Learning Styles
Essay to discuss the importance of creating a desirable learning environment
This essay will discuss the importance of creating a desirable learning environment and the contrast of opinions people have towards them, also the relationship between theory and current educational practice.
So the question is “How do we learn?” For decades, researchers and scientists have been discussing how children come to understand the world we live in and how learning occurs. Theorists such as H.Gardner, Paiget, Vygotsky and Maslow have spent years studying the adolescent brain to find out how we learn and they have all come up with different learning styles.
A learning style is the way in which each learner begins to concentrate on, process and retain new and difficult information. These are various approaches or ways of learning. The idea of individualised "learning styles" originated in the 1970s, and acquired enormous popularity. Research suggests that learning styles are predetermined before the age of three or four, during which time basic architecture of the brain is established and learning styles are determined. It is also widely believed that these ‘styles’ do not usually change throughout life. Everyone has a learning style as individual as a fingerprint or signature, as a result of neural interconnection at the earliest stage of life.
Theorists have identified over 80 different types of learning styles perhaps one of the most significant examples being Fleming 's Visual, Audio, and Kinaesthetic styles (VAK/VARK). Fleming suggested, somebody with a preference to a Visual learning style benefits from a variety of visual stimulation. One example would be the use of colours. This type of learner likes images and written information. They like to be able to read instructions or the text on their own to increase their understanding. When studying it is helpful for this type of learner to use different colour highlighters or pens as they are reading and taking
This essay will discuss the importance of creating a desirable learning environment and the contrast of opinions people have towards them, also the relationship between theory and current educational practice.
So the question is “How do we learn?” For decades, researchers and scientists have been discussing how children come to understand the world we live in and how learning occurs. Theorists such as H.Gardner, Paiget, Vygotsky and Maslow have spent years studying the adolescent brain to find out how we learn and they have all come up with different learning styles.
A learning style is the way in which each learner begins to concentrate on, process and retain new and difficult information. These are various approaches or ways of learning. The idea of individualised "learning styles" originated in the 1970s, and acquired enormous popularity. Research suggests that learning styles are predetermined before the age of three or four, during which time basic architecture of the brain is established and learning styles are determined. It is also widely believed that these ‘styles’ do not usually change throughout life. Everyone has a learning style as individual as a fingerprint or signature, as a result of neural interconnection at the earliest stage of life.
Theorists have identified over 80 different types of learning styles perhaps one of the most significant examples being Fleming 's Visual, Audio, and Kinaesthetic styles (VAK/VARK). Fleming suggested, somebody with a preference to a Visual learning style benefits from a variety of visual stimulation. One example would be the use of colours. This type of learner likes images and written information. They like to be able to read instructions or the text on their own to increase their understanding. When studying it is helpful for this type of learner to use different colour highlighters or pens as they are reading and taking
Bibliography: Alfrey, C. (2003) Understanding Children’s Learning: A Text for Teaching Assistants London: Fulton. J Henry - The Telegraph, 2007 professor – pans –learning – style – teaching C.Hannaford – Smart Moves: Why learning is not all in your head, Great Ocean publishers. SKINNER, B. F. 1953. Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan. http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/sweden-early-years . BRUNER, JEROME S. 1966. Toward a Theory of Instruction. New York: Norton. www.learning-theories.com http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/primarycurriculum.aspx