It is a lingerie question indeed. “How do people learn best?” For the purpose of this blog, I will focus on higher education and technology. I believe 90 percent of learning that occur in this area is by interests, guided instructions either in form a syllabus or course curriculum, and experience either own or shared. The reality however is people can learn in various ways.
A few learning styles I have stumbled across to categorized in general terms are:
1. Listening learners
2. Seeing learners
3. Touch or feel/ experience learners
I am a strong advocate for two and three of the learning styles however; I strongly believe that people learn through a combination of the styles.
Howard Gardner in 1983 introduced his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The theory is: each person has the same learning ability; the difference is HOW the connection occurs; HOW do they connect to what they want to learn. He broke it down to eight different ways learning can occur
• Words (linguistic intelligence)
• Numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)
• Pictures (spatial intelligence)
• Music (musical intelligence)
• Self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)
• A physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)
• A social experience (interpersonal intelligence), and/or
• An experience in the natural world. (Naturalist intelligence)
For more on Gardner please see: http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
In educational technology, learning theories are especially helpful. It is helpful to know learning is not about filling a container up with new “stuff” or imposing ones ideas on another without a good argument for doing so. Hence technology plays a part in that role for education to help mold, guide, aid, and visualize. It can help a learner draw the connection points to ideas, expand thought processes that forces questions to be asked, and can create an engaging conversation that drives a learner out of their usual mode of thinking to see a whole new world.
For additional reading on how people learn best please see: http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/01/crash_course_in.html
To you my readers I ask you the question - How do you learn best? What works for you?
Jules Renard
17 hours ago
Posts
Lola,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your blog post. I found the information quite useful in looking at learning in a new light. I learn best through a combination of active and passive techniques. I like the structure of a lecture or reading, followed by some hands on participation. Working in nursing we are continuously faced with new equipment to utilize in practice. having the opportunity to play with the equipment in advance allows me time to learn how it responds to the user, make mistakes and corrections prior to implementation.
Thank you,
Diane Quin
Hi Lola!
ReplyDeleteYour connection of learning theories with Howard Gardner’s, Theory of Multiple Intelligences is fantastic! As a classroom teacher, I must keep these theories of intelligence in the forefront of my mine to best meet all my students’ learning styles.
I just ordered from Amazon.com last week, two new books from Howard Gardner, “Intelligence Reframed – Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century,” (1999) and “5 Minds for the Future,” paperback edition (2008) to use for my KAM 2 research. I have not had a chance to read them in full yet, but am looking forward to it!
In “5 Minds for the Future,” I read the ‘Preface to the Paperback Edition.’ Gardner relates the five minds: (1) The Disciplined Mind, (2) The Synthesizing Mind, (3) The Creating Mind, (4) The Respectful Mind, and (5) The Ethical Mind to the eight intelligences. He also refers to Daniel Pink’s, “A Whole New Mind” which is another excellent book about learning and using the entire mind, not just the left-brain or just the right brain. I highly recommend these books, if you have not already read them!
Thank you,
LeAnn Morris
Hi Lola!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to include this blog and podcast, I found interesting on Howard Gardner in my initial post:
http://educ-reality.com/howard-gardners-multiple-intelligences/
http://podcast.amanet.org/edgewise/podpress_trac/feed/19/0/AMA_Edgewise_0706.mp3
Thank you!
LeAnn
Lola,
ReplyDeleteI like your inclusion of the works of Gardner. I have read some of his work and it has helped me develop my lessons keeping in mind the different learning styles. I have found that most learners use a combination of the different learning styles in order to really learn. In my experience, a combination of visual and kinistetic approaches have the best results. Students need to be able to touch and feel in order to transfer the learning to long term memory. I hope to explore more of Gardner's work as I progress through my degree program. I'm reading Five Minds for the Future right now. I find it facinating and plan to use it in my future studies.
Hi Lola,
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the reference to Gardner as well. I had heard recently several more intelligences have been added.
I need to remember that we all have strengths and areas we can develop too. For example, there is a naturalist intelligence and then interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence.
I am currently reading more on the uses of multiple intelligences. I am interested in how to develop areas which individuals feel have potential for growth and activities which can nurture increased intelligence. Just as cooperative learning can nurture climate, teambuilding, communication in a classroom, I am interested in different activities that technology to nurture different intelligences. For example, an interview might assist a learner to become more interpersonally confident. Might the learners set goals based upon the intelligences and then choose from a menu of activities geared toward development of particular areas?