Various Learning Styles in Education by Lauren

Various Learning Styles in Education by Lauren - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my previous 11 years of education, there have been many times that I wish I could have asked my educators to change how they are instructing something or to make something they are attempting to communicate more clear for me to understand. Like many other students, I struggle in some classes to understand concepts while in other classes I can easily thrive and keep up with the new material that is being introduced. Teachers usually vary in how they teach a subject, and many times not all students understand the same material the first time it is introduced. This is why I have decided to pursue the career choice of elementary education- to follow in the path of my former teachers in the ongoing mission to improve education for the students of the next generation. If I could give any of my teachers one piece of advice in order to help me learn and learn to my greatest capacity, I would tell them that because no student is alike, lessons should and must be presented by and adapted to multiple learning styles.

Quite often I have experienced a classroom environment where half of the class seems to grasp a concept right away without any issues, while the other half (or maybe even more) of the class is left hanging in confusion, sometimes without the teacher even being aware of it. Yes, this problem could be partially solved by the confused students seeking the help of the teacher or even other students that seem to grasp the concept more easily, but I do not believe this is a long term solution to this problem. If there were only a few students struggling, that solution might be enough, but if there are more than a few students struggling I believe some changes should be considered. I strongly believe that lessons should and must be presented in a variety of learning styles in order to meet the needs of all the students in the classroom, or they will vary in growth and results, some flourishing and others getting "left behind". While studying education during this past year in my Elementary Education independent study, I have learned that the four main learning styles are visual learning, auditory learning, kinesthetic learning, and read/write learning. Although all these types of styles have their pros and cons, most students find that they associate themselves with one or more of these styles and thrive when they incorporate the lesson material with their unique learning style. Likewise, students usually discover that they have been stuck trying to grasp a concept through a different learning style, and this is one of the reasons that they have such a hard time understanding the material. Once a student’s specific learning style is discovered, lessons adapted to his or her style will most likely make much more sense to them and help them out in their education in the long run.

Overall, I do believe that different learning styles are one of the most crucial concepts that each classroom should incorporate in their curriculum. Many students lack understanding in certain areas of education simply because they are not being presented the information in the right way, and this leaves them feeling more confused and hopeless. I believe that if teachers take the time to assess each student and match them with their specific learning style and incorporate those different styles in their lesson materials, students will thrive far more than they thought they could and the whole class will be able to grow together in understanding and knowledge. Like many things in life, there are many ways to go about something in order to achieve the same goal and reach the same result. I believe that this is the same concept in education, and the more this concept is implemented, the more opportunities will be presented to the students of our upcoming generations.