Teachers are very important. They play a major role in the development, growth, and maturity of almost all human being, especially those who have become a student. They were part of the improvement of the whole society and will remain to be a part of it.
An educator needs to be very effective. To her/him lies the future of all of his/her students. To become an effective teacher, one must realize that there are certain aspects which he/needs to master and take a very firm grip on to – and these include meeting expectations that the students have on him/her and at the same time having a well-balanced expectation to students, enough knowledge with the subject he/she is to teach, efficient instructional strategies, strategic classroom management and a strong commitment to teaching and of course having the ability to adapt to various learning styles of the learners.
Rochford (2003) stated that learning style is the way a particular student concentrates on, absorbs, processes internalizes, and recalls new information. This implies that every student will have their own preferred learning style depending on their own capabilities to gather and absorb data, and in how they process and organize such data (Felder & Silverman, 1988; Van Zwanenberg, 2000). There are five factors that influence the learning style of an individual. These factors include (Dunn and Dunn, 1993):
- environmental situation – which involves the level of noise, the temperature, the amount of light available
- personal emotional characteristics – with which motivation from other people and from the self, persistence, perseverance, and sense of responsibility and dependability are very important
- sociological preferences for learning – which pertains to the idea of choosing a learning endeavor done alone or a learning endeavor with another peer
- physiological characteristics – that refers to the motor abilities, the visual and auditory stimulus
- global aspects – which involves the combination of the above-stated factors
Knowledge of the learning styles is beneficial for both the students and the educators. As for the educators and aspiring ones, knowledge on various learning styles of the students will help them facilitate the learning undertaking and manage the classroom and the students properly. Meanwhile, if the students know the specific learning style apt for their personality and needs, then they could maximize the use of that particular learning style which will result in the students’ enhanced educational achievement.
Like for example if I am the educator and I noticed that one of the students is like me, who is more inclined to learning using the perceptual modality (where visuals and auditory functions are highly used), I could then focused on giving more examples and explaining the topics through the use of pictures and sounds. I can make use of various instructional materials where the students could make use of their perceptions in a dynamic way.
Students’ learning styles are a good way of measuring their ability to grasp the subjects very well. This alone is enough reason why understanding the various learning styles can play a crucial role in facilitating an effective learning undertaking.
References
Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1993). Teaching secondary students through their individual learning style. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Felder, R. M., & Silverman, L. K. (1988). Learning styles and teaching styles in engineering education. Engineering Education, 78, 647-681.
Piskurich George M. 2006. Learning ID Fast & Right. Pfeiffer; 2 editionISBN-10: 0787980730.
Rochford, R. A. (2003). Assessing learning styles to improve the quality of performance of community college students in developmental writing programs: A pilot study. Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 27, 665-678.
Van Zwanenberg, N. (2000). Felder and Silverman’s index of learning styles and Honey and Mumford’s learning styles questionnaire: How do they compare and do they predict academic performance? Educational Psychology, 20, 365-381.