Learning Styles Analysis

 Learning Style Analysis 

This form shows the data from 3 students in the 5th grade. They ranked their preferred learning style (description was given) in an order from 1 (least preferred) to 5 (highly preferred). When looking at this data it looks like all three students ranked solitary learning style as their least favorite. Solitary learning the prefer study of working independently. 

When determining the interconnections of different learning styles along with the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development of the students it should be noted that a students; preferred way to learn will help positively influence their the way they process information along with engaging other classmates/the curriculum content.  

*Sue, Sally, and Jack are pseudonyms*

 

Interconnections of Learning Styles and how they are Developed

The interconnection of learning styles and how they are developed are strongly supported through student preference and how they learn best. Students that are able to learn through their preferred learning style are more likely to make meaningful connections and be engaged in the lesson content (Cherry, 2020). Students who are exposed to content through various learning styles they have a higher likelihood of improving all types of problem-solving and learning skills. The interconnection of students' cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical development of students have a favorable outcome that involves higher student understanding. For example Sue is a Kinesthetic learner. This means she will more likely make more social and or emotional connections with others through working with others in areas like small groups, role-playing, or communicating. For interpersonal learners like Sally this means works best in group settings and makes connections with others through contact in gym class or building projects. Finally a students like Jack who is a visual learner can depend on the interconnection of linguistics with visuals of pictures, charts, symbols, and understanding vocabulary. Creating lessons that help fit the needs of all learners is important because it can allow every student to have the opportunity to learn to their best ability. 

Learning Styles Inventory to Influence Planning

In my professional opinion as an educator I believe it is important to have a range of different learning styles used through out the curriculum. This allows for all students to have the opportunity to learn through a way that may best fit their needs. For my three students I gave the learning styles inventory to they all selected different learning styles they prefer. 

Kinesthetic Learning: This styles describes the way students learn through movement or hands on materials. This can be done through role playing. Instead of reading a story aloud with students; it can be acted out. This is different than typical read aloud and can really grab student attention. Another great way kinesthetic learning can be used is through STEM. Sue using manipulatives for math class to learn can be motivating and help break down place value or regrouping. 

Interpersonal Learning: Interpersonal learning is a secondary learning style for those students who learn best working with other students. Students who prefer this style are learning are more likely to retain information with the connection of what they learned to their own surroundings (Tremblay, n.d.). This kind of learning  can look like partner work, group projects, reading circles, or field trips. Sally would learn best completing reading comprehension assignments with a partner to share her thoughts and the break down of the main idea or themes of stories are. 

Visual Learning: Students like Jack who prefer visual learning will do best with images, charts, videos, or graphs. Some activities that may best fit Jack and other students who prefer visual learning may be activities in social students where learning about the Westward Expansion is done with a time line, visuals with a map, and even videos with images during this time period. 

Students’ strengths, interests, and needs for growth to influence  instruction

Identifying students' strengths, interests and needs is necessary for growth within the learning environment. When a students' wants, need, and interests are being considered students feel confident and seen. Students want to do well in school and it is the educators job to differentiate instruction to tailor to the needs of these students by incorporating a diverse selection of learning styles so every students' needs can be met (McCarthy, 2014). I would help set up the learning environment for Sue by making sure she had access to manipulatives and graphic organizers for note taking. For a student like Sally I would make sure she has the opportunities to collaborate with other students or even myself to express her thoughts and bounce ideas off of whether through direct communication or using digital resources. Finally for Jack to highlight his needs I would include graphs, videos, interactive PowerPoint slide shows, and pictures to better influence his growth. 

Implementing Assessments for Students

The implementation of assessments for these students would look like differentiating them to best fir their preferred learning styles. For Kinesthetic learners such as Sue these students' assessments may look like completing an independent assessment using PowerPoint, Canva, or building a project. Where they can be creative and expressive digitally or with real manipulatives

For interpersonal learners assessments could be group projects or the use of presenting projects to a class and teacher. They may have completed the project independently but they get to share their knowledge out loud to the group which gets them their social and interpersonal connection. 

 Lastly, for students who are visual learners an assessment may look like creating an interactive map, slide show, poster, and or recording a video of themselves with extra time to reflect and edit their work.