Educators: Know Your Own Learning Style

Recently we had an instructor with our company provide and in-service professional development class. He had read a book on facilitation and had become 'enlightened.' His intent was to expose us to facilitation, what it is, and what facilitation principles and techniques our instructors and instructional designers can apply. He lectured to us for an hour and five minutes. During that time he used a power point presentation with no images, just bullets, and didn't solicit one comment from the audience. He didn't provide any handouts or study guides. The prevailing mode of information delivery was spoken. Aside from violating every principle of facilitation, what did his delivery do to reach all of his learners?

For those of you who are reading this from the perspective of a student or learner, take note. Your instructor, teacher or facilitator may not be enlightened.

For you who are an instructor, teacher or facilitator, you really need to know your learning style and how it influences what you do in the classroom.

My own formal educational experiences have been anything but fulfilling and I attribute this mainly to the experiences having been designed and delivered following the paradigm that one person can read a story or a list of information to impart knowledge. This knowledge, once imparted, will change my mind to align with a certain attitude and therefore adopt a change in my behavior. Or, I will have assimilated that knowledge forever and it is available to me to use in some abstract way that hasn't been introduced. How many of you have experienced this conceit?

I have attended almost every form of educational format: Formal classroom lectures, informal lectures, the professional development training day, guided discussions, on the job training, and seminars. Most I have regarded as only partially useful. Where and when I really learned was afterwards where on my own I struck out to find how all of the information being pushed at me, which must have been important, was useful, applicable, and where I could use it in new situations. How is this possible? In the forty years I have attended educational institutions and formal occupational training I should have learned how to succeed and thrive. The answer lies in the delivery.

What we believe works is predicated by what we have seen modeled. If you haven't been exposed to techniques incorporating a variety of methods to impart information that reach a variety of learner types, you probably aren't aware they exist. And you probably aren't aware of how effective they can be. More importantly, your learning style preference will influence your preferred method of deliver as well. 'It works for me' can be misleading. The awareness your learners have preferred methods