After reading the information about different learning styles, I came to the conclusion that I am a visual/spatial learner. The description of this type of learner fit me fairly accurately. I often create pictures in my mind to help me learn things. When I am trying to remember something usually a mental image associated with what I am trying to remember pops into my mind. In my experience as a learner I have been successful when information is presented in a way that I can either see a visual image or have the information presented in such a way that I can create my own mental image. I realized that I am least compatible with the logical/mathematical learning style. I struggled when teachers gave us problem solving opportunities or open ended questions that had abstract concepts.
It is difficult for a teacher to teach a lesson while meeting all of the different needs of each learning style that the students in the class have. I think that there are few strategies that teachers can implement in order to best meet the needs of all of the students. I think that the most important focus that a teacher should have is identifying the different learning styles that exist in the classroom. By being aware of these, lessons can be designed to fit the needs of a majority of the students. I also think that small group instruction is an important strategy to teach children in a way that fits their individual needs. I find this most helpful in my classroom. My students benefit from a smaller learning environment that has instruction directed to their own learning style. Finally I think that it is important to help students understand how they learn so they can develop strategies to help themselves if they are being presented information in a way that doesn’t fit with how they learn best. For example if a student is aware that they are a visual learner and they are in a lecture hall listening to an oral presentation they can create their own images as they take notes to help them learn the information. I think that helping students understand their learning style will enrich their learning experience. Students will not think that they are lacking intelligence just because a teacher is teaching in a way that doesn’t fit with their learning style.
Logical/Math isn't my strongest, either. At the top of my chart Verbal/linguistic and Visual/ Kinesthetic. I agree, it is difficult to teach to each intelligence. I also agree that you can offer up activities that focus on teaching students, based on a particular learning style. As I mentioned in my class introduction - my district has been very big on learning styles for the past two years. One of the strategies we are using for Thoughtful Education involves an activity carousel, which is very similar to the strategies you outlined in your post. Four centers are set up around the classroom. Each center contains an activity designed around one of the four styles (Each center contains material related to the same topic.) The students move from one center to the next - by the end of the class period/activity they will have participated in a curriculum based activity for in all 4 styles: mastery, understanding, self-expressive, and interpersonal. This is a very time consuming process, though.
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