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Spokane County |
Why Different Learning Styles Require Different Teaching Techniques .Auditory-Sequential versus Visual-Spatial Learning Styles A visual-spatial learner is a student who learns holistically rather than in a step-by-step fashion. Visual imagery plays an important role in the student’s learning process. Because the individual is processing primarily in pictures rather than words, ideas are interconnected (imagine a web). Linear sequential thinking—the norm in American education—is particularly difficult for this person and requires a translation of his or her usual thought processes, which often takes more time. ….the majority of visual-spatial learners we have found in our work are deficient in auditory sequential skills. A definite mismatch exists between the student’s learning style and the instructional methods employed by the student’s teachers. Visual-spatial learners who experience learning problems have heightened sensory awareness to stimuli, such as extreme sensitivity to smells, acute hearing and intense reactions to loud noises. They are constantly bombarded by stimuli; they get so much information that they have trouble filtering it out. They tend to have excellent hearing, but poor listening skills. Their ability to retain and comprehend information auditorily is weak and they have difficulty with sequential tasks. They either immediately see the correct solution to a problem or they don’t get it at all, Visual-spatial learners have amazing abilities to "read" people. Since they can’t rely on audition for information, they develop remarkable visual and intuitive abilities, including reading body language and facial expressions. Many of the students described in this article were so adept at reading cues and observing people that they could tell what a person was thinking almost verbatim. Oftentimes, in school, they sense a teacher’s anxieties and ambivalent feeling towards them, and react with statements such as, "that teacher hates me." Traditional Education In most cases, the visual-spatial learning style is not addressed in school, and these students’ self-esteem suffers accordingly. Traditional teaching techniques are designed for the learning style of sequential learners. Concepts are introduced in a step-by-step fashion, practiced with drill and repetition, assessed under timed conditions, and then reviewed, this process is ideal for sequential learners whose learning progresses in a step-by-step manner from easy to difficult material. By way of contrast, spatial learners are systems thinkers—they need to see the whole picture before they can understand the parts. They are likely to see the forest and miss the trees. They are excellent at mathematical analysis but may make endless computational errors because it is difficult for them to attend to details. Once spatial learners create a mental picture of a concept and "see" how the information fits with what they already know their learning is permanent. Repetition is completely unnecessary and irrelevant to their learning style. Rote memorization and drill are actually damaging for visual-spatial learners, since they emphasize the students’ weaknesses instead of their strengths. When this happens, the student gets caught up in a spiraling web of failure, assumes he is stupid, loses all motivation, and hates school. Teachers then assume that the student doesn’t care or is being "lazy," and behavior problems came to the fore. Meanwhile, then whole cycle creates a very deep chasm in the student’s self-esteem. In the traditional school situation the atmosphere is often hostile to visual-spatial learners and their skills. The students are visual, whereas instruction tends to be auditory; phonics, oral directions, etc. The students… Can be taught out of order, whereas the curriculum is sequential, with orderly progressions of concepts and ideas. The students are usually disorganized and miss details, whereas most teachers stress organization and attention to detail. The student is highly aware of space but pays little attention to time, whereas school functions on rigid time schedules. In adulthood, these individuals excel in fields dependent upon their spatial abilities: art, architecture, physics, aeronautics, pure mathematical research, engineering, computer programming, and photography. Frequently, they developed their own businesses or become chief executive officers (CEOs) in major corporations because of their inventiveness and ability to see the relationships of large numbers of variables. We need individuals with highly developed visual-spatial abilities for advancement in the arts, technology and business. These are the creative learners of society. We need to protect their differences in childhood and enable them to develop their unique talents in supportive environments at home and at school. Linda K. Silverman, Ph.D., and Jeffrey N. Freed. M.A.T.
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