learning with different senses

The module this week really made me reflect on what type of learner I am.  I realized that I learn best through a mixture of different activities.  I like reading on my own or with a group as we struggle to come up with an understanding of something but at the same time I also enjoy the directness that lectures give as they present the material without any frills or misconceptions.  The materials we had to work with this week even presented a good mix of auditory and visual sources with readings and videos.  I have noticed in the classroom that the best way for students is incorporating a similar mix.  Even though students do not have really have a preferable learning style and that it is all in their head, but appealing to their senses makes it more effective.

One of the may second “jobs” I have in my house is the handy man.  Since I was six years old I have helped my dad with tasks around our house.  During the past nineteen years I have learned everything on from lefty loosey, righty tighty to how to install electrical outlets, remodel bathrooms, and repair cars.  These skills were learned from reading directions on the items I needed to install, following spoken directions from my dad, and actually having hands on experience cutting, soldering, screwing, and hammering things. 

Inside the classroom I have had similar experiences mixing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning.  My seventh grade history teacher had an exceptional way to teach us geography.  We would study our maps and fill them out in class but when it came to test day he had a different method to check us.  We would go to the common area of our school and each be given a note card with a country on it.  My teacher would then position himself in the common area and say that he was a country of that region and tell us what direction was north and where any oceans or major mountain ranges would be located based on his country.  We were then given some time to communicate with each other to see what countries our classmates had as we tried to correctly position ourselves in the common area based on the information our teacher gave us.  We used sight, sound, and movement to learn and it was extremely effective.

Regardless of what we once thought about learning styles the best way to help students learn is to differentiate and have them complete different activities that makes learning different.  This makes the class more enjoyable for everyone, including the teacher, and stops them from being caught in a boring routine.  Incorporating activities that appeal to different senses make it more effective because they are learning in different ways.  Some things may be taught better though lecture, reading, or running suicide springs in the hallways.  We all have experience teaching and know what works and what doesn’t.  Trust this experience and your students will learn.