I am currently taking a graduate course on differentiated learning for my master’s program. We are currently focusing on analyzing learning styles and how they connect with differentiated instruction in the classroom. I gave one of my 4th grade classes a learning style inventory assessment to determine what each students learning style may be. After completing the assessment, I randomly chose three students to be my subjects to analyze further.
Being an
art teacher, I teach multiple grade levels and knew I wanted to narrow it down
to one class from one of my grade levels. This class in particular is one
of the lower performing classes in 4th grade. These students were all
grouped together in a smaller class to help assist them with more one-on-one
differentiated instruction. The three students that I am working with are
Amy, Carmen, and Karter (For this study, I have changed the students’ names to
protect their identities). The results revealed that both Amy and Carmen are
visual learners while Karter is a kinesthetic learner. I have known and worked with these students
for many years now (about four years) and so coming into this I know their
skill levels and strengths when it comes to art. As I am planning my future lesson for these
students, I am considering the learning style inventory and taking into
consideration what will work best for each of these students. I know I am already differentiating learning
in my classroom, but I want to take it a step further and see what more I can
do.
I have
been researching learning styles to better understand how I can cater to my students’
learning needs. Students develop learning habits that will follow them throughout
their educational careers (Parish, 2019). We know not all of our students will retain
information the same way. As educators
it is our job to work with our students and see what best resources will help in
creating differentiated instruction. I have also found that interconnections can be
found with social and emotional development.
Brain development plays such an important role in helping students
retain information as well as recalling information they have learned. By better understanding the brain and how it
functions, we can better help our students reach their academic learning
goals. We need to consider our diverse
learners. Often teachers can feel
overwhelmed trying to figure out the best curriculum for all students. One thing that may be helpful when creating
curriculum is to consider the universal design for learning, this is a flexible
model that gives teachers an overarching theme to start with that will help
teachers when designing curriculum (Parish, 2019). By following the universal design for
learning, teachers can teach content in many different ways to provide variety
for students with different learning styles (Parish, 2019). For example, a teacher could create a lesson
that shows visuals such as videos or drawings, could have students listen to an
audio or recording, and could have students get up and move for an extended
activity or exercise.
With my
three students, I am in the process of coming up with instructional strategies
that will cater to their visual and kinesthetic learning styles. I could see the benefits in grouping students
together that have similar learning styles, such as my two visual learners
(Dean, 2019). But, instead I would like
to try a different approach. For my
visual two visual learners, Amy and Carmen, I feel using visual images and
drawings will be helpful to them in the lesson.
I can create visual presentations with pictures (which is something I
already implement in my lesson) as well using color to emphasize important
concepts and main ideas in the lesson. I like to make my students visualize
pictures and ideas in their head, so saying something like “Picture this….” And
then having them close their eyes to visualize what they see in their mind
(Somji, 2018). Also, having them write
and draw pictures or doing a step-by-step demo where I draw and then they draw
with me could also be helpful for them. For
my kinesthetic learner, Karter, he needs hands on activities and can easily
lose focus on a task. I could try to
incorporate more movement in the lessons by including songs or dances that will
get him up and moving around a little more.
Maybe even allowing for him to stand while he works or give him a
flexible sitting option to help with his hyper activity. I also like the idea of giving him a puzzle
to solve or an object to interact with (Somji, 2018).
I’m hoping
by implementing some new changes and accommodating the students learning styles
more will help them in completing their art assignments for me. I’m also hoping that it will help to engage these
students more in the content and help them retain the information even
better. In the assessment process, I can
use different forms of assessments for my visual learners and for my kinesthetic
learner. An assessment doesn’t have to
be in written form, it could be drawing a picture or creating an object or 3D
sculpture. I can use their strengths and
skills to assess their progress in the classroom.
References
Dean, M.
(2019, October 31). 7 Creative Ways to Teach Diverse Learners - Classcraft
Blog. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.classcraft.com/blog/creative-ways-to-teach-diverse-learners/
Parrish,
N. (2019, May 15). Ensuring that Instruction is Inclusive for Diverse Learners.
Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/ensuring-instruction-inclusive-diverse-learners
Somji, R.
(2018, April 17). Teaching strategies for the 8 different learning styles.
Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://virtualspeech.com/blog/teaching-strategies-different-learning-styles
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