A learning style as the more or less consistent way in which a person perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and recalls information. People learn in different ways. Some learn best by seeing, others by hearing, and still others by touching. Knowing our preferred learning style helps us learn and remember new things.

Many people recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. Learning styles group common ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor are your styles fixed. You can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles that you already use well

Your students will be more successful if you match your teaching style to their learning styles. Your students’ learning styles will be influenced by their genetic make-up, their previous learning experiences, their culture and the society they live in.

Why should teachers know about learning styles?

Students learn better and more quickly if the teaching methods used match their preferred learning styles.

• As learning improves, so too does self esteem. This has a further positive effect on learning.
• Students who have become bored with learning may become interested once again.
• The student-teacher relationship can improve because the student is more successful and is more interested in learning.

What are the types of learning styles?

Visual Learners:

learn through seeing…                    .

These learners need to see the teacher’s body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people’s heads). They may think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs.  During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.

Auditory Learners:

learn through listening…

They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.

Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners:

learn through , moving, doing and touching…

Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration

Auditory learners often:

• enjoy oral discussion
• remember by talking out loud
• need to have things explained orally
• have trouble with written instructions
• talk to themselves while learning something new
• repeat a telephone number in order to remember it

Visual learners often:

• remember visual details
• prefer to see what they are learning
• like to have paper and pens handy
• doodle while listening
• have trouble following lectures
• like to write down instructions or telephone numbers

Kinesthetic-tactile learners often:

• prefer activities
• want to actually do whatever is being talked about or learned
• like to move around while listening or talking
• often "talk" with their hands
• like to touch things in order to learn about them
• remember things by recalling who did what rather than who said what

Even though we have a preferred learning style, we can still learn in other ways. People have varying degrees of preference – some are highly auditory, some are highly visual, some are highly kinesthetic-tactile (k-t), while others seem to have a moderate preference for all three styles of learning.

At any age, your learner will learn more easily using his preferred learning style, but this doesn’t mean he can’t and won’t learn any other way. In fact, he should be encouraged to use and improve all modes of learning. The more senses we use to learn about anything, the more information we get! A good guideline is to allow your learner to use his preferred style when learning essential information (eg., road safety) and to practise using other learning modes for things that are not as important (eg., words to songs you sing on car trips). The auditory learner will enjoy listening to tape-recorded songs; the visual learner will enjoy reading the words as he hears them sung; the k-t learner will enjoy dancing or acting as the music conductor.

Young children are all kinesthetic-tactile learners. Babies put everything in their mouth and toddlers reach out to touch and explore their world. Visual and auditory preferences may emerge later. Schools have traditionally used visual and auditory teaching styles, especially in the upper grades. Children who learn easily through these modes are usually successful in school, while k-t learners often find school difficult. Most of us – not only young children – learn better if we are actively involved in our own learning.

This process is negotiated between teacher and learner and can be broken down into six steps:

1. identify what is to be learned

2. identify the learner’s motivation for learning

3. agree the best way of achieving learning

4. agree the type of learning program with the learner

5. record the outcomes

6. enable the learner to access that program

Key Questions

We can think of learners’ needs in terms of key questions:

1. How would they like to learn?

2. Which methods in their previous learning experience have they liked best?

3. Are learners’ levels of physical, social and/or emotional development likely to affect their learning?

4. What learning progress have they already made?

5. What have they already achieved?

6. Which skills are they confident in?

7. What is their current level of knowledge and understanding?

8. Which skills and/or knowledge might need to be revisited and/or upgraded?

9. Do they have specialist needs in terms of health, disability, diet, language?

10. (For older learners) what are their aims for education, long term career aspirations and life goals?

The teacher in the photograph could be asking the learner one of our ten questions.

We could easily add to this list of questions. If you read it through again, you can see that if we ask all these questions and more, we are asking learners to provide a lot of information. You need to decide what questions to ask your learners, and how and when to ask them.

Ways To Find Out

Teachers can find out about learners’ needs in various ways. You can select one or more of these techniques.

• Observation of learners in first week of programme
• questionnaire
• diagnostic testing
• ‘live’ questionnaire
• talk to parents
• informal chat to learners at induction event
• interview with learner
• role play exercise
• review of previous school reports
• examination of CV and reference material
• teacher/learner discussion
• scrutiny of previous work
• review of previous achievements
• discussion with learner’s previous teachers

Special Needs:

Teacher should identify the special needs of learners–considering their health, disability, diet, language etc, in the learning process.

Components to determine the learners’ needs:

• Environment
• Existing educational system /national curriculum
• Existing knowledge of the learners
• Culture and gender

Educational and non-educational atmosphere- learners’ age, schooling, socio-economic background are very important determinants of identifying learners’ need. Sometimes national curriculum, learners’ existing level of knowledge, grouping also helps to identify the learners’ needs.

The teacher should facilitate a successful learning for every learner. The interaction between teacher and learners is the heart of this Diploma. Asking your learners about their needs is a vital step in ensuring the success of your learning program. The teacher’s role is very complex and challenging- but it is also very exciting and rewarding.

Learning Need can be referred to as the "Gap between what an individual knows, understands and can do at any moment in time and what that person needs to know, understand and do to reach defined learning outcomes"

Learning needs are some times contrasted with learning desires. A learner may desire or want to learn something but this may not necessarily be what the learner needs. E.g. a learner may want to be able to write a letter but may need to learn basic language structure first.

The term “needs” is often used in relation to the development and learning of all learners.

The concept of learners’ need comprises the following components:

        Knowledge

        Skills

        Attitudes

Teacher should care about the learners’ intellectual, social and emotional development, since these likely to affect their learning.

Learners require the change in three major aspects i.e. cognition, skills and behavioral changes, that will reflect in their attitudes. Teacher should consider these three components while making an effective lesson plan.

In an effective lesson plan teacher should convey some concrete message i.e knowledge. If learners can apply their theoretical knowledge in their practical field, then fruitful learning will take place. Only fruitful learning will make a learner more confident – if it reflects in learners’ attitudes.