Learning styles and discussion

The questionnaire results chart indicates that, in order from most to least: I am highly 'visual/spacial (picture smart) (26); 'intrapersonal (myself smart)' (22); 'kinaesthetic (body smart)' (19); 'naturalistic (nature smart)' (17); 'linguistic (word smart) (16); 'logical (number smart)' and 'interpersonal (people smart)' (15); and, 'musical (music smart)' (13).

((The pretty picture (learning styles chart) will not load (handshake issues ? maybe).))

1. My strong element is visual, so instruction / learning experiences that involved not just seeing, but seeing in context, seeing in action, will be most informative. Having a strong element of intraperson indicates that seeing myself do the task relevant to the learning will reinforce the teaching points.

2. To include as many students as possible any learning experiences would include a wide range of elements: the basic tell (audio), show (visual), do (kinaesthetic), but within that, involve all the students doing tasks that give a tangible aspect to theory; seeing themselves and others doing the work; using descriptive words, written and spoken; present the work in a repeatable logical sequence, in contexts that are or can be made familiar; maybe even using appropriate background music both to 'set the scene', but also to tie the memory of the music to the memory of the new knowledge and skills.

3. Computer based learning can provide some basics, but this will need to be interspersed with practical hands-on activities to reinforce the learning. Students could see a short film / video / DVD and the conduct an associated activity listening to relevant music, before moving to the next element of learning. ICTs include low tech options also, so instead of just talking about measuring, have the students use a tape to measure; instead of talking about median and means, have students collects sets of numbers (ages, shoe sizes, post codes) and then resolve for the teaching point.

4. Students can be asked questions based on those in the Solomon and Felder questionnaire: Do you think of things as pictures or words?; Do you like to try things out first or think it through? and so on.

5. Different ICTs better suit different learning styles. If a person is audio strong, the have them discuss the subject matter in groups and then present a brief verbal presentation to the class, or another small group, if necessary, to teach / inform others of the pluses and minuses of the subject matter. This could be supported by a digital presentation, e.g. PowerPoint / Flash / video, or other digital tool that will suit the subject matter. By including visual elements in a presentation the students with that strong point can learn from Don't just talk about budgeting / percentages, start with a hundred blocks and divide them up according to the specific subject matter being studied. The students can then progress to using an uneven number of blocks to introduce the abstract elements the teaching points. If using computers, the '100 blocks' can be coloured icons on the screen requiring manipulation by using the mouse.

As with anything, regular checking to see if the students are taking in the material. Otherwise, adjust and adapt to make the best of the opportunities provided to the students.