I know I am very kinesthetic and every learning style quiz I take turns up the same result...BUT...I know that I am also very visual and very auditory. So, the results of the learning style quizzes never really engage me. Maybe that is because I am a kinesthetic learner and can't pay attention! Anyways, I do know that I need to pay more attention to learning styles in my classes. Sometimes, it is so obvious that I am missing a part of my audience because I am doing too much talking. Sometimes, I have students complain because I do too many projects and they would rather work out of a book. Sometimes, I have students who think the class is too noisy and they have a difficult time concentrating. All of these are indications of different learning styles and, when you have 25-30 students in the room, not all learning styles can be honored...or can they?
Planning activities that incorporate all styles is laborious, but not impossible. Giving choice of how they want to learn is one more path to engagement. This is making me ponder how I can do my Challenge-Based Project on Immigration and take into account all styles of learning.
I don't think it would be that difficult because the point of this type of project is to allow students to find projects within the Big Idea to get their ideas across. I appreciate Bobbe Baggio for giving me her thoughts on learning styles.
I also appreciate her insights on Visuals. I agree 100% with the author on her insistence on the proper way to use visuals. Nothing is more off-putting that a PPT or Google Presentation that is all text with few visual. What is the point? It takes effort to make a clean, simple slide, but the learning that comes from it is significant because it allows the brain to absorb the context in an uncluttered way. Personally, I cannot stand Prezis...they make my brain crazy and I cannot focus on what the slide show is about, (just a side note.)
Baggio stated in her book that more and more people are visual learners now because we are barraged with visual stimuli constantly. In times past, people were more auditory learners because so much teaching was done with lectures and note-taking. Times have changed and educators have to adjust their diffusion of knowledge to different modes.