LEARNING STYLES

Hand out the Learning Styles Quiz activity sheet and a pencil to each Explorer. Have them complete the quiz. This quiz will help each Explorer identify his or her unique learning style. This is the first step to being able to understand the optimum learning style(s) that is most impactful to each individual.

After completing the quiz, have Explorers tally how many A’s, B’s, and C’s they circled. Having mostly A’s indicates they are visual learners, mostly B’s indicates they are auditory listeners, and mostly C’s indicates they are tactile or kinesthetic listeners.

Discuss the three learning styles and see if Explorers can provide examples of each:

• Visual—drawing maps, outlining processes, taking notes, watching videos, reading silently
• Auditory—listening to speeches or videos, reading out loud, participating in group discussions
• Tactile/kinesthetic—taking field trips, visiting museums, playing learning games, doing hands-on activities, writing notes

This activity has three parts, each of which will demonstrate a different learning style.

Part 1: Pass out the ear plugs and have everyone insert them. Then draw—without writing words or speaking—the introduction to a famous speech (the Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream,” etc.) on the drawing board or easel pad. After you have drawn a sequence of the speech, have participants remove their ear plugs and ask them what you were communicating.

Part 2: Stand and read aloud to the group another famous speech or poem (perhaps one by Ogden Nash or Robert Frost, but not something already memorized by the participants). Instruct the group not to take notes. When you are finished, ask the group to reconstruct the speech or poem.

Part 3: Write on the board or easel pad another poem or speech (perhaps something by Dr. Seuss or Rudyard Kipling) while the group copies it word for word. When you are finished, have the participants put away their notes and as a group recite the poem or speech.

Ask: Which of the three parts of Activity 2 was most comfortable and why?

Tell Explorers: When teachers communicate, they are addressing auditory learners, visual learners, and tactile learners. The teacher has a learning style that makes delivery most comfortable, and the learners have a reception style that helps them retain information most comfortably.

Say: Our post will be making a video about _________________ (safety, how-to, a favorite event, etc.).

Tell the Explorers to divide up into three working groups: script writers; set and costume designers; and videographers. Say: Join the group that is most comfortable to you. The script writers are more verbal/logical. The set and costume designers are more visual/creative. The videographers are more physical/auditory.

Convey that most people utilize different learning styles depending on the situation, but in this case they will be doing a specific task aligned to a specific learning style.

Give the Explorers about 20 to 30 minutes to write and film the video.

After the video is complete, initiate a discussion about the tasks Explorers performed in their small groups. Have Explorers share whether the learning style they used in this project was a good fit for them. Ask why or why not they felt that way.

Ask: Is there a good way to determine the learning style of someone you are communicating with?

See if Explorers can offer any suggestions, then say: Listen to them talk or describe something they are doing or enjoy doing. What words do they use—see, hear, tell, do, listen, understand? Are these words that would give you an indication as to which learning style they lean toward?

Begin to really pay attention to people’s words. How do they ask you questions? How do they describe a recent event, a vacation, or something they enjoyed? Practice on your family and friends and learn to pay attention to these subtle clues.

Another good tool to help you determine their preference would be to find out how they would like you to provide a complex set of directions.

• Do they ask you to repeat it verbally while they listen again?
• Do they want you to write it down?
• Do they want you to point out which direction to head?
• Do they want you to draw a map?