Learning Style Analysis

 Learning Style Analysis

Learning Styles and Developmental Domains

    Developmental domains include cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development, which happen in adolescences and has a role in influencing children's experiences and environments (Future Learn, n.d.). Learning styles and developmental domains are interconnected because they are both influencing the ways that students learn and have experiences. If a student has a learning style that they prefer, that may be present in the way that they interact with others, and the way they cognitively think about and perceive things around them.  I can also see that the way they grew up and learned these developmental domains, may affect the way they prefer learning now. For example, if they have learned in the past by hearing stories from their families or friends, they may prefer auditory learning. If they had any delays in their development, they may enjoy tactile learning where they are able to visually see models and physically move around the pieces. In contrast to that, if a child had difficulty with motor skills and their physical development, they may not enjoy that type of learning. 

Learning Style Inventories to Influence Planning

    A good way to get a general idea of the learning styles that students prefer experiencing is to give a learning style inventory. Learning styles can be used as a guide, but it is good for students to also experience a variety of teaching methods, and not just one depending on the results of this inventory. However, it will be a good guide to see what all students in your class mainly prefer and what they may struggle with the most. 

    There are many different instructional strategies that could be used for each of the learning styles: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. An instructional strategy for auditory learners is to have them have discussions about the material (UMass, n.d.). One way to incorporate discussion in Reading is to have students participate in a Socratic seminar. They could come prepared with different levels or questions and have discussions as a class or small group about the novel that is being read in class. An instructional strategy for visual learners is to use a color-coding system for students to easily find information (UMass, n.d.). For example, if they are writing as essay, they could color code the different components. The main idea, the three key details, and the concluding statement could each be a different assigned color. This will make it easy to visually see if they have all the information and parts that they need. Lastly, an instructional strategy for kinesthetic learners could be to use manipulatives or pieces that could be moved around (UMass, n.d.). An example of this in writing is to have students cut out given letters and move them around to see how many different three, four, and five letter words they can make. 

Students' Strengths, Interests, and Needs for Growth in Instruction  

    In order for students to feel a part of the school community and successful with what they are doing, it is important to incorporate students' strengths, interests, and needs. A lot of the time, their learning styles may coincide with their strengths and interests. Therefore, it is important to use a variety of learning styles and instructional strategies so that students get to use their strengths and show the class their interests. This can be done with lessons in class and the ways that they show the information they learned, or assessments. 

Learning Styles in Assessments  

    The best way to incorporate learning styles into assessments is to give students choice. Student choice in assessments includes giving students options for the ways that they would like to show what they learned. To address visual learner students could create drawings, maps, or graphic organizers (Boutelier, 2018). Auditory learners could create a skit, song, or verbally tell what they have learned (Boutelier, 2018). Kinesthetic learners could build a model or use manipulatives when displaying knowledge (Boutelier, 2018). This could be difficult to incorporate into every assessment or unit. So, for some you could create multiple ways to show what they know. Also, it could be an extension where students create something after they have completing an assessment. Overall, it is important to include different instructional strategies and modes of displaying what they have learned. 

Example of a Small Group's Learning Styles from an Inventory

References

Boutelier, S. & Smalligan, N. (2018). Playing to students'                                                                                  strengths. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/playing-students-strengths

Future Learn. (n.d.). Physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Future                                      Learn. https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/supporting-adolescent-learners/0/steps/46451

UMass. (n.d.). How to accommodate different learning styles. UMass                                                           Dartmouth. https://www.umassd.edu/dss/resources/faculty-staff/how-to-teach-and-                                  accommodate/how-to-accommodate-different-learning-styles/