EDU 551 Learning Style Analysis

 “While most people cross the lines of learning styles and can benefit from many types of learning, most people have a dominant learning style that helps them grasp and remember concepts more easily.” (Cornerstone, 2018)  Looking at the four students who took the inventory, all but one had a clear dominant learning style.  It will be easier to help them with their learning and assessments for the rest of the year. It is important to start and recognize the other areas of strengths and weaknesses beyond their learning styles.  For example, student number 1 has a dominant auditory learning style, but she is timid and withdrawn and doesn’t have the solid social skills of the rest of her classmates.  So, with that knowledge, auditory learning is excellent but not necessarily in a small group of peers. 

I am in the process of taking the learning inventory and contacting the parents about the results. I have already heard back from one parent who was surprised and excited about the results. “Sometimes, parents make the mistake of thinking that their child learns as they do, but this is often not the case.” (Education Connections, 2021)  I know this assignment was for students who might be struggling with instruction or were below grade level, but I am thinking about having each 7th grade take this inventory and see where they all stand. That way, I am creating three different learning style assessments or assignments for more than the four students who took the survey. 

Assignment - Preparing for the end of the world - Bunker project. 

Student 1 - Auditory Learning

For this assignment, the student will listen to a podcast discussing how to best build a bunker for survival.  Once they have completed the podcast, they will meet with me to describe how they will build a bunker. They will follow the same rubric as the other students. 

Student 2 - Their Choice

This student scored evenly according to the survey, and no one learning style was dominant.  Taking that in mind, I would present all three assignments to the student and ask them which one they would like to do.  I think this will be effective because it will give me more insight into how they want to learn.

Student 3 - Visual Learning

This student will have two resources. The first is a youtube video showing people choosing, designing, and building their bunker. The second resource would be a design for a bunker they can view on their Chromebook.  The student will then record a video presenting to me their bunker design. 

Student 4 - Kinesthetic Learning

This student will be given a shoebox. Their assignment will be to build a model of their bunker. They can use supplies in the art room or from home.  They present to me a final model of their bunker to complete their assignment. 

“When a topic connects to what students like to do, engagement deepens as they willingly spend time thinking, dialoguing, and creating ideas in meaningful ways.” (Edutopia, 2014).  One of the most exciting aspects of learning the styles of the students is seeing how much they want to have input on the assignments. They get more excited when they understand the material. Not to mention, they are so engaged when they have input of this kind.  It may not be doable to have different learning styles for every assignment or assessment, but I want to have something for the future. I can spend the summer coming up with the different options, so it is not so much work when the school year starts. Again, I plan on surviving my entire 7th-grade classes; I don’t think because they are on grade level, it means they wouldn’t benefit from their particular learning style.

References

Your Guide to Understanding and Adapting to Different Learning Styles. Accessed November 28, 2021.  https://www.cornerstone.edu/blog-post/your-guide-to-understanding-and-adapting-to-different-learning-styles/. Cornerstone University. September, 2020. 

Why Are Learning Styles Important? How Students Learn Differently. Accessed November 29, 2021.  https://ectutoring.com/resources/articles/learning-style-important.  Educational Connections. April, 2020. 

Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice. Accessed November 29, 2021.  https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-learner-interest-matters-john-mccarthy. Edutopia. April, 2014.