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Learning Styles and the Environment1
Attempts to define learning styles are intended to reveal how students differ in the ways they learn. Although all students can learn, they process and absorb new information differently. Twenty-one learning-style elements affect students’ motivation and achievement. Students may perform poorly in a given subject not because they cannot learn but because the strategy used to teach them was inconsistent with their learning styles. And teachers and students alike often confuse mismatches in styles of teaching and learning with lack of ability. If underachievers are taught in ways that complement their strengths, research has found, they can increase their scores on standardized tests significantly. For example, students who are hearing oriented learn and recall information when they hear it. And students with more developed kinesthetic abilities may need to experience physically what they are to learn through such strategies as role playing and the use of manipulatives.2
Some ways to adapt the environment to accommodate the learning styles of students are listed as follows:
• Noise. Students who prefer a quiet, relaxed work environment for independent study are provided with individual desks or carrels and are allowed to listen to soft music. Those students who wish total quiet are provided headphones without cords.
• Light. Many students prefer to work with less light, particularly to avoid the glare of fluorescent lighting. Separate switches control several banks of lights in the classroom. Some banks have had all but one fluorescent tube removed. For those concerned about the effects of reduced lighting on students’ eyes, current research reveals that even when the light is reduced markedly, the eyes will not be injured.
• Temperature. Mental work is done most effectively in a cool environment. Thermostats are set to 65 degrees. Students who prefer a warmer classroom are urged to wear sweaters, and
Learning Styles and the Environment1
Attempts to define learning styles are intended to reveal how students differ in the ways they learn. Although all students can learn, they process and absorb new information differently. Twenty-one learning-style elements affect students’ motivation and achievement. Students may perform poorly in a given subject not because they cannot learn but because the strategy used to teach them was inconsistent with their learning styles. And teachers and students alike often confuse mismatches in styles of teaching and learning with lack of ability. If underachievers are taught in ways that complement their strengths, research has found, they can increase their scores on standardized tests significantly. For example, students who are hearing oriented learn and recall information when they hear it. And students with more developed kinesthetic abilities may need to experience physically what they are to learn through such strategies as role playing and the use of manipulatives.2
Some ways to adapt the environment to accommodate the learning styles of students are listed as follows:
• Noise. Students who prefer a quiet, relaxed work environment for independent study are provided with individual desks or carrels and are allowed to listen to soft music. Those students who wish total quiet are provided headphones without cords.
• Light. Many students prefer to work with less light, particularly to avoid the glare of fluorescent lighting. Separate switches control several banks of lights in the classroom. Some banks have had all but one fluorescent tube removed. For those concerned about the effects of reduced lighting on students’ eyes, current research reveals that even when the light is reduced markedly, the eyes will not be injured.
• Temperature. Mental work is done most effectively in a cool environment. Thermostats are set to 65 degrees. Students who prefer a warmer classroom are urged to wear sweaters, and