step 2

Ivey Lee

Megan Keaton

ENG 1102

10 April 2013

Learning Styles in Schools

Knowing which learning style a student prefers is important because it positively affects that student’s learning and remembering. There are many different learning styles but the most common include visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning. Studies have shown that if teachers correlate their teaching methods with student’s learning styles, learning is enhanced and memorization is increased. The information I found from the research investigates the different learning styles and supports the idea that differentiation in learning styles benefits all students.

Most of my sources started off by explaining the different learning methods. The different learning methods include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The definition for each of these stayed fairly the same through each source. The visual learner learns best through the use of charts, graphs, and pictures (Leopold). An auditory learner learns best by listening, answering questions, and studying with a small group or partner (India). The kinesthetic category is broken down into many parts. Some authors believed that kinesthetic were its own category and that kinesthetic learners learn best by staying active, moving around, and interacting with the material.

Opposing the authors who believed the kinesthetic category was one in itself, other authors argued that it contained subcategories that went more in-depth. The new sub-categories introduced include “hands-on learners”, “whole-body learners”, and “doodlers” (Sprenger). “Hands-on learners” prefer to touch things, like models or samples. “Whole-body learners” learn best by playing games that involve moving their entire body. “Doodlers” learn best by writing random side-notes and drawings that relate to the material they are leaning. These types of learners can make up songs and dances to help remember material. All of these sub-categories are related to physical activity which is why they are all included in the kinesthetic category. Another article I found while researching broke the kinesthetic learner into two sub-categories. These categories consisted of “tactile” and “tactile/kinesthetic” (Gregory/Chapman). The tactile learner learns best by handling and being involved with concrete objects. The “tactile/kinesthetic” learner retains the most information by moving their body in ways that will help them memorize learning material. These authors that break down the sub-categories of kinesthetic learners have the same concepts but just name them differently.

Throughout the duration of my research, I found many interesting things about learning styles and the type of people who correlate with those learning styles. One source I found stated that students enrolled in intensive English programs in the United States prefer kinesthetic learning (Leopold). This makes sense considering one of the subcategories for kinesthetic leaning is “doodlers” who write random side notes. In most English classes, they perform work shopping which requires you to write side notes on papers that someone is critiquing. One source broke down each learning style and introduced characteristics of people who prefer this learning style. Visual learners were said to good at spelling, could read fast, enjoyed puzzles, and drawing. These learners prefer studying alone in a quiet space and tend to be very neat. Auditory learners have a wide range of vocabulary and tend to excel in theatre and debate. They can also be easily

distracted by noise. Kinesthetic learners gesture a lot while speaking, have trouble sitting still for long periods of time, and love the outdoors. These kinds of learners excel in outdoor activities and making models. These kinds of people are also said to be fairly unorganized (India).

Also, the relationship between culture and learning styles has shown to be different for certain areas. The research I did showed that Asian international students that are currently learning in the United States do not prefer auditory learning (Leopold).

Many factors have to be taken into account when trying to get a student to learn something. A child’s age is crucial in the learning process. The critical learning point in a child’s life is ages five to twelve (Gregory/Kuzmich). This article breaks down each age into categories and gives a summary of what a child is like regarding learning at that age. Five year olds need to be taught things one at a time. Eight year olds are talkative and have lots of energy they need to release. Twelve year olds have an interest in worldly activities. By knowing this, one could understand that five year olds may prefer visual learning because that way they can retain one thing at a time by looking at it. Most eight year olds are kinesthetic learners because they are extremely hyper active and need to be moving to retain information. By the age of twelve, most students have found their niche and learning preference.

I noticed that many authors noted that stimuli can affect a persons learning depending on what style they prefer. Temperate of a classroom can affect ones learning because it can be distracting (Gregory/Kuzmich). Because senses are such a vital part in which preference you prefer, it only makes sense that stimuli can affect a persons learning (Leopold). 

