*This is an article I have read by Dorothy J. Patterson, (Journal of Adventist Education, Summer 2003. To all teachers: A favorable contribution as we prepare ourselves for the coming school year. I also welcome articles you want to share. Blessings, love, hope,and peace to all. Love, Joy
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Anyone who has ever lost a document in a computer knows how frustrating that can be. This loss usually results either from failure to save the information properly or to save it in a way that makes it easy to find and retrieve-- storing it on the hard drive, saving it in a labeled folder, or copying it onto a floppy disk. Each person chooses to save the file in the manner that best suits his or her needs. Those who consistently lose documents may need to develop a better system for organizing their files.
The above example offers a useful analogy to teaching. As student populations around the world become more diverse, not only in terms of culture but also abilities and learning preferences, teachers must fund new ways to accommodate this variety and individualize their approaches in order to meet the needs of every student. One way to do this is to understand that each student needs to process, file and retrieve information according to his or her conceptual frameworks, i.e. just as people choose how to save information on a computer. However, students may not know their preferred learning style or combination of styles. Teachers must, therefore, use a variety of teaching methods to help them "save" new knowledge in the proper "files: so they can retrieve and use it later. No one method of "storing information" is better than another. It depends on what works best for each individual student.
Understanding and Accommodating Diversity
We are one body in Christ.... distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality.... must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ. We are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Consequently, we must find ways to better understand and accommodate diversity -- especially as it relates to educational practices.
Staying Up to Date
What, then, can we do to ensure that all of our students of every grade level and culture, have the opportunity to maximize their learning potential? First, we must remain current in our content areas- by staying up to date on new developments, contemporary trends, and innovations, then appropriately integrate this knowledge into our lesson plans. This will make us mow aware of the various ways students learn and the need to use diverse teaching methodologies to reach a variety of learners. Educators, at any level, need to "study to shew [themselves] approved, in order to increase their teaching effectiveness and ensure that all the students are successful.
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Anyone who has ever lost a document in a computer knows how frustrating that can be. This loss usually results either from failure to save the information properly or to save it in a way that makes it easy to find and retrieve-- storing it on the hard drive, saving it in a labeled folder, or copying it onto a floppy disk. Each person chooses to save the file in the manner that best suits his or her needs. Those who consistently lose documents may need to develop a better system for organizing their files.
The above example offers a useful analogy to teaching. As student populations around the world become more diverse, not only in terms of culture but also abilities and learning preferences, teachers must fund new ways to accommodate this variety and individualize their approaches in order to meet the needs of every student. One way to do this is to understand that each student needs to process, file and retrieve information according to his or her conceptual frameworks, i.e. just as people choose how to save information on a computer. However, students may not know their preferred learning style or combination of styles. Teachers must, therefore, use a variety of teaching methods to help them "save" new knowledge in the proper "files: so they can retrieve and use it later. No one method of "storing information" is better than another. It depends on what works best for each individual student.
Understanding and Accommodating Diversity
We are one body in Christ.... distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality.... must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ. We are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Consequently, we must find ways to better understand and accommodate diversity -- especially as it relates to educational practices.
Staying Up to Date
What, then, can we do to ensure that all of our students of every grade level and culture, have the opportunity to maximize their learning potential? First, we must remain current in our content areas- by staying up to date on new developments, contemporary trends, and innovations, then appropriately integrate this knowledge into our lesson plans. This will make us mow aware of the various ways students learn and the need to use diverse teaching methodologies to reach a variety of learners. Educators, at any level, need to "study to shew [themselves] approved, in order to increase their teaching effectiveness and ensure that all the students are successful.
Below are suggested teaching methodologies that can easily be integrated into any lesson plan.
COGNITIVE STYLES
Learning styles can be concisely defined as "individual's characteristic approaches to learning and studying" -- that is, the different ways they perceive, process, and communicate information. Educational researchers have identified 3 basic types of learners:
Visual learners - process information best through the use of sight (i.e. pictures, models, diagrams, demonstrations and other visual aids. In order for these learners to get maximum benefit from a lesson, they must see the teacher's facial expressions an body language. They usually sit at the front of the class so nothing will obstruct their view of what's going on. They like to highlight and underline areas in their books and take copious notes to aid them absorbing information.
Auditory learners - use hearing as their main source of information. A preference for lectures, discussions and listening to the comments of others -- all these characterize auditory learners. They are interested in voice intonation and pitch and benefit from reading assignments aloud or taping lectures to play back at a later time.
Kinesthetic, or tactile, learners prefer hands-on approaches to acquiring information. They like to explore the physical world in which they life. Easily distracted, these learners need variety and activity.
Though many people have one predominant learning style, most individuals learn well through combination of approaches. Keeping this in mind, we will explore some of the general learning-style traits. Additionally, students' beliefs about their own capabilities play a part in their academic achievement.
Locus of Control
Clinical psychologist Julian B. Rotter proposed a social learning theory that includes the concept called "locus of control". Simply put, "locus of control" refers to people's beliefs about the reasons for their success and failures.
Internal locus of control = if people believe that hey succeed or fail because of factors that they can control, such as effort. Students with an internal locus of control feel more in control of their lives, though they may engage in withering self-criticism when they fail.
External locus of control = if they believe their successes and failures are due to factors beyond their control, such as luck or innate intelligence. Students with external locus of control orientation are more likely to get discouraged when the get poor grades and blame the teacher, the rigor of the course, school policy, or other factors.
If the student appears to have an external locus of control, THE TEACHER WILL NEED TO MAKE SPECIAL EFFORT TO MOTIVATE HIM OR HER.
Anita Woolfolk suggests several ways to nurture students' self-worth:
1. Take special notice of their progress;
2. Revise the grades on selected assignments after students show improvement
3. Discuss finished assignments with each student, praising what was done right and explaining what was done wrong and how it can be improved;
4. Share examples of how you - or some admired person - overcame personal challenges.
Regardless of students' orientation - internal or external- teachers must make ever effort to encourage and to foster confidence within every student, at every opportunity.
MAJOR METHODOLOGIES
The best way to help students achieve maximum success is to use various methodologies - daily - in order to accommodate the learning styles and preferences of all students. Here are some general teaching methods that will help all students learn, regardless of their cognitive styles.
Learning Centers: They are usually found in the elementary classroom, but they can easily be adapted and used effectively at the secondary and college levels.
There are various types:
Skill Centers - allow practice of skills learned
Discovery/enrichment centers - provide activities that enable students to enhance their prior knowledge base
Listening centers - to provide instruction through listening or language labs
Creativity centers - which focus on arts, crafts, music, creative writing, and poetry.
Learning centers can provide an accessible in-class resource if teachers devote a portion of their space to mini-libraries of books and periodicals from their content areas.
Independent Study: This can mean that students work along on assignments or that they choose their own learning objectives, methods, and materials. Teachers can also use independent study to make assignments based on time lines, i.e, breaking up larger assignments into smaller parts. Portfolios also lend themselves to use in independent study. In art or writing classes, for example, students may collect their work for a designated time, and submit the best presentations of their skills for grading. Teachers can use contracts and progress reports to encourage students to self-evaluate.
Cooperative Learning/Collaborative Groups: By working closely with other students - in communities - each member of a group learns better. This type of real-world learning enables students to connect their studies with their prior knowledge and helps them to work with other students to accomplish designated tasks. Group interaction helps them to develop the social and cooperative skills essential to their future lives. Each member has the opportunity to contribute to the success of the group and the lesson goals.
As with independent study, breaking assignments into parts and assessing progress at regular intervals will help ensure the success of this approach.
1. Peer-Tutoring: with this strategy, students can enhance their understanding of a content area by helping others to master it. This approach encourages qualities like responsibility and empathy, and improves student self-esteem as well.
2. Use of Advance Organizers: these tools- usually prepared lists or visual aids - help provide structure for students, enabling them to organize and link their prior knowledge to the materials that they are about to study.
3. Modeling: this technique can be used in virtually every content area to teach mental skills and broaden students' horizons, as well as to teach new ways of thinking.
A Note on Multiple intelligences
Besides employing a variety of methodologies, teachers can also apply Howard Gardner's philosophy of learning called multiple intelligences. Gardner's view contradicts the conventional wisdom that mathematical language abilities are barometers of overall intelligence. He contends that human beings are "SMART" in various ways.
Gardner asserts that:
1. all individual possess these intelligences through some demonstrated greater gifts in some areas than in others
2. with guidance and encouragement, most people can develop any one or all of these intelligences
3. the intelligences work together
4. people may exhibit ability within each intelligence in a variety of ways.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT EVERYONE IS INTELLIGENT IN MANY WAYS.
Implications for Teachers
So, what are the implications of these techniques for Christian Educators? It's really quiet simple. We have been given the ultimate charge by Christ Himself to "Go ye therefore and teach all nations".
Teachers can better comprehend diversity is to visit the homes of their students. Such visits can produce priceless benefits for both students and teachers.
Teachers should learn about the dynamics of the various learning styles. Assess the learning styles of the pupils.
Finally, be sure to make your classroom welcoming to students of all learning preferences. By using your learning style savvy, you will be able to respond to the Creator's edict to teach all your students "with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ". (Col.1:28,NIV)
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