inclusive learning atmosphere where learners - regardless of their backgrounds (abilities/social-wise) - are free to air their views without fear or favour. Also, I ensure that the lesson content, planning, and delivery address the specific needs of my learners.
In my experience, ( I have taught across 3 countries, from age 5 to adult), supporting content visually is a powerful way of reducing cognitive load, thus allowing a greater focus in the core content. Additionally, providing visuals which pupils can refer back to on their own, is an empowering step towards independence.
I believe that students can gain knowledge and process information so much more effectively through visual representation. Our mind is attracted to lights and images but it also allows us to learn and remember information and data in a multitude of ways. The importance of seeing visual representations is essential in moving our minds forward in meticulous ways.
Auditory learners prefer to hear information in the form of speech, music, sounds, or podcasts and often have a good auditory memory. To teach them effectively, verbal explanations and discussions should be used to introduce and reinforce key concepts and examples. Incorporating audio materials and resources, such as songs, stories, interviews, or lectures can also help. Auditory learners should be encouraged to use their own voice to express their ideas, questions, and feedback through recording, presenting, or debating. Finally, auditory cues and reminders for instructions, tasks, and deadlines should be provided.
In my experience, ( I have taught for over 20 years, across 3 countries, from age 5 to adult), embedding an auditory dynamic in your content is a powerful way of reducing cognitive load, thus allowing a greater focus in the core content. Additionally, an auditory element to your delivery can ensure the material is engaging, which is especially important for pupils with working memory barriers- it is particularly important to engage them first time round with the learning, to give them the greatest chance of digesting and retaining the material.
Kinesthetic learners prefer to learn by doing, moving, touching, or experiencing. They have a good physical memory and can recall details from sensory sources. To effectively teach kinesthetic learners, incorporating hands-on activities and experiments to demonstrate and apply key concepts and examples is important. Physical materials and resources, such as models, manipulatives, tools, or games should be used. Kinesthetic learners should be encouraged to use their own body to explore and express the content through activities like acting, dancing, or miming. Providing physical cues and reminders for instructions, tasks, and deadlines can help kinesthetic learners stay on track.
As a professor in neurosurgery, I feel that it is imperative that I involve my learners in this way. I am always looking for opportunities to engage my residents in hands on learning, in the lab and in the operating room. Surgery is an immersive experience, you need to incorporate other modalities of learning, but to work towards mastery, you need to push your kinesthetic ability.
In my experience, ( I have taught for over 20 years, across 3 countries, from age 5 to adult), supporting content with kinaesthetic activities is a powerful way of increasing engagement. Additionally, providing kinaesthetic activities can help with the retention of the concepts being covered.
Reading/writing learners prefer to learn through reading and writing text, as they have a good verbal memory and can recall details from written sources. To effectively teach these learners, utilize text-based materials and resources, such as books, articles, reports, or blogs. Ensure that the information is organized in a coherent and concise way with words, sentences, and paragraphs. Encourage reading/writing learners to use their own words to summarize and analyze the content; this could be done through writing notes, essays, or reviews. Provide text-based cues and reminders for instructions, tasks, and deadlines.
As a first activity, surveying students as part of the structure of any learning project/unit is essential for two reasons: one is to learn from them, from their home culture and secondly to evaluate their individual skillsets and challenges. With this and other academic data, teacher matches students with appropriate learning activities to the point of pairing activities with other students in smaller groups and personalization of the learning experience as necessary. This is really about applying the science of learning in the classroom.
Mixed learners prefer to use a combination of different learning styles, depending on the content, context, and purpose. They tend to have a flexible and adaptable memory and can recall details from various sources. To teach them effectively, you should use a range of materials and resources that appeal to different senses and modalities. Organizing information in a balanced and integrated way, using multiple formats and modes, can be beneficial. Encouraging mixed learners to use different strategies and methods to process and communicate the content, such as by switching, combining, or contrasting, is also important. Providing multiple cues and reminders for instructions, tasks, and deadlines can be useful for mixed learners.
Through experience as a sensory development tutor, I have discovered students usually gain faster learning through integrating as many senses as possible such as visual, auditory, and tactile. This way is a student has a weak sense, the other senses help the student learn. The weak sense can also be strengthened through utilizing many senses.
As a project based learn teacher, my success helps when I can make learning relevant to the student only then used these to get the student to obtain more knowledge and an apply throughout a series a events/journey of learning. Then, they help others in lower grades or age understand a concept. That’s when I know techniques where successful.
In my experience teaching middle school students how and why thinking before buying is a powerful and rewarding life skill, demonstrating relevance is the surest path to learner engagement. Until you start earning a regular income, financial literary isn't really top of mind. But having the tools to purchase, or politely ask for, the items or experiences you want, will use and appreciate - is! So I begin every workshop by asking students to reflect on recent purchases, birthday or holiday gifts, "that weren't exactly what they had hoped for". This leads to a conversation that very naturally reveals how thinking before buying helps kids avoid disappointment, reduce waste, improve family harmony, and protect the planet - mission accomplished!
In my experience, ( I have taught for over 20 years, across 3 countries, from age 5 to adult), supporting content through a varied spectrum of the senses is the most powerful form of adaptive teaching. Pupils preferences or need for a particular style can change day to day, dependent on their capacity for learning on that day and what else they have encountered and had to deal with and how challenging the content.
One teaching style doesn't suit all the students. Every classroom is different and so is every child. That's why ALfA (Accelerated Learning for All) pedagogy has different elements like learning through reading and writing using books, learning with the help of graphics/designs for visual learners, using matchsticks for solving math questions (kinesthetic learning), and storytelling for auditory learners. We use a mix of all these styles for delivery and watch out for how children are responding to each one of them.
I believe what you are describing is not learning processes but information gathering. No learning takes place unless the information is gathered, just like no eating takes place until food goes into the mouth. But until the diner processes the food in his body, he will still starve. If you provide a way for the students to explore new material in their unique way, they'll get it. But then you must give them a process by which they can understand how the new material differs from what they already know, analyze the information, make use of targeted practice to gain an understanding of the different bits, and finally integrate this new material into their minds, they won't digest it, and they will have Learned Nothing.
Teaching and learning: two halves of a complementary 'coin'? I took some training years ago, through one of the colleges I have taught for, to understand the many different ways of teaching and learning. The demands that put on me, from that point forward, we're very helpful in that I learned to deliver the same information and several different ways.
“Learning is a complex process that involves multiple senses. Students develop preferred ways to acquire new knowledge, and we usually categorize them as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or reading/writing learners. In some cases, mixed learners are also included. However, the reality is that all students utilize all their senses to learn, but they have preferences. In my experience, most educational planning focuses on delivering content in the student’s preferred way of gathering information, instead of challenging them to use and develop all their gathering pathways. As teaching experts, we need to focus on helping students grow in an integral and balanced way.
I think Solitary Learners should be added to types of learners. Solitary learners prefer studying and working independently. They are most productive when they have a quite and focussed environment. I am more of solitary learner, i assimilate more independently than listening to a lecturer in class.