Do you ever think about how you want to be taught? Do you ever think about whether or not people think about it in the same way? If you said yes to any of these questions you’ve come to the right article but even if you said no, at least give it a thought and read the article.
The way most people see it is that there are 4 different learning styles. The learning styles are: auditory, visual, reading, and kinaesthetic: each one of them being completely different from the other. The auditory learning style refers to when you’re good at listening to someone lecturing about something and being able to get a good grasp on what they’re saying.
Being a visual learner is when you see someone do what you’re trying to learn, and you can then do it as well.
Having the reading/writing style makes you learn by taking notes.
Finally, the kinaesthetic learning style is when someone learns the best from practicing whatever they need to learn physically. Even though it has a long name it’s actually kind of simple.
But do most people actually align with these learning styles? How do people want to be really taught? For example, when Cash Short the senior was asked how he wanted to be taught he answered interestingly “I want there to be some sort of a reward system for getting answers right, like the pizza parties that were hosted when we were all in lower grades.”
When Cash was asked to elaborate on how this would help him he said “I would work a lot harder because I really want that food. Like I don’t put too much effort into stuff but if I have a reason to do it, I can actually lock in and do it quickly and really well. It doesn’t even have to be that crazy of a reward or anything, it just has to be a reward.”
It also seems like someone else shares the same way as Cash from earlier but from a different perspective “If I was the one teaching them, I’d give them rewards for completing assignments fast enough and getting good grades,” Teysi Rivera the junior said.
Wally Gwyn said “I’m more of a visual learner, it’s just better that way for me and it has been the way I’ve been learning most of my life. It’s just natural to me at this point.”
With all the ways people teach and can be taught, can it negatively affect you? Teysi said “I think it can be overstimulating to deal with a lot of different teaching styles because it could confuse you from all the different ways you’re being taught. It can be a lot to handle.”
On the contrary two students think that it wouldn’t be bad to be taught in all these different ways. Wally had a more simple answer against it. “No, I don’t think it would be bad, because I made it this far because of all my teachers teaching differently.”
Preston Hodge the freshman said, “No it’s not bad, because sometimes you don’t know what’s right for you, so sometimes you have to try out different methods.”
It looks like the way people think about being taught multiple different ways depends on their perspective because it can go either way.
With all of these ways people can teach/be taught are there any teachers that match a student’s style? Preston seemed to be more of a kinaesthetic when he said “Maybe, my Algebra 2 teacher Ms. Emeric fits my style pretty well. She is pretty good at questioning me about what I know until I crack.”
Teysi was the most favorable to one of her teachers when she said “Yeah, Ms. Simmsons-Smalls teaches me the best way- which for me is being taught more strictly. It makes me feel like more things are at stake, which is pretty invigorating.”
“Ms. Hayes teaches me pretty well and matches my style pretty well. She helps me learn stuff one step at a time which makes me focus on one thing at a time instead of everything all at once,” said Jayden Beccara the freshmen
When you have a teacher that matches your style, just how much can this improve your grade? “I’m doing a whole lot better in her class by a long shot like, it’s not even a competition,” said Teysi.
With all these different learning styles it can be hard to teach them all equally at once. So how do teachers do it? Ms. Hayes the English teacher said “I think the most important thing is to try to build relationships with all the students I can. As long as I know them a little bit, I can relate to them and get to know them. I can build a good reputation with them which lets me understand them. Also, I can get along with them and teach them the best way possible.”
When asked the same question, Ms Snively the algebra teacher said “Walking through the classroom and checking what students need. Also trying to teach everything in a bunch of different ways. Like, for example, today I had reviewed something we already learned but because we had already learned it I taught them in a more proactive way instead of an active way as I did at first.”
With all of these learning styles, it can be hard to adjust to being taught by a teacher that doesn’t quite fit you, but Osbourn teachers try to meet the needs of a variety of students wth varying learning styles.
What way do you like to be taught? Tell us in the comments!
