Lesson 2: How We Learn, Teach, and Tailor a Unit Study to Fit

2-2 Styles of Learning: Determining Your Children's Favorites

Students tend to take in and process information in different ways: by seeing/hearing, reflecting/acting, reasoning logically/intuitively, analyzing/visualizing, steadily/in fits and starts. Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors lecture, others demonstrate or lead students to self-discovery; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and others understanding.

I really believe learning & teaching styles are a pet project of many teachers . . . and judging by the mass of free resources and even free cyber tests they are a generous lot. So, this section will introduce you to some of the breakdowns of learning types being created and then give you some resources to check out yourself for the approach you like best.

Knowing how we learn helps us to learn most effectively. Each of us has learning weaknesses. These classifications and surveys will help us find out our weaknesses, then we'll see ways to compensate for them.

Learning methods are not just for the student. Take the surveys along with your children. Besides discovering more about your own style and how to become a more effective teacher, taking surveys together with your children helps reinforce the bond between you and lets them know that learning never ends.

One thing I learned while researching this topic is that there are many different ways of looking at how a person learns. It's like the human brain is a diamond with different researchers studying it from different angles and different lighting. I found value in each approach. For my own use, I liked to go through each theory's listing of behavioral traits, not so much to slap a label on myself or my students but to get an overall picture of preferences, strengths, and weaknesses . . . but then, I am usually a "global learner". Then I can use the list as a sort of guide to shopping for teaching methods and materials to which that student is most likely to respond.

Not knowing your learning style, I'll introduce you to some of the common methods through websites which can not only provide details about a particular approach but many also have free online surveys you can take to determine your learn style. Here are a few meaty websites for delving into learning methods:

Capital Community-Technical College Learning Assistance Center:

• Auditory Versus Visual - tests whether you learn more easily through hearing or seeing.
• Applied Versus Conceptual - describes the types of learning tasks and learning situations you prefer and find most easy to handle.
• Spatial Versus Nonspatial - reveals your ability to work with spatial relationships or positions.
• Social Versus Independent - explores your preferred level of interaction with other people in the learning process.
• Creative Versus Pragmatic - looks at the approach you prefer to take toward learning tasks.

Besides more detailed explanations of the learning types, the Learning Assistance Center has a helpful chart providing ways to strengthen your learning weaknesses. For older students, once they are aware of which learning tasks or activities may be more difficult, they can take steps to strengthen their approach and attitude toward such methods.

Felder-Silverman Model

• sensing learners (concrete, practical, oriented toward facts and procedures)
  or
  intuitive learners (conceptual, innovative, oriented toward theories and meanings);

• visual learners (visual representations – pictures, diagrams, flow charts)
  or
  verbal learners (written and spoken explanations);

• inductive learners (presentations that proceed from the specific to the general)
  or
  deductive learners (prefer presentations that go from the general to the specific);

• active learners (learn by trying things out, working with others)
  or
  reflective learners (learn by thinking things through, working alone);

• sequential learners (linear, orderly, learn in small incremental steps)
  or
  global learners (holistic, systems thinkers, learn in large leaps).

This site also includes several useful articles on applying the results and links to various papers on the model as well as glimpses at other models.

Paragon Learning Style Resource Page

• Extroverts (try things out, focus on the outer world of people)
  or
  Introverts (think things through, focus on the inner world of ideas);

• Sensors (practical, detail-oriented, focus on facts and procedures)
  or
  Intuitors (imaginative, concept-oriented, focus on meanings and possibilities);

• Thinkers (skeptical, tend to make decisions based on logic and rules)
  or
  Feelers (appreciative, tend to make decisions based on personal and humanistic considerations);

• Judgers (set and follow agendas, seek closure even with incomplete data)
  or
  Perceivers (adapt to changing circumstances, resist closure to obtain more data).

The MBTI type preferences can be combined to form 16 different learning style types like ESTJ (extrovert, sensor, thinker, perceiver)

The Parent Center Learning Styles Quiz

• Visual - learns best through what they see, read, picture in their minds.

• Auditory - learns best through what they hear as on tape or in a lecture or discussion.

• Physical learner - learns best through physical contact, tactile activities, etc. Most young children fit this category best.

Debra Bell's Home School Resource Center

Christian Educator Debra Bell presents several excellent articles on learning styles using Dr. Keith Golay's model from his book Learning Patterns and Temperament Styles (also explained well in Cathy Duffy's manuals listed under Resources). The four key categories of learners which she discusses in great detail are:

• The active learner

• the routine learner

• the focused learner

• the global learner.

The Gregoric Model for The Way They Learn

• Perception:
  • Concrete - relies on the five senses and is often known as the "Left-brain" thinker.

  • Abstract - visualize ideas using intuition, intellect and imagination. Abstract thinkers look beyond the obvious perceiving subtleties. This would be the "Right-brain" thinkers.

• Ordering:
  • Sequential - best follows logical, orderly methods

  • Random - Deals with chunks of information which may or may not be in any order

The various combinations of the two methods of perceiving information and the two methods of ordering information together create the learning styles:

• Concrete Sequential

• Abstract Sequential

• Abstract Random

• Concrete Random

Applying the Learning

Most likely no one will fit perfectly into one category or the other. More than anything, these surveys help us appreciate and respect each person's uniqueness. You don't have to devote your life to catering to a child's learning style. There are always tradeoffs. Try to accommodate each child''s preferences in at least one area. Let teens select their own material and goals as much as possible.

Most children seem to settle into a consistent learning style around age 8-10. Re-evaluate children frequently, especially when they seem to be having learning difficulties. For older students let them evaluate their own learning preferences -- they'll probably get a lot more value from it doing it themselves . . . but perhaps that depends on what type of learning style they have!

By studying our children's learning styles we can make the most of one of the greatest advantages of home education: designing material to fit the student. If a child has trouble in a particular subject we no longer have to assume that it "just isn't their thing". It may be more a matter of finding the teaching method that best appeals to their way of learning. Most of the time they want to succeed. We simply need to find the motivational key to unlock their enthusiasm to overcome obstacles to learning a particular topic. These tools will help you help them do it.

We should be careful not to excuse character weaknesses -- like leaving tasks unfinished or carelessly done -- brushing them off as learning style faults. Encouragement and well-timed positive feedback can help in this area. You may want to consider a character unit study designed to help in any areas of weakness.

And don't forget to assess your own learning style. Until we understand our own way of doing and thinking, especially our strengths and weaknesses, we'll have trouble communicating with others.

Unless we happen to have the same learning makeup as our children, we can often find ourselves out of touch with what they are really thinking and getting out of studies. These personal assessments can also help us learn to communicate and understand each other better. The implications beyond the scope of teaching unit studies is enormous as well, extending into all areas of life, learning, and social interaction.

Besides that, it's just plain fun!

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