Many know of the four common ways of learning: visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. But did you know that students need to be exposed to even more ways of processing information too? Going multisensory is essential these days and presenting instruction that teaches to all 12 ways of processing, as described in the Eclectic Teaching Approach, can help prepare your students for a successful future of life long learning.
The other 8 ways of learning include:
1)Sequential Learning: teach students how to order information alphabetically or numerically.
Teach with timelines, successive instructions, outlines, and keep materials organized.
2)Simultaneous Learning: teach students how to categorize materials by similarity.
Web information, define and discuss main ideas and details, and use flow charts and diagrams.
3)Verbal Learning: teach students how to process ideas aloud.
Provide opportunities for students to process ideas verbally through one-on-one or group discussions.
4)Interactive Learning: teach students how to work with others.
Collaborate with your students on projects or classroom ideas, offer collaborative assignments and allow students to work in groups.
5)Logical/Reflective Learning: teach students how to think about and make connections to what they are learning.
Offer time for students to work independently and process ideas internally. Free writing activities and journals can exercise this modality.
6)Indirect Experience Learning: teach students how to observe and learn from a demonstration.
Offer vicarious learning experiences.
7)Direct Experience Learning: teach students how to learn in their environment.
Lead discussions about what students are learning in the “real world.” Inform them about educational opportunities available in our communities and local cities (museums, aquariums, historic sites …) and take them on field trips.
8)Rhythmic Melodic Learning: teach students how to use songs and rhythm to learn information.
Share music that defines a time period or mood, use melodies to help student memorize information, and play educational music.
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning, and she is the director of Learning to Learn, in Ossining, NY. To learn more about her products and services, you can go to www.goodsensorylearning.com and www.learningtolearn.biz
A common question and frustration plaguing teachers is how to meet the diverse learning styles of all the students in their classroom. With as many as 12 learning styles, teachers can get overwhelmed thinking about teaching a topic 12 different ways.
There is a solution. First, it is imperative to understand the different learning styles or ways of learning. Second, one must consider a number of teaching strategies.
Understanding the 12 Learning Styles:
There are 12 ways of learning: visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, sequential simultaneous, reflective/logical, verbal, interactive, direct experience, indirect experience and rhythmic/melodic. Although most students can learn in some capacity using all 12 learning styles, when students’ unique profiles or preferences are accommodated, they often experience joy in the learning process and celebrate remarkable gains.
Below, the 12 learning styles are defined and 3 to 4 teaching suggestions are made for each.
Teaching Strategies that Accommodate the 12 Learning Styles:
When you understand the different learning styles, there are a number of strategies that can be employed:
·Create learning stations that enable students to pick activities, practice materials, complete handouts and make projects that teach and reinforce new knowledge. Each learning station should accommodate different learning styles. For example, there could be a tactile learning station, a sequential learning station, a kinesthetic learning station…
·Step out of your own learning style and try other methods.
·Design multisensory lessons. A lecture,forexample,doesnothavetobeexclusivelyauditory.Tonameafew,visual,simultaneous,tactileandverbalapproachescanbewovenintothelesson. Also certain instructional techniques are naturally multisensory. For example, doing a skit is highly multisensory because it is auditory, visual , kinesthetic, verbal, and interactive.
·Consider assessing the learning styles of your students so that you can tailor lessons to meet their needs. An excellent option is the Eclectic Learning Profile. This can be used to look at individual or class profiles. The manual is also packed with teaching suggestions, lesson ideas and handouts.
·Provide homework or project options. Say, for example, you wanted students to show mastery of a process. This could be the steps to complete a math problem, the plot of a story or their understanding of a historical time period. In all three cases, students can select assignment options such as:
oCreate a timeline or sequence chart
oCreate a web or flow chart
oDraw a series of images that show the steps and write a caption for each.
oDo a power point presentation that shows the sequence
oDo a skit that illustrates the steps.
oWrite a song that illustrates the steps.
Learning to accommodate the diverse needs of your students will make you a more popular, confident and creative teacher. If you have difficulty coming up with multisensory lesson ideas, consider using some of the excellent products on www.TeacherspayTeachers.com
If you would like to see a video on the 12 Learning Styles click on the link below.
