Learning styles
Catherine MacRae
04-Feb-04

Do your students wiggle in their chairs? Do they regularly ask to leave the class? Do you wonder why your weekly group discussions seem to turn into a dialogue between the same two individuals? Does your finely scripted board-work leave half the class folding their A4 sheets of lined paper into aeroplanes. In the course of a busy work week, with the mountains of paperwork, marking, preparation and the many and varied tasks involved in a teacher's life it's difficult to find the time to reflect on the way your students learn.

A learning style is "the way in which an individual experiences the world and how that individual processes and integrates new information." (N.A.L.D2) Through the use of "'Learning Styles' just as we receive information about the world around us through our five senses, we also have individual sensory preference as to how we recreate and make sense of that information." (Smith, 2001)

These preferences can be visual, auditory or kinaesthetic (VAK). A preference for a visual learning style may confirm an individual's understanding of a concept when it is presented in a written or visually descriptive format. An auditory learner may prefer having a new concept explained and then discussed with the class. A kinaesthetic learner may be more in tune with the physical environment, moving around the room, and preferring a hands-on approach to learning. Though not the only learning styles theory, VAK can expand a teaching and learning environment. While a learning style preference does not mean that an individual learns using only one particular sense, including multisensory activities in the learning environment ensures that individual learning styles are supported, while allowing students to explore other learning preferences.

A visual learner may delight in seeing the "parts of speech" presented in chart form on the white-board, each element in a different colour. However, when you proudly turn from the board, pleased with your fine display and are suddenly faced with distressed faces, accompanied by a harmony of "I'm completely lost," pride turns into dismay and panic. What to do? Turn back to the whiteboard, write down a sentence, read through it with the class and ask for feedback on the roles of the various parts of the sentence. Following this, ask learners to come up to the board and circle the various parts of speech. A second survey of the class reveals more contented faces and a few knowing nods.

It's easy to rely on the whiteboard. It's a quick and accessible way to illustrate a point, expand on an idea or teach a mini-lesson on parts of speech. The problem is, it leaves a number of learners wondering what the point of the lesson was. On reflection, a little more planning and a few more materials: component parts of a sentence cut into pieces, different colours of paper for each part of speech (e.g. green for verbs,) and the confusion could have been avoided. Working in pairs, learners could then have assembled the sentences in the correct order, while identifying the various parts of speech. In this way, the activity becomes tactile and hands-on and also promotes discussion. By changing the teaching strategy slightly, you are providing a balance of opportunities for your students to learn using VAK, and "are beginning to access your students in their preferred learning style." (Smith, 2001)

There are a range of learning style questionnaires that can be used to assess learning styles, some adapted for students in the entry levels and some that can be administered verbally. As teachers, we tend to default to our own preferred learning style. When designing lesson plans and schemes of work, think in terms of using a range of senses (multisensory). Add alternatives to everyday teaching strategies. Flash cards bring a tactile dimension to traditional spelling lessons, mind mapping is a visual way of planning a piece of writing, and a lively debate will bring your auditory learners into the fold.

Project-based learning is a cooperative effort, and another approach to bringing multiple learning styles into the classroom. A trip to the local history and archive centre of the library can yield not only books detailing the history of the area, but also maps and old news clippings. Pictures and photos can be scanned in and student writing added to a lively display. An interview of someone who may have lived in the area years ago may be shown under the heading "Reflections From Another Time." Local architecture can be photographed on a field trip around the local community and later framed in card. Music from a bygone era can be selected and played as an accompaniment to the display. Projects can provide a variety of experiences for student learning.

Another option for creating multisensory learning is to use the computer as a presentation tool. If you have access to IT in your learning environment lessons that would traditionally be put on the whiteboard or a handout can be transferred to PowerPoint, allowing students to scroll through the various slides. "Webquests" put research into a new and challenging light, as students click through a series of websites, looking for answers to the questions provided. Computers can also be useful tools to differentiate learning. In general, when teaching accommodates the various learning preferences, more students will be engaged in the process of learning. Learning can be experiential, interactive, hands-on and above all, fun.

In the adult literacy classroom, teachers can organise activities to include the various learning styles. A selection of word-building games, such as those that allow students to match beginning consonant blends with the correct endings to create words, can round out a lesson. Highlighter pens in contrasting colours can be used to identify different kinds of information, such as a consonant blend in a word. Many of the new learning resources associated with the national curriculum for adult learners come with CDs that can be used for speaking and listening exercises. A supermarket announcement can be replicated on an audio tape and role plays can be used to simulate a telephone conversation, requesting a job application.

For those who teach in the community, travelling from community centres to workplace-based classrooms, a bag of resources (fairly light ones) can include index cards, post-it notes, coloured pens and paper, letter or word tiles, and if there's room, a small tape player.

For the greatest impact, ensure that your lesson includes visual, auditory and kinaesthetic teaching and learning strategies. It takes a little extra creativity and bit more time in planning, but the result might be a lesson that engages all of the students in the class.

Useful references:

• Adey, P., Fairbrother, R., William, D (1999) Learning Styles and Strategies: A Review of Research. London: King's College, Centre for the Advancement of Thinking.
  
  
• Smith, Alistair. (2001) Accelerated Learning in Practice. Stafford: Network Educational Press Ltd.
  
  
• Smith, Alistair. (1996) Accelerated Learning in the Classroom. Stafford: Network Educational Press Ltd.
  
  
• N.A.L.D - Canadian Literacy Resources - Workplace Basic Skills: 2004 - Learning Styles.