As an undergradute student I spent a great deal of time learning about multiple intelligences (Gardner), cognitive development (Piaget), and the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky.) As a student in the credential program I spent a great deal of time learning about learning styles. The point that I needed to hit each of the different learning styles of my students was not lost on me. As a kindergarten teacher for 13 years I did my fair share of drawing, singing, and moving around. I began my teaching career just as the document camera was hitting the scene and Smart boards we so expensive I could only dream. I had no choice but to hit all of the learning styles in my classroom. Now with document cameras a standard classroom tool and Smart boards in many classrooms we need to become more aware of the content our students are consuming. So much of the content in presented on the screen in classrooms today.
In The Visual Connection, Dr. Bobbe Baggio (2010) tells us that people take in the screen as one image and that we need to be purposeful in aligning our content to the learner's attention. We don't want to overcrowd the screen, or distract the learner with silly graphics that don't help communicate our point. I think this is true not only for the presentations we make for our students or for professional development, but also for the basic teaching that happens on a daily basis. With 65%-85% (Baggio) of us being visual learners you can't deny the fact that visuals are crucial to helping students make connections to new content. Remember this key as well: there are other ways of teaching and learning and together they have the biggest impact.
In The Visual Connection, Dr. Bobbe Baggio (2010) tells us that people take in the screen as one image and that we need to be purposeful in aligning our content to the learner's attention. We don't want to overcrowd the screen, or distract the learner with silly graphics that don't help communicate our point. I think this is true not only for the presentations we make for our students or for professional development, but also for the basic teaching that happens on a daily basis. With 65%-85% (Baggio) of us being visual learners you can't deny the fact that visuals are crucial to helping students make connections to new content. Remember this key as well: there are other ways of teaching and learning and together they have the biggest impact.
My learning style:
It turns out that while I am a predominantly visual learner I also have a strong auditory component. And I know that I like to learn by doing, so what is my style? In Visible Learning for Teachers (2012) Hattie argues that learning styles is not the correct term, merely a label we put on students. He says that we need to understand the learning strategies of our students. This implies that students have preferred strategies for learning and that learning can be enhanced when we appeal to these strategies. We also need to remember that we can help students learn new ways of thinking and give them multiple opportunities to rise to new challenges.