Final Reflection Letter

Coming into this class in the spring semester, I knew what it was going to take to succeed in this class because I had already taken Megan’s class in the fall. I knew that I had to stay on top of my work and turn in everything on time or I would get behind and my grade would drop. Luckily, I am not a procrastinator. I enjoy getting all my work done right when it is assigned and I’m usually one of the first people to post on my blog when we are instructed to. Throughout this class, I think I’ve become more of a hard-worker and less of a procrastinator (even though I really wasn’t one in the first place) because of the many assignments and posts we had to keep up with.

When writing the Joining the Conversation piece, I started writing the day we were assigned the paper because I was eager to get it done because I had other things to work on in the class as well. While writing the piece, I realized that it was fairly easy for me to write because I was interested in the paper and I liked being creative. After writing the first three pages, I work-shopped with peers it and continued to write the remaining two pages the day of work shopping.

Megan had been encouraging us to “take risks in [our] writing” throughout the semester and this was the piece where I had the chance to try that. For this assignment, I took more risks and acted more "playful" than I had in any other paper before. I specifically put a star beside "Playfulness" and "Structure that is built around themes and ideas, not sources" because these were things that I had trouble with in the past. 

I felt like it was hard to take risks in the other paper because they were more factual and simply stated points whereas in this paper, I had the chance to express my personal style of writing. I took risks in my paper when I made the characters, which were really the authors, act quirky with each other. I added a small amount of humor into the paper not sure of whether that would help or hurt the piece.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the Joining the Conversation piece because it was one of the only times in Megan’s class this semester that we got to be creative. Throughout the process, I discovered that I prefer writing creatively and imaginatively opposed to writing analysis', like in the Step 2: Academic Work and the Annotated Bibliography. The Step 2 paper was difficult for me because I have a hard time figuring out what the authors are saying and connecting the information from each author into one paper.

It is clear that writing about an author’s argument is my greatest weakness. Most of Megan’s class this semester was focused on finding the authors argument and figuring out how he/she argues it throughout the paper/work. At the beginning of the year, it was difficult for me to comprehend the author’s arguments from pieces of literature. The reading responses we did at the beginning of the year helped introduce the idea of finding the author argument in a piece and then commenting on how the author argues his/her point. Through the different reading responses, I grew to come more familiar with the idea of identifying how an author states his argument. After finding how and what the authors are arguing, she encouraged us to connect the different arguments and works together in one paper based on ideas. The connection process was made easier by writing the Annotated Bibliography. The Annotated Bibliography assignment helped me tremendously. First of all, the assignment required us to use the library to physically find books that we could use in our paper. This was beneficial because in the future I know I will need to know how to find books in the library. Secondly, this assignment was beneficial because we had to gather quotes from the sources we found and add them at the end of each sources section. In writing the Joining the Conversation piece, where we had to connect the different authors ideas, it was fairly easy due to the quotes we found in the Annotated Bibliography. Lastly, I benefitted from this assignment because I got good feedback from the paper from Megan. I realized in the corrections that Megan gave me that I had trouble with the concept of figuring out how the author argues his/her point opposed to what the author is arguing. From Megan’s suggestions, I found where my weakness was in writing and I’m trying to improve that.

I feel like this class has allowed me to become a better writer through the different activities we did.
1.     Through work shopping with my peers, I got the chance to get advice from different perspectives that will enhance my paper. This specific work shop helped my Annotated Bibliography become more focused on the true meaning of the paper because my peers gave me advice to remove the summary and change it to be more analysis. Because I had trouble with figuring out what was analysis and what was summary, my peers read their papers and I understood more clearly. With Megan’s help plus the help from my peers, my paper progressed.

2.     I thought of my inquiry project idea through group discussions with classmates. Megan’s emphasis on peer interaction ultimately benefitted me because it gives me the chance to get feedback from my ideas while gathering other ideas from my peers. I initially wanted to focus on the diversity of school systems but through the process of trying to develop that idea, I came upon the idea of different learning styles, which was intriguing to me. I chose to focus on this idea because while discussing with peers, I generated ideas and paths I would take that could make this inquiry excellent.

Ultimately, talking and interacting with my peers is very beneficial in furthering my ideas and helping with making connections in my writing. 

Final Drafts

Exploratory Essay

ann bib

Joinging the Convo Final Final

Self-Assessment for Step 3

1. My goals for myself in writing this piece were to be creative but include the most information I could possible. I believe I reached my goal because I included all information that I found into my paper somewhere. I also took risks when writing the creative piece because I had to include myself in it which was difficult.
2. After writing the 3 page "joining the convo", it was easy to add on 2 more pages because I already had a direction in which I was going. It was easy to keep the conversation going and add more information because I had a lot of information gathered from the beginning. The class was helpful in writing this piece because we had done many activities before hand that had forced me to gather information that I would use in this paper.
3. I saw my writing changing because I don't usually write creatively. Throughout this class, every essay has been formal so it was a good change to write how I wanted but still include information. I used my peers responses and changed my paper to make it better. I added more information about each topic and added personal experience in like they said to do. I didn't, however, include more of an introduction because I felt mine was already strong.
4. I contribute my papers success to the authors of the books that I got information from. Without the information they supplied me with, I wouldn't be able to educate other people about my topic through my paper.
5. I have learned that I thoroughly enjoy creative writing more than standard academic writing. I learned that others may prefer formal writing but I find it easier and more fun to be creative but still incorporate facts and information.
6. The hardest part of writing the paper was gathering the information and formatting in a conversation. It was difficult to gather what each person said and put it in conversation form while others are refuting or supporting them with their information/ideas. The easiest part was incorporating my own opinions and experiences into this paper because I have lots of experience with learning styles. I took risks when being playful with the characters. I made some of them get mad and some of them joke around with each other.
7. I'm most proud of the fact that the conversation flows well and the characters/authors's ideas work well together.
8. I could still improve the parts of my paper that include where I gave my personal experiences. I tried to incorporate my opinions and experiences in at a good time where the authors were talking about each learning style.
9. I started this paper by gathering information from each book and assigning an author/character to the information. I sorted the information out so that some would be supporting others and some would be refuting others. Then, I thought of a setting and wrote from there. After workshopping 3 pages, I took my peers advice and also added on 2 more pages. It was easy to add on 2 more pages because I already had a head start to the paper. I finished the paper by including a personal experience. I feel like this piece is one of my strongest yet.

Step 3: final

Ivey Lee

Joining the Conversation

Megan Keaton

3 April 2013

“Coffee Shop Talk”

Cast: Ivey (myself), Prevention India, Lisa Leopold, Marilee Sprenger, Gayle Gregory, Carolyn Chapman, and Lin Kuzmich.

            The setting is in Charlotte, North Carolina on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where a Learning Styles Convention for teachers is being held. In between conferences, six teachers meet at the on campus Starbucks for some coffee and pastries where I happen to be drinking my afternoon coffee. While sipping coffee and enjoying their break, a conversation is sparked about learning styles and the discussion escalates. I wait until I have the basis of what the conversation is about until I interject with my own concerns.

India: I absolutely love different learning styles. I mean, there is just no other way a classroom of children can be taught without having multiple learning methods to accommodate for each child!

Leopold: Agreed 100%!

Gregory: Of course, we all agree. That’s why we’re here.

Sprenger: Exactly. I have actually learned some new information since I’ve been here, like the fact that information enters the brain through all of our senses. I had no idea that all sensory information except the sense of smell is processed the same way!

Chapman: News to me too! It does make since though. Ever person has 4 senses that help bring in information and we can’t expect for everyone to have the same preference for learning when they have four different styles they could choose from. It’s clear that everyone has different preferences and needs.

Kuzmich: Yep, exactly what I was thinking. People become partial to one sense through nature and nurture. Not everyone is born the same and raised the same so it’s natural to have different learning strategies.

Peeks head into conversation.

Ivey: Excuse me, but what exactly are learning strategies?

Leopold: Oh, this is easy. Let me explain. Learning styles are different ways in which people can learn. Each person has a different preference for learning because, well, we’re all different and we all prefer different things. There are usually three types of learners: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn best by making notes, underlining what he/she reads, and prefers studying alone. An auditory learner learns best through listening, verbalizing, brainstorming, and studying with a small group or partner. The kinesthetic learner learns best by doing. They learn when they are moving or interacting with the material.

India: Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Sprenger: Actually, I prefer to break down the kinesthetic category into three different sub-sections. These sections include “hands-on learners”, “whole-body learners”, and “doodlers”. “Hands-on learners” prefer to touch things, like models or samples. “Whole-body learners” learn best by playing games that involve moving their entire body. “Doodlers” learn best by writing random side-notes and drawings that relate to the material they are leaning. These types of learners can make up songs and dances to help remember material. All of these sub-categories are related to physical activity which is why they are all included in the kinesthetic category.

Chapman: I find that interesting because I break up my kinesthetic learners into two sub-categories that are similar to your three. I separate the “tactile learners” from the “tactile/kinesthetic learners”. The tactile learner learns best by handling and being involved with concrete objects. The “tactile/kinesthetic learner” retains the most information by moving their body in ways that will help them memorize the material being learned.

Gregory: Essentially, the different ways in which the kinesthetic learning style can be broken down contains the same methods; they’re just called different things.

India: I never knew about the different sub-categories of kinesthetic learners. I guess you learn something new every day!

Kuzmich: …In every different way!

Ivey: From what I’ve heard so far, I think it’s safe to say I’m a visual learner. I like to look at things when I learn, like charts and tables.

Gregory fidgets with coffee.

Gregory: I’m definitely a kinesthetic learner.

Kuzmich: I can tell. You never sit still.

India: It’s common for many people to have different learning styles. One child may learn by writing notes or making diagrams, whereas another may learn by reading aloud or brainstorming.

Leopold: Yes! And that is why it is our job to find out what style fits the student and best accommodate for them. Since there are so many different styles and so many children, this can be difficult. I strongly believe that instructors should attempt to diversify their teaching to include all learning style preferences.

Sprenger: Whoa, whoa. We can’t take all the responsibility. I believe it is much more important for the student to understand his or her preferences so they can learn with their strengths.

Chapman: While I agree with you, it’s sometimes difficult for a student to know his or her strength in learning.

Gregory: Agreed. I believe it is important for teachers to be aware of the different modalities and provide adequate activates that tap into each of them during the school day. The more we as teachers can involve all modalities and learning styles, the more chance we have to engage learners in using their whole brain.

Leopold: To support this argument, I have actually heard that a mismatch in teaching and learning styles has been linked to poor academic performance. Conversely, a match between teaching and learning styles has been correlated with higher student achievement rates.

Ivey: Interesting. Honestly, I don’t even know how to measure my strongest learning style. Are there tests I could take that would tell me my learning style preference or would I just realize it over time with experience?

Kuzmich: There are definitely tests that can help determine what learning style you prefer but the best test is experience. What works best for you when memorizing things? Do you retain most information through seeing or hearing or doing? You have to experiment with all types of learning to find your preferred one.

Ivey: That makes sense. I learn best by writing things down and looking at them over and over so that proves I’m a visual learner, but I also enjoy making models and learning with my hands, like in my chemistry lab. I guess I’m visual and kinesthetic.

Gregory: You probably realized this when you were about twelve years of age. You see, the critical learning period for children is ages five to twelve. Studies have shown that by the age of twelve, students usually understand what method of learning works best for them and they have established that preference.

India: Really? Five to twelve? That seems pretty young to be the most crucial learning time in a person’s life…

Kuzmich: It’s true. Five year olds need to be taught things one at a time so they usually prefer visual learning because they can see what they need to know right in front of them and won’t get distracted by objects used for kinesthetic learners. By the age of eight, studies have shown that children are talkative and have lots of energy. These children usually prefer kinesthetic learning because they can use the physical methods of learning to release energy and retain information at the same time.

Gregory: On many occasions, students become distracted by outside stimuli.

Leopold: How does learning relate to distractions from outside stimuli?

Strenger: Distraction is inevitable sometimes because our senses are constantly taking in information whether we want it to or not. Since our learning is channel through one or many of our sense, it’s common for distractions to occur.

Kuzmich: A person can be distracted by peripheral stimuli including everything rom body language to classroom climate to physical environment, including décor and orderliness.

Ivey: I think it’s safe to say that I’ve learned more from you all than I could have by attending that Learning Styles Conference myself. From now own, I will encourage my peers to take into account the learning style they prefer and repeatedly practice that method in order to learn the maximum amount of information they can possibly can.

Works Cited

Gregory, Gayle, and Carolyn Chapman. Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size

Doesn't Fit All. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2007. Print. 11 March 2013.

Gregory, Gayle, and Lin Kuzmich. Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth

and Achievement in Grades K-6. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2005.

Print. 11 March 2013.

Leopold, Lisa. In The Classroom. “Prewriting Tasks for Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic

Learners.” TESL Canada Journal. Spring 2012. 11 March 2013.

Prevention India. “What’s Your Child’s Learning Style?” March 2011. 11 March 2013.

Sprenger, Marilee. Differentiation Through Learning Styles and Memory. Thousand Oaks,

Calif: Corwin Press, 2003. Print. 11 March 2013.

Workshop Reflection 4|10

      1.     Taylor-Jayne said to make my paragraph about the Asian international students longer and tie in other ideas that could support it. She proposed that I expand each paragraph and add more information overall. She suggested adding questions and personal relations to my topic. I should include what type of learner I am. She added that my quotes were very strong.

         Rhett said to add page numbers in my in-text citations. He also included that I should put personal example of learning styles that I have experienced.

         Brandon suggested I separate my paragraphs into more clear ideas. He said I had lots of supporting details and information.

2.     The most helpful piece of advice I received was to include personal details and experiences about this topic. This will be fairly easy to include because I have experience with learning styles before through a project I did in middle school.

3.     The least helpful piece of advice I received was to put page numbers with my in-text citations. This information was important but I’m more concerned with my content and making sure I grouped ideas together properly.

4.     For revision, I will include page numbers in my in-text citations. I will also include a paragraph at the end that has personal experiences and my own opinions and questions. I will add more information to the paragraph about international students and tie in information I already have to that paragraph to make it longer and stronger. 

Step #2- Academic Work 4|8

Ivey Lee

Megan Keaton

ENG 1102

10 April 2013

Learning Styles in Schools

Knowing which learning style a student prefers is important because it positively affects that student’s learning and remembering. There are many different learning styles but the most common include visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning. Studies have shown that if teachers correlate their teaching methods with student’s learning styles, learning is enhanced and memorization is increased. The information I found from the research investigates the different learning styles and supports the idea that differentiation in learning styles benefits all students.

Most of my sources started off by explaining the different learning methods. The different learning methods include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The definition for each of these stayed fairly the same through each source. The visual learner learns best through the use of charts, graphs, and pictures (Leopold). An auditory learner learns best by listening, answering questions, and studying with a small group or partner (India). The kinesthetic category is broken down into many parts. Some authors believed that kinesthetic were its own category and that kinesthetic learners learn best by staying active, moving around, and interacting with the material.

Opposing the authors who believed the kinesthetic category was one in itself, other authors argued that it contained subcategories that went more in-depth. The new sub-categories introduced include “hands-on learners”, “whole-body learners”, and “doodlers” (Sprenger). “Hands-on learners” prefer to touch things, like models or samples. “Whole-body learners” learn best by playing games that involve moving their entire body. “Doodlers” learn best by writing random side-notes and drawings that relate to the material they are leaning. These types of learners can make up songs and dances to help remember material. All of these sub-categories are related to physical activity which is why they are all included in the kinesthetic category. Another article I found while researching broke the kinesthetic learner into two sub-categories. These categories consisted of “tactile” and “tactile/kinesthetic” (Gregory/Chapman). The tactile learner learns best by handling and being involved with concrete objects. The “tactile/kinesthetic” learner retains the most information by moving their body in ways that will help them memorize learning material. These authors that break down the sub-categories of kinesthetic learners have the same concepts but just name them differently.

Throughout the duration of my research, I found many interesting things about learning styles and the type of people who correlate with those learning styles. One source I found stated that students enrolled in intensive English programs in the United States prefer kinesthetic learning (Leopold). This makes sense considering one of the subcategories for kinesthetic leaning is “doodlers” who write random side notes. In most English classes, they perform work shopping which requires you to write side notes on papers that someone is critiquing. One source broke down each learning style and introduced characteristics of people who prefer this learning style. Visual learners were said to good at spelling, could read fast, enjoyed puzzles, and drawing. These learners prefer studying alone in a quiet space and tend to be very neat. Auditory learners have a wide range of vocabulary and tend to excel in theatre and debate. They can also be easily distracted by noise. Kinesthetic learners gesture a lot while speaking, have trouble sitting still for long periods of time, and love the outdoors. These kinds of learners excel in outdoor activities and making models. These kinds of people are also said to be fairly unorganized (India).

Also, the relationship between culture and learning styles has shown to be different for certain areas. The research I did showed that Asian international students that are currently learning in the United States do not prefer auditory learning (Leopold).

Many factors have to be taken into account when trying to get a student to learn something. A child’s age is crucial in the learning process. The critical learning point in a child’s life is ages five to twelve (Gregory/Kuzmich). This article breaks down each age into categories and gives a summary of what a child is like regarding learning at that age. Five year olds need to be taught things one at a time. Eight year olds are talkative and have lots of energy they need to release. Twelve year olds have an interest in worldly activities. By knowing this, one could understand that five year olds may prefer visual learning because that way they can retain one thing at a time by looking at it. Most eight year olds are kinesthetic learners because they are extremely hyper active and need to be moving to retain information. By the age of twelve, most students have found their niche and learning preference.

I noticed that many authors noted that stimuli can affect a persons learning depending on what style they prefer. Temperate of a classroom can affect ones learning because it can be distracting (Gregory/Kuzmich). Because senses are such a vital part in which preference you prefer, it only makes sense that stimuli can affect a persons learning (Leopold). 

Works Cited

Gregory, Gayle, and Carolyn Chapman. Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size

Doesn't Fit All. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2007. Print. 11 March 2013.

Gregory, Gayle, and Lin Kuzmich. Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth

and Achievement in Grades K-6. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2005.

Print. 11 March 2013.

Leopold, Lisa. TESL Canada Journal. Spring 2012. 11 March 2013.

Prevention India. March 2011. 11 March 2013.

Sprenger, Marilee. Differentiation Through Learning Styles and Memory. Thousand Oaks,

Calif: Corwin Press, 2003. Print. 11 March 2013.

Megan's Comments on final Annotated Bib. 4|4

1. The most helpful piece of advice I received was that my "analysis" paragraphs were focusing on what was being argued instead of how the author argued it. This helped drastically because it will change the focus of those paragraphs entirely.

2. The least helpful piece of advice received was grammatical errors. I appreciate this kind of correction but I value the other advice more that focuses on structure and content.

3. Will the grade received from this final draft be the very final grade or will I have another opportunity to revise and submit?

4. My plans for revision include moving the summary I put in other paragraphs to the appropriate paragraph. I will also revise my analysis to focus more on how the author argues his/her point rather than what they are arguing. I will edit parts of my paper that are informal, like contractions and certain sentences, to make them formal. I will edit grammatical errors that Megan pointed out. I will explain more thorough the arguments being made and support them with details. I will follow up the analysis paragraph with a section that includes the details of how I will use the information in my paper. 

Workshop Reflection 4|3

1.   Taylor-Jayne said I used all of my sources well and I spread them out in my paper in a good way.
      Brandon encouraged I incorporate more of my words in my paper so that I could help the conversation flow more.
      Rhett added that I should add more personal experience to my paper which would make it stronger and more relatable.
      Jared included that I should add more to the setting part. He said more detail will help the readers get an understanding for the introduction to the script and will orient the readers.

2.   The most helpful piece of advice I received was to incorporate more of a personal experience to my paper. This is helpful because I didn't really put any personal experience in the draft and I feel like this addition will help the readers understand the different learning styles better.

3.   The least helpful piece of advice I received was to include more of a setting because I felt like I built a good introduction setting. The readers can understand the setting from my introduction but I will probably add more in-depth details to enhance it.

4.   My plans for revision include editing the introduction/setting and adding a few more details to make it more personable. I will also add the subcategories of kinesthetic learning after Leopold's part on the second page. I will enhance a couple sentences that didn't make much sense the first time I wrote the paper. To get to 5 pages, I will add more about personal experiences and testing for each learning type.

Joining the Conversation

Ivey Lee

Joining the Conversation

Megan Keaton

3 April 2013

“Coffee Shop Talk”

Cast: Ivey (myself), Prevention India, Lisa Leopold, Marilee Sprenger, Gayle Gregory, Carolyn Chapman, and Lin Kuzmich.

            The setting is in Charlotte, North Carolina on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where a Learning Styles Convention for teachers is being held. In between conferences, six teachers meet at the on campus Starbucks for some coffee and pastries where I happen to be drinking my afternoon coffee. While sipping coffee and enjoying their break, a conversation is sparked about learning styles and the discussion escalates. I wait until I have the basis of what the conversation is about until I interject with my own concerns.

India: I absolutely love different learning styles. I mean, there is just no other way a classroom of children can be taught without having multiple learning methods to accommodate for each child!

Leopold: Agreed 100%!

Gregory: Of course, we all agree. That’s why we’re here.

Sprenger: Exactly. I have actually learned some new information since I’ve been here, like the fact that information enters the brain through all of our senses. I had no idea that all sensory information except the sense of smell is processed the same way!

Chapman: News to me too! It does make since though. Ever person has 4 senses that help bring in information and we can’t expect for everyone to have the same preference for learning when they have four different styles they could choose from. It’s clear that everyone has different preferences and needs.

Kuzmich: Yep, exactly what I was thinking. People become partial to one sense through nature and nurture. Not everyone is born the same and raised the same so it’s natural to have different learning strategies.

Peeks head into conversation.

Ivey: Excuse me, but what exactly are learning strategies?

Leopold: Oh, this is easy. Let me explain. Learning styles are different ways in which people can learn. Each person has a different preference for learning because, well, we’re all different and we all prefer different things. There are usually three types of learners: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn best by making notes, underlining what he/she reads, and prefers studying alone. An auditory learner learns best through listening, verbalizing, brainstorming, and studying with a small group or partner. The kinesthetic learner learns best by doing. They learn when they are moving or interacting with the material.

Chapman: Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Ivey: I think I’m a visual learner.

Gregory fidgets with coffee.

Gregory: I’m definitely a kinesthetic learner.

Kuzmich: I can tell. You never sit still.

India: It’s common for many people to have different learning styles. One child may learn by writing notes or making diagrams, whereas another may learn by reading aloud or brainstorming.

Leopold: Yes! And that is why it is our job to find out what style fits the student and best accommodate for them. Since there are so many different styles and so many children, this can be difficult. I strongly believe that instructors should attempt to diversify their teaching to include all learning style preferences.

Sprenger: Whoa, whoa. We can’t take all the responsibility. I believe it is much more important for the student to understand his or her preferences so they can learn with their strengths.

Chapman: While I agree with you, it’s sometimes difficult for a student to know his or her strength in learning.

Gregory: Agreed. I believe it is important for teachers to be aware of the different modalities and provide adequate activates that tap into each of them during the school day. The more we as teachers can involve all modalities and learning styles, the more chance we have to engage learners in using their whole brain.

Leopold: To support this argument, I have actually heard that a mismatch in teaching and learning styles has been linked to poor academic performance. Conversely, a match between teaching and learning styles has been correlated with higher student achievement rates.

Ivey: Interesting. Honestly, I don’t even know how to measure my strongest learning style. Are there tests or do would I just realize it over time?

Kuzmich: there are definitely tests that can help determine what learning style you prefer but the best test is experience. What works best for you when memorizing things? Do you retain most information through seeing or hearing or doing? You have to experiment with all types of learning to find your preferred one.