Understanding Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences
Module Two

Jack Drury - Instructor
E-mail: jack@realworldlearning.info
Tel: 518-891-5915
Cell: 518-524-0732
Fax: 518-891-6989
Sandy Hildreth - Course Designer

Understanding Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences - Module 2
"Using Hands On Instructional Strategies"

REFLECTION:

Last month you were asked to present a lesson addressing multiple learning styles. Take a minute to reread your response to me regarding “What did you particularly like about the lesson and if you were to do the lesson again – describe anything you would do differently.”


READING:

To review the Module 1 , it is generally recognized that people learn in three different ways: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile or hands-on. That can be useful in many ways: new material can be presented in all three modes, and learning can be assessed in all three modes. Students can also be encouraged to use their dominant style when they need to study. However, it is not suggested that learners should only be given tasks to match their "style". They can and should be challenged by a diversity of activities.

Recall a special family memory. It could be a wedding, the birth of a child, a specific Christmas morning, a certain vacation, or some other note-worthy occasion. How did you remember it? Did you picture it in your mind? Did you think of the words that would describe the event, or hear the sounds or conversation that were part of what made it special? Did you remember how you participated in it - reliving the activities or things you did. If you were to tell someone else about this special memory, would you start out by saying "you should have seen what it was like…."? Or would you say "wait til you hear about this"? Or would you gesture and model the activities you remember? When someone tells you about something very complex do you respond by saying, "I see what you mean", or "I get it, I hear you", or would you grab a handy object and use it to demonstrate what you understand. These are all ways that reflect the different learning styles of people.

In pre-school and early primary grades, children are often given opportunities to draw or color as a way to acquire and integrate new knowledge or skills. When learning their A, B, C's, children might recite or sing songs about the letters, practice tracing the letter shapes in a tray of sand, or shape them out of clay. Yet once reading and writing have been mastered, the purely visual and kinesthetic-tactile ways of learning are frequently left behind, regarded as too elementary. From middle school on, most children are expected to use the written word (visual symbols) as the main tool for learning. From textbook readings, worksheets, written exams, and even the products students are encouraged to create or pass: written reports and tests, the focus is on the written word. The spoken word is the most used form of instruction. It is true that much in the adult world is communicated via written or spoken words, but take a closer look at advertising, television, and the Internet. Products are promoted or sold through songs, images, and multimedia presentations. Those approaches are as valid as instructional tools in middle and high school as they are in pre-school.

For example, in a high school Humanities class, the difference between sculpture in the round and bas-relief was considered to be important for students in order to understand the development of specific art forms. Sculpture in the round is fully three-dimensional and free-standing, like a statue of George Washington carved out of marble. A bas-relief is only partially three-dimensional as forms are carved into or added to a flat surface. Bas-relief is meant to be viewed only from the front, like the portrait of George Washington on a quarter. The teacher could provide a verbal or written definition like what is included in this text. Better yet would be to explain it as slides of sculpture were shown. Or, to link to student's prior knowledge, a discussion could have been held about the difference between a free-standing statue they might have actually seen and what they can see and feel on a quarter. But none of those methods involve all the learners and it is likely that those not fully concentrating on the topic will easily forget the characteristics of the two types of sculpture.

The instructional method that will guarantee just about 100% retention involved distributing a small ball of modeling clay to each student. They were instructed to warm it up by holding it in their hands and kneading it. Then they were to form it into a head of some sort - human or animal. This is not meant to take very long to do and they were asked to hold up what they made and rotate them so classmates could see them from all angles. That was verbally defined as sculpture in the round. Then students were asked to gently flatten their clay into a slab about 1/2" thick and then make a face on it - drawing and carving the features onto the flat surface of the clay. When finished, that was defined as bas-relief. Each student was asked to write their own personal definition of the two types of sculpture in their notebooks. They were also shown some examples of works of art. It didn't take very long to do, all the learners participated, and they will remember the two types of sculpture as they see slides or read about artwork throughout the rest of the course, probably the rest of their lives.

The Learning Pyramid illustrates why the hands-on activity described above was effective. The teacher orally explained and modeled each activity; the students were able to practice what they observed in a hands-on manner; and it was put to immediate use because they had to write their own definition for the terms in their notebooks.


ACTIVITY:

A.Select a topic you were planning to teach during the next month
B. design a hands-on instructional activity to replace a more traditional explanation or demonstration. Try to incorporate one or more of the 3 activities listed on the bottom part of the Learning Pyramid.
C. If there are questions about how to incorporate hands-on activities into your content area, please send an email to jack@realworldlearning.info - who will either be able to make a suggestion or will contact some other content area specialists who can.
D. Using the Education By Design Toolkit (loaned to you by me) list at least two tools that would be appropriate for (appeal to) each learning style.
E. Upon completion submit to Jack the following:

1. A lesson plan of the hands-on instructional activity
2. A clear and concise description of how it attempted to incorporate one or more of the 3 activities on the bottom part of the Learning Pyramid.
3. A list of two tools from the EBD Toolkit that would be appropriate for each learning style. If you used one or more of the tools briefly describe how it worked. What you a/o the students liked about the tool.

FINAL COURSE PRODUCT:

You can review at any times the options listed in Module 1 . If you have ideas or questions about it, please email the course designer.