Much research has been done on the rich and complex ways in which students learn at the pre-school and elementary instructional levels. Teachers now understand that most young children learn holistically by creating webs of association as they integrate new information and master new skills. Early childhood education some decades ago was often structured as if children were tiny adults. Classrooms were set up with 25 desks all in neat rows, and children were expected to sit still and simply absorb information, interacting with each other and their environment only in carefully controlled ways. Rote learning was heavily emphasized in some settings, and punishment for inattention or for “coloring outside the lines” in various ways was routine. Thankfully, early childhood educators these days have developed much more effective ways to support children’s learning.
• Good teachers create a “safe” learning space in which varying skill levels are respected, children are directed away from framing their learning in terms of competition, and each child is affirmed enough that s/he can dare to take the risks that learning always involves.
• Good teachers engage all of children’s senses, not just their cognitive abilities.
• Good teachers support children’s learning in social groups, sometimes using peer teaching relationships across different grade levels.
• Good teachers respect and affirm what children already know, while inviting them to expand and deepen their knowledge and learn new things.
• Good teachers invite children into decision-making and the development of judgment.
• Good teachers encourage imaginative play in classroom centers that provide a variety of related kinds of learning opportunities.
Many of the above insights apply as well to adult learners. Consider the following points too:
1. All learners have a need for freedom of cognitive range, affirmation, and a sense of safety so that they can take the risks associated with learning.
2. Applying new skills in concrete contexts is a crucial part of learning for children and adults alike.
3. Learners learn best when they experience respect for their judgment, latent knowledge, and emerging abilities.
4. Imaginative work and collaboration in groups can reinforce and deepen learning.
Frustration, a heightened sense of risk, and confusion can result for adult learners when teachers do not engage the variety of learning temperaments and kinds of expertise that exist in the classroom. It is essential that teachers learn to recognize and, where possible, affirm the different kinds of learning strengths that adults bring to the classroom. Sometimes a single course cannot structure assignments that bring out all of students’ different learning strengths. For example, it is not normally feasible in a large lecture course to assign artistic projects, field trips, or community-based experiential learning. Still, teachers can do a lot to engage different learning temperaments in the classroom in small creative ways. Think about creative possibilities for your sections, in line with your own temperament, of course, but responsive to other types as well.
Below is a summary of research done on learning styles by David A. Kolb, creator of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, who based his work on a number of “theories of thinking and creativity,” including the theories of Jean Piaget and J. P. Guilford. There are other kinds of assessment tools and research on learning styles as well. One resource potentially of interest is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, based on the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator. Kolb plots learners’ strengths and affinities on a grid with four components, below. He calls these the ‘four phases of the learning cycle.’
Concrete Experience (Experiencing)
learning from specific experiences
relating to people
being sensitive to feelings and people
Reflective Observation (Reflecting)
carefully observing before making judgments
viewing issues from different perspectives
looking for the meaning of things
Abstract Conceptualization (Thinking)
logically analyzing ideas
planning systematically
acting on an intellectual understanding of a situation
Active Experimentation (Doing)
showing ability to get things done
taking risks
influencing people and events through action
Different learners privilege those four areas of learning differently, depending on temperament and contextual variables. There is no one “right” or “best” way to learn, although there are learning styles that are better suited to one learning task or another. Well-balanced learners will learn in many of the ways listed above, drawing on one or another aspect as needed. Other students may have significant strengths in one area but find learning daunting or uninteresting in one of the other areas, or they may wish to become stronger in a new skill but be uncertain how to proceed. Facilitating skills for learning itself is part of your job! The Kolb Learning Style Types are based on various combinations of two of the four phases of the learning cycle, as in the following material quoted from the Learning Styles Inventory.
DIVERGING
Combines Concrete Experience and Reflective Observation
People with this learning style are best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view. Their approach to situations is to observe rather than to take action. If this is your style, you may enjoy situations that call for generating a wide range of ideas, such as brainstorming sessions. You probably have broad cultural interests and like to gather information. This imaginative ability and sensitivity to feelings is needed for effectiveness in arts, entertainment, and service careers. In formal learning situations, you may prefer working in groups to gather information, listening with an open mind, and receiving personalized feedback.
ASSIMILATING
Combines Reflective Observation and Abstract Conceptualization
People with this learning style are best at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form. If this is your learning style, you probably are less focused on people and more interested in abstract ideas and concepts. Generally, people with this learning style find it more important that a theory have logical soundness than practical value. This learning style is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, you may prefer lectures, readings, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through.
CONVERGING
Combines Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation
People with this learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. If this is your preferred learning style, you have the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problems. You would rather deal with technical tasks and problems than with social and interpersonal issues. These learning skills are important for effectiveness in specialist and technology careers. In formal learning situations, you may prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments, and practical applications.
ACCOMMODATING
Combines Active Experimentation and Concrete Experience
People with this learning style have the ability to learn primarily from “hands-on” experience. If this is your style, you probably enjoy carrying out plans and involving yourself in new and challenging experiences. Your tendency may be to act on “gut” feelings rather than on logical analysis. In solving problems, you may rely more heavily on people for information than on your own technical analysis. This learning style is important for effectiveness in action-oriented careers such as marketing or sales. In formal learning situations, you may prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field work, and to test out different approaches to completing a project.
While the pedagogical objectives of the course cannot be tailored to each student’s learning strengths, it is important for the teacher to be as responsive as possible to the ways in which students learn and the diverse motivations students bring to the classwork. You can shape class exercises to call on various skill sets among your students. You can have them work on the relevant texts in small groups. You can challenge them to move outside of the “comfort zone” of their most familiar learning style. If you are flexible and responsive as a teacher, your students will see how they can be flexible and responsive as learners.
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