Description
The student-centered approach is a relatively new educational paradigm as it has been employed for several decades so far, but it has already proved its effectiveness. Instead of being passive recipients of information, students are now active participants in the educational process, where their learning needs are met (Celli & Young, 2018). The student-centered approach can be implemented with the help of diverse strategies and models. The VARK model is one of such frameworks that encompass the focus on the needs of the following categories of learners: visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic learners (Kusumawarti et al., 2020). These learners are grouped based on the way they process information.
Kinesthetic learners, who are the focus of this presentation, prefer exploring things by touching them, using motion and movement, as well as employing a hands-on approach (Palvia et al., 2018). Various tactics have been used to help students with kinesthetic learnings styles. For instance, students are asked to model things, act out, participate in role-playing, and so on (Martin et al., 2021). These techniques have been widely used in the classroom environment in K-12 and higher education settings. At that, the rapid development of technology and the spread of the Internet with its various opportunities led to certain changes in teaching practice as well.
Online education is becoming a new norm as numerous students find it more flexible, more affordable, and more comfortable. At that, it has been acknowledged that some teaching techniques that have been utilized in classes for years can hardly be utilized in the computer-based setting (Martin et al., 2021; Stamm et al., 2021). To meet the requirements of the online learning environment, new methods and activities are now under development, and such tools as stimulations, discussions, conferences, mobile-based applications (or instance, augmented reality) are an indispensable part of online education. Hence, the primary issue of the current educational system is the development of a functional framework to incorporate virtual stimuli for kinesthetic online learners.
Action Plan
The fundamental goal of the present action plan is to develop a tangible framework that would encourage educators to incorporate interactive learning tools and elements such as drag-and-drop activities and technology solutions such as augmented and virtual reality. According to the researchers, children with kinesthetic learning preferences struggle with concentrating on online learning for a long time, as the majority of learning activities include video and text materials (Bartlett & Bell, 2018). As a result, their perception and digestion of the information become distorted. In order to overcome this obstacle, there is a need to educate teachers on the matter of embracing technology as an academic tool. According to the researchers, educators, while willing to participate in technology-assisted learning interventions, the lack of knowledge and support from the administration contribute negatively to the tendency (Taghizadeh & Hasani Yourdshahi, 2019). Thus, the chosen action plan to incorporate digital tools into the process of English learning should include the following steps:
References
Bartlett, K., & Bell, J. (2018). Kinesthetic learning in an online learning environment. Wiley Educational Services.
Celli, L. M., & Young, N. D. (2018). Student learning profiles: Teaching with style in mind. In N. D. Young, K. Bonanno-Sotiropoulos, & T. Citro (Eds.), Paving the pathway for educational success: Effective classroom strategies for students with learning disabilities (pp. 77-86). Rowman & Littlefield.
Kusumawarti, E., Subiyantoro, S., & Rukayah, R. (2020). The effectiveness of visualization, auditory, kinesthetic (VAK) model toward writing narrative: Linguistic intelligence perspective.International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 677-694.
Martin, M., Minarik, D., & Lintner, T. (2021). Kinesthetic social studies for students with exceptionalities. Journal for the Liberal Arts and Sciences, 24(2), 26-36.
Palvia, S., Aeron, P., Gupta, P., Mahapatra, D., Parida, R., Rosner, R., & Sindhi, S. (2018). Online education: Worldwide status, challenges, trends, and implications. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 21(4), 233-241.
Stamm, M., Francetic, K., Reilly, R., Tharp, A., Thompson, N., & Weidenhamer, R. (2021). Kinesthetic learners during the COVID-19 pandemic: Occupational therapy students’ perspective on e-learning. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 5(2), 1-20.
Taghizadeh, M., & Hasani Yourdshahi, Z. (2020). Integrating technology into young learners’ classes: Language teachers’ perceptions.Computer Assisted Language Learning, 33(8), 982-1006.