How Can Knowing Your Students Increase Learning?

Cindy Riedl
Sep 06, 2010

Another school year begins! It is again time to apply the research that supports creating meaning through relevance. "In order for learning to be considered relevant by our students, it must relate to something they already know. It must activate their existing neural networks - the more relevance, the greater the meaning." (Jensen E. 1997, Completing the Puzzle: The Brain-compatible Learning. Del Mar, CA: The Brain Store). Relevance, although important for most students, is critical for our at-risk students. These students must be given more than one way to engage with content and it should try to match with each student's unique strengths and learning preference. Differentiating the learning process and assignments are keys to building relevance for students at-risk and students with learning challenges.

Well, where does you begin? Keep in mind that the more you know about how your students learn, the better you can plan learning activities and structure instruction. Begin the first day of school by learning about each student's interests, abilities and learning preferences by gathering information. Typically, you can identify each student's level of performance and achievement in subject areas by reviewing the cumulative folders that are passed on from grade to grade, but it is essential that during the first few days of school, an emphasis is placed on developing a profile of each student's strengths and weaknesses based on data obtained from a variety of sources and with a variety of approaches to assessment. Tap the most important source first - the student. Learning preferences and areas of interest should be identified to develop a deeper understanding about how each student learns be st and what motivates the student to engage in learning.

Learning preferences is not a daunting task and can be highly engaging for students. Who does not like to talk about what they like and do not like? Students are highly motivated when you take a personal interest in them. It means that they are important - that they matter. A learning preference/styles assessment can be used to look at students' strengths and their learning preference. A mismatch in learning and teaching styles inevitably leads to students not being able to concentrate or participate effectively in classroom experiences, and as a result these students become disruptive or difficult and often poor performers. Therefore, the time and effort you make at the beginning of the year can make the difference between success and failure for many students. "Teacher knowledge and skill can make the difference between a student who is successful in school and one who is not." (Ferguson, 1991). You can implement any learning preference assessment (also called learning style) to acquire a snapshot or static look at a student's stated or perceived preference.

Any assessment of this type is merely a beginning point for better understanding of a student's own preference and needs. Preferences for learning need to be considered when teachers are selecting practices and strategies for improving learning during lessons and for differentiating assignments. You can access all types of appropriate age and grade level learning styles inventories on the Internet and merely reproduce them. Primary inventories often include pictures so that students are able to respond by circling a visual.

Another technique is to have each student create a name plate. Have students fold card stock paper in half creating a hamburger bun. Ask them to draw their favorite shape in the center of the name plate and write their name in bold letters in the middle of it. Th! en discu ss what a trait is, i.e. a trait describes what we are like. Model your example on the board. Create your shape and explain why you selected it and then list three traits about yourself around your shape. In the left hand top corner of the card, ask students to write an activity they enjoyed over the summer break. In the right hand top corner, ask students to write their favorite subject in school. In the lower left hand corner, have students identify their favorite television show, movie or book. Finally in the lower right hand corner, have students identify their favorite snack. Be sure to model each step and provide a word bank for each topic for students who have difficulty spelling. Once the name plate has been completed, ask students to find other students with similar responses for each corner. This will be noisy but well worth it because when this task is completed the teacher can use it as a segue into talking about differences an d similarities between students in the class and how each student can become a contributing member of the classroom's learning community.

On the other side of the name plate students can construct a glyph, which is a pictograph that tells a story non-verbally. It is a way to collect and display data. Differentiation is about making sure that most kids find a fit most days. Create the following slides to guide students as they create their glyphs.

Face:
Round face: Like to read by myself

Triangle face: Like to have someone read to me

Oval face: Like have pictures to look at when I read

Rectangle face: Like to picture things in my mind when someone reads to me or I read by myself

Eyes:
Looking up: Like doing school work in a brightly lit room

Looking down: Like doing school work in a room that has low lights (demonstrate)

Eyes closed: Like doing work in a room with direct sun light

Nose:
Triangle nose: Learn best when I work alone

Circle nose: Learn best when I work with a partner

Line nose: Learn best when I work with a small group

Mouth:
Smiling mouth: Like to know exactly what the teacher wants

Straight mouth: Like to show what I know by drawing it

Squiggly mouth: Like challenging questions or problems to figure out

Circle mouth: Like to have conversations with others about what I'm learning

Ears:
Question marks: Learn best from seeing someone do the steps in a problem

Colon marks: Learn best from hearing someone describe the steps in a problem

Exclamation marks: Learn best by doing and experiencing the steps myself

Hair:
Representation of the number of hours you watch television each day. One line = 1 hour.

Thought Bubble:
What would you spend the day doing if you had a day to do anything you wanted to do? (Have students draw a picture or write a sentence.)

Each response provides you with new data about each student. This information can be used to improve instructional decisions and create lessons that incorporate different learning preferences for learning to create a match!