Learning Styles Special Ed Standard Reflective Paper

¶ … Learning Styles

Special Ed Standard

Reflective paper on student differences and learning style approaches

This paper provides a brief overview of different learning styles and the types of accommodations teachers can make in the classroom

Learning styles: An overview

"Students learn in many ways -- by seeing and hearing; reflecting and acting; reasoning logically and intuitively; memorizing and visualizing and drawing analogies and building mathematical models; steadily and in fits and starts. Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors lecture, others demonstrate or discuss; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and others understanding" (Felder 1988: 674). The idea of using multiple approaches to teaching the same material has become more and more popular as teachers are cognizant of the different learning styles students manifest. Some auditory learners may learn best through listening; students who are visual learners may learn best if the teacher uses graphs and other pictorial methods of instruction; physical learners are likely learn best in a hands-on fashion. In most instances, no student perfectly embodies one style, but rather is stronger in certain types of intelligence than others.

One of the criticisms of the modern school curriculum, particularly with its emphasis on standardized testing of 'the basics' is that it gives insufficient attention to other forms of intelligence, outside of verbal and mathematical abilities. Music, physical activity, and art, are some of the other aspects of learning often overlooked. Teachers must strike a balance between catering to student needs and moving students out of their comfort zone. Many visual learners might want to do art all day and auditory learners might be content to listen to music. Even verbal and mathematical learners, whose gifts are more likely to be honored by the structure of the conventional school day, can benefit from physical exercise and using experiments and hands-on, participatory activities to put their knowledge into action.

Beyond the classifications of different learning styles, some students may also have different social orientations that need to be taken into consideration when structuring a lesson. Some students enjoy working in groups, others prefer working alone. Some students wish to approach a lesson in a logical fashion, other students prefer a more creative and interactive lesson (Understanding different learning styles, 2011, NDT). Ideally, to cope with the challenges they will eventually face in real life, students will be able to sharpen their strengths in the classroom, but also correct some of their deficits. For example, a teacher might lecture and include periodic tests as part of the syllabus of a class, but also introduce maps and visual elements in the lecture, and occasionally allow optional assignments for creative and team-based projects rather than term papers. Hands-on projects like laboratories, research papers that are exploratory in nature, and mathematical problems presented in a manner that forces students to think conceptually allows students to use a wider range of their capabilities than a traditionally-formatted assignment.