The Learning Process Of An Educator

In school everyone learns differently; however, according to the article The Myth of Learning Styles, “The idea of learning styles is based on a theory… developed in the early 1980’s.” (pg 1.) A lot has certainly changed from the 1980’s as we learn new more material in every class we take. With this being said, someone the scientists referred to in the article “assumed” that learning styles challenged the way of the educational system when in reality, it is simply a myth. Students, like myself, only prefer to process information that they find useful or interesting to him or her. Thus giving us the problems of that teachers may take too long to cover one idea, and students may miss out out on information because he or she did not prefer that learning style.

For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

From an early age I found learning hard and in my early educational years I

i. Understanding the learners learning styles can make my course to be engaging. Flemming (1987) noted three different styles of learning; visual, kinaesthetic and aural. In order to know which method(s) to use to benefit my students the first lesson on my course will centre around discussions on what they already know, the resources they are familiar with, and a learning style questionnaire which will provide me with information on preferred learning styles. Effectiveness can also be enhanced if I adapt my teaching style to give maximum benefit to learners.

“Just as students have different personalities, they also have different ways of learing (Slavin, 107).” Learning styles are another important factor to incorporate when implementing the best learning environment. Learning styles are defined as an individual's mode of gaining knowledge. The most common learning styles addressed are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory leaners understand information through hearing. Visual learners need more visual aids in the learning process, such as diagrams, webs, or pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn better by using manipulatives or by being physically involved in the learning process. Learning styles is a piece of the “backbone” of differentiated learning. Both are used to individualize instruction to help students achieve the most success.

It can be argued that the more modalities employed and presented to students, the greater their chance for successful learning becomes. As educators, if we appeal to all strategies of learning, we are more likely to enhance the learning of everyone in our target audience. This may be challenging as we ourselves tend to flock to a particular learning style, and in turn, tend to teach the same way. It also may be a challenge to address each individuals learning style, as it may be difficult, or even impossible to know each and every one of their learning preferences. However, the first step in overcoming that challenge is to be well versed in our own learning preferences. If we are well versed in our own

Educators today are presented with an array of student needs and abilities. It is essential for all educators to work to ensure they are meeting the needs of all students. In order to effectively do so, educators must be aware of how the brain works and its intricacy. There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when determining which strategies work best for students. These factors include interests, learning styles, and preferences. Brain research and studies have been performed to determine how students learn. These studies can help educators ensure they are providing their students with enhanced instruction that meets their individual needs.

We all learn in different ways, influenced by the combination of our past educational experiences, study practices and personal approach to specific tasks. This can be described as our learning style, defined as ‘particular ways of gathering, processing and storing information and experiences’ (Cuthbert, P.F., 2005).

“The brain interprets scenes in the instants after they happen, inserting judgments, meaning, and context on the fly” (Carey, 2014, p. 5). Depending on the type of learner the student is, coupled with the environment [classroom] that they are in, each student will learn, or not, the same material differently. Each student has a different ability to recall information [or facts] at varying levels and also, under a variety of circumstances. Often, it is the distractions that the students are exposed to, that will affect their ability to retain and recall information.

Education benefits individual mentally, emotionally and physically by placing them in better place than they were previously before. Everybody would agree that learning something new would take place throughout the life. Learning style defined as "A term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience" (Reid, 1987, p. 89). Furthermore, Felder and Henriques (1995, p. 21) explained learning styles as "the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information". However, different learners possess different characteristics and different preferred learning styles to perceive, process, take in and understand information.

Nevid (2015) depicts cognitive approach as “cognitive learning involves mental processes that cannot be directly observed—processes such as thinking, information processing, problem-solving, and mental imaging” (p. 203). Students participating in the seminar seeks academic success and grades reflecting the excellence that earn rewards. Comprehension is a student’s foremost goal. Memorization is an admirable attribute, however if one does not comprehend the principals of the information, then memorization is useless and does not serve. Potentially focusing on memorization creates stress for the student; students often pressure themselves unnecessarily. Nevid (2015) advises, “Though we may need some level of stress to remain active and alert,

Everyday, teachers are faced with the challenge of teaching students new information that is valuable to their future. Teachers are responsible to determine what and how information is taught. How this information is taught to students is pertinent to their success; therefore, teachers must be able to use effective teaching methods in the classroom. Students have diverse learning styles; therefore, teachers need to determine how students learn best and pattern their teaching to accommodate these differences. During elementary school, children learn to read and write, acquire a basic understanding of content areas, and develop dispositions toward

In the last fifty (50) years there has been significant contributions in the field of education in regards to how children learn, and the models in which learning theories have been developed and utilized within the classroom setting. Additionally, in as recent as the last twenty years the most notable of shifts has been that of students as “sponges” where teachers lectured and students listened, and took notes; to that of learning as a process of active engagement (Cuban 1993). The former paradigm being rooted in and is the basis of behaviorist-learning theories. Essentially, training the individual or student to respond to conditioned stimuli. This method proved to be an antiquated

The authors are looking at an issue that is interdisciplinary in nature, so they determined that they must seek research evidence from each of the important fields of study implicated in the research. The three areas of study were educational psychology which gave insight into how people learn, foreign language teaching and cognitive psychology which has to do with memory (Erbes, et al, 2010). The researchers determine that in the field of educational psychology, studies had long been engaged in determining how teachers could use information gained in studies of brain function to enhance curricula and teaching (Erbes, et al, 2010). In one of the studies examined, Sutton (2008) had tried to see how teaching