321 Learn! » Student motivation

Learning styles: An Error of Judgment

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:10:26 +0000

Everyone is familiar with the concept of “learning styles” and I have classified myself as a visual learner and my eldest as an auditory learner. Research shows, though, that I may be more gullible than I thought because learning styles (visual, auditory, tactile) are not actually supported through scientific studies.

I, along with many other educational professionals have preached the importance of meeting students where they are so they learn best – display information, give auditory information and allow students the chance to manipulate objects, so that all three learning styles will be addressed and all students will have the best chance at learning the information. Likewise, I have been a huge proponent of home schooling because the parent can focus instruction in whatever way is best for their child’s learning style.

A group of men have come together to review the literature on learning styles and have determined two things:

First, most studies done on learning styles do not follow a randomized trial methodology and are thus not valid.

Second, those that are valid reveal contradictory results, meaning that studies that support the idea of learning styles are not able to be repeated, thus negating the theory.

An Idea Better than Learning Styles: Research Based Teaching

An NPR report on the issue provides a better idea – follow research based ideas for teaching:

Psychologist Dan Willingham says that studies show that “mixing things up” will help to boost attention and the closer students pay attention, the better they will learn. Additionally, studies show that the human brain retains information better when learned over months as opposed to cramming information into a short period of days or even weeks.

One benefit of mixing things up is this will also help maintain classroom management. The idea of spreading things out over months instead of weeks flies in the face of the modern education system, though. Teachers often complain about the lack of time available to teach any one concept. A commonly agreed upon statement is that teachers have the time to introduce concepts, and the bright students will master these concepts, but there is no time to extend the concepts into the abstract for mastery for all students.

Changes Needed in Curricula and Teaching Methods

I would be willing to bet that this concept of spreading learning out supports the spiral curriculum method, where students are able to return to the same concepts over and over as they learn. That said, I would think that the traditional “grade level” curriculum, specifically for math skills, needs to be revamped in order to avoid teaching skills in isolation. This is something that Shiller Math does a great job of.

It’s time to stop spending what precious few dollars we have in the schools on in-service training that focuses on learning styles and instead focus on how students are similar. Really, the idea is intriguing – do students learn best differently or the same? I would bet that the assembly line method of grouping students together by age might be less an issue than it is a precursor – we grouped students by a similarity and then tried to separate them after the fact by learning style. How does that make sense?

Maybe we need to find more ways that students are similar instead of spending so much time focusing on differences. One similarity I can think of off of the top of my head is the fact that ALL students, without exception, will learn better when interested and excited about learning. Maybe that is a better place to start lesson planning!

When Students Lie to Teachers

Jennifer Wagaman — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:15:25 +0000

Lying is not a novel concept, a fact that parents will readily share with any who ask. Children will lie when it seems easier in the moment than telling the truth and dealing with the consequences of the truth.

Teachers will often deal with students who are telling lies for one reason or another – getting out of homework, not admitting what really goes on at home, not wanting to get into trouble, and sometimes simply not remembering. Understanding why a child is lying is important as this helps the teacher understand the best consequence for the lie.

If a child is trying to hide the truth about something, there could be good reason for the teacher to know what that truth is. Here are some common reasons why a child might lie: about homework:

Lies about homework -

The child may not have understood the homework
The child may be struggling with the concept being taught
The child may not have help at home (or the materials to complete an assignment)
The child may have forgotten to do the homework
The child may simply be trying to get out of extra work

Depending on the reason, the teacher should handle the resulting consequences differently. A child trying to get out of the work, for example, may be rewarded with extra work. A child without help at home or who is struggling to understand the work may need extra time with the teacher and modified homework for a time.

Learning History Through Stamps

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:35:43 +0000

Teaching children history can be a chore for many teachers. Many if not most student may also agree that learning history is boring and not fun. Some schools do not even teach history every day at the elementary level. History, while at times boring, does not have to be a drudgery in school.

Liven up American history discussions with a bit of USPS fun thrown in. Teach students about the history of the United States with the use of stamps. The National Postal Museum website is a great resource for teachers looking to add some interest to their American History lessons.

Encourage children to bring in old stamps and research the history behind the stamp. Not only will children find a renewed interest in American History, but they might just find a new hobby at the same time.

Homework Help

Jennifer Wagaman — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:42:05 +0000

Many student have difficulty completing and turning their homework in on time, and this can cause stress for parent, child and teacher. The thing that is different in each situation is the reason behind the homework difficulty.

One child may not have time because of other family obligations such as caring for younger siblings.
Another child may forget to do the homework.
Another child may do the homework but forget to put it in his backpack.
Yet another child may not be doing the homework because he or she cannot understand it.
Another child may not be finishing all the homework because it takes him too long and he runs out of time.

Unfortunately, without understanding the reason behind why a child is having difficulty with his homework, a teacher cannot figure out a solution, and pestering and badgering the child rarely works to change anything. In fact, calling the parent rarely changes anything either. So what can you do?

The first step is to meet with the child’s parent and the child together to find out some answers behind the homework problems.

Stay tuned for more information this week on homework folder solutions. In the meantime, check out this Homework Pad as a great way to organize student’s homework assignments.

Snow Day Activities

Jennifer Wagaman — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:30:08 +0000

After a big snow, children are eager to get outside and play. What more perfect time to introduce some fun learning activities and take advantage of their natural excitement! Here are some ideas to get you started:

Make snow men, teaching young children about small, medium and large.
Catch snow flakes and look at them under a microscope or magnifying glass to see the varied designs.
Make snow angels and discuss the property of displacement.
Measure the amount of snow and talk about various forms of measurement.
Make snow ice cream and involve children in the cooking process.

Here is an article with some indoor and more outdoor snow activities.

How to Make Paper-Mache

Jennifer Wagaman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:51:58 +0000

Paper-mache is a great activity for children to participate in. It encourages creativity and while it is a bit messy, it helps kids to enjoy learning while they play.

To make paper-mache you need:

3 cups cold water

1 1/2 cup flour

oil of peppermint

Newspaper strips

coat hangers bent into a form or another “form” for the paper-mache

Directions for Making Paper-Mache:

An adult needs to cook the flour and water over low heat on the stove. This will thicken the mixture into a creamy consistency.
After the mixture is cooked to the proper consistency, it should be allowed to cool before adding a few drops of the peppermint oil to help preserve the mixture.
While the adult is cooking the paste, the children should be tearing long strips out of the newspaper.
Dipping the newspaper strips into the paste, the children should then begin to cover the frame. As the form begins to take shape, each layer needs to be allowed to dry completely before adding more. This means that this project may take some time.

Some great ideas for paper-mache include creating a bust of someone famous (or the child!), a globe, a pinata, and anything else the child may come up with.

Team Meetings Increase Student Motivation

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Teachers often struggle with a lack of student motivation along with numerous classroom management or student discipline issues. Holding a classroom team meeting may help students take responsibility for their education as well as their behavior in the classroom.

Teachers need to team together as well and provide support and motivation for each other. Celebrating the small successes and providing ideas for handling the various problems that come up will become invaluable in preventing teacher burn-out.

Read more about how to implement team meetings within the classroom.

President Obama Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Jennifer Wagaman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:26:21 +0000

The announcement this morning that President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize came as a shock to many. This is the first time that a sitting President has been awarded this prestigious prize and Obama spokesman said that the President is humbled.

Find lesson ideas for teaching students about the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Drop-Off Generation

Jennifer Wagaman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:22:49 +0000

Teachers fight a constant battle to get parents more involved. Some schools have highly involved parents and other schools have less than half of the parents show up to a back-to-school night. Part of this lack of parental involvement is a product of the drop-off generation.

This is the generation of parents who drop their kids off at school, at soccer practice, at dance lessons, at baseball. These are parents who are too busy dropping their children off to come in and participate.

While there are still many parents who are deeply involved in their children’s lives, there are too many who simply are too busy to do more than drop them off. parents need to consider where they are too busy in their own lives. Where are you dropping your children off instead of participating?

If more parents participated, how many discipline problems would never happen in the first place? How many kid would read more at home? How many kids would have help with their homework and do better on tests?

Teachers, learn tips for how to encourage parents to become more involved.

Extension Ideas for Lesson on Obama’s Speech

Jennifer Wagaman — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:14:00 +0000

On September 8, 2009, President Obama will be speaking live to the students of the Nation. This is a highly controversial event, but one that teachers can take advantage of. It seems from the information provided, that President Obama will be speaking about goal setting for the school year, and striving to meet those goals. After the speech is over, how can teachers take this speech and provide extension activities for students?

Extension Activities for Obama’s Speech

Have students write an essay about one specific goal that they have for the school year. They should include details as to why they have this particular goal and exactly how they plan on meeting this goal.

Students can work together as a class to create a list of “class goals” much like teachers allow students to create “class rules“. Have students share lots of ideas for goals and then condense them into 3-4 really important goals. Once these are decided on, write them on a large piece of paper and have all the students sign the paper, promising to try their best to meet these goals.

Students can create a piece of artwork (coloring, painting, tissue paper art, etc.) that shows the outcome of meeting goals for the school year. Knowing what they are shooting for in the end will help to motivate them to work hard towards that goal.

For lesson plan ideas on preparing students for the speech as well as information on how to listen to the speech, visit Lesson Plan for Obama’s Speech to Students.

Read more extension ideas that will help teachers use President Obama’s speech to bring more appropriate student behavior to the classroom.