“Is the Concept of Multiple Learning Styles Real or Bogus?” was the latest title of the Bam Radio show that I had the opportunity to participate in. As a commentator for the Bam radio show, I am asked to listen to the experts share their perspectives and see if I can somehow add to the conversation.
This week, the guest experts were Harvey F. Silver, EdD and Bruce Deitrick Price. The discussion was on the concept of Multiple Learning Styles…
“Some students are visual learners, some students are auditory learners, and others are kinesthetic learners. Right? Well, maybe not; at least the answer is not quite that simple. Our guests discuss recent research showing that commonly accepted notions about learning styles are wrong. Looks like it may be time to update your understanding of learning modalities.”
Let me invite you to take a minute to listen in on the conversation – it runs about 15 minutes in length.
My thoughts on the discussion…
My thoughts are a little off center here but I wanted to share them with you anyway. As I listened to Harvey and Bruce share their views on multiple learning styles I was reminded of how I clearly have my own learning style. I tend to learn best when I am given the time to read, write, then do. In other words, when it comes to learning something new – I am a terrible listener. I need time to process the information and I do this best through reading, writing, and putting what I have learned into action. So when doing these radio shows – I am truly challenged to use a learning style that I am least confident in!
I believe as teachers we come with our own unique abilities and learning styles but we don’t always have the luxury of learning new ideas the way we find most convenient or easiest. It can be easy to overlook information or the ideas of others simply because of the way it has been presented to us. Â So from this experience, I am learning that I need to practice the skill of listening to others as they share their ideas so that I can benefit from their perspectives and expertise.
Although the focus of this discussion was on student learning, I think it is important for us to apply the information to ourselves. As teachers, we should view ourselves as lifelong learners and anything we can do to improve our ability to learn will make us better teachers!
