Not everyone learns in exactly the same way. While various schools of thought recognize three, four, seven or even eight different styles of learning, the important point is that there are multiple ways to learn — and this means that there is more than one way to teach. One size does not fit all when it comes to education!
Teaching Strategies for Different Learning Styles
The infographic shown below, Teaching Strategies for Different Learning Styles, lists seven ways students learn. Learners are described as visual (spatial), aural (auditory/musical), verbal (linguistic), physical (kinesthetic), logical (mathematical), intrapersonal (solitary) and interpersonal (social). Below each type of learner, you’ll find characteristics that allow you to recognize that particular type of student, and suggestions for engaging students who learn in that distinctive way.
Addressing students’ unique learning styles is a relatively the latest phenomenon. Traditional teaching methods tended to acknowledge — or at least teach — in only logical and linguistic styles. This meant a larger emphasis on book teaching, repetition and written exams to assess progress. The issues with this approach are twofold. Non-traditional learners were not fully engaged to the point where they could reach their full potential. Further, these students may have been erroneously labelled as less intelligent or even “dumb.”
How can a single educator accommodate a full classroom of students with different learning styles?
The teacher can change his or her teaching methods on various days. Or, even better, the teacher can present all new information in a variety of styles, which helps all students learn better by providing various perspectives on the same information. Using different teaching methods also increases engagement; teaching each lesson in the same way can bore even the students to whom a particular method is aimed.
Read the infographic below to learn more about the various learning styles and how to successfully teach students who learn in different ways.
Graphic created by Graduation Source.