Learning Styles Are Not Fashionable

 I think that it’s important for a teacher to pick up on the ways in which particular students respond to different mediums and modify their approach and instruction accordingly. William Cowper once said, “Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.” I believe this to be true in the realm of academia as well, because change and differentiation in the classroom is ultimately more interesting and engaging than the static, humdrum routine. As educators, we need to be dynamic. It’s essential that we spice it up. We need to wet the appetite of our students through a variety of tools and resources that incite their senses and inspire their thinking.




 I love music. I go to a lot of concerts. Yet, despite the fact that I am doing virtually the same thing every time I go to a concert and my goal of experiencing a live show remains the same, the way in which I embrace the music is different. Different shows require different strategies. When I go to a Dave Matthews Band concert, I sometimes close my eyes and just listen to the music. However, when I go to a Beck concert, I won’t blink for fear of missing the stage theatrics that I have come to expect over the years. When people go to the opera, they sit quietly and reserved for the duration of the show with full attention on the performers singing. However, when people go to a punk or hardcore show, they do quite the opposite. People sing along with the band and dance around the venue in a mosh pit with youthful angst and aggression. Both are concerts that contain meaning or value to the people in attendance, but both experiences are uniquely different.

 People process information in a fashion that is most suitable to the situation at hand. Likewise, students learn in different ways according to that same principle. Depending upon the topic or learning goal, educators must check the “spice rack” for the right condiment – online, offline, audio, visual, hands-on, etc. There is no one spice that makes every meal taste better (a strong argument can probably be made for sugar…), so we need to discriminate between tools and resources to find what works best for specific learning goals and objectives. Students will process the information in a way that works best for them. Ultimately, the difference-maker is the differentiation. Will the medium or mode selected interest the student enough to make the learning meaningful? If it’s ever-changing and provides students with new and exciting opportunities to learn content, then most likely the answer will be YES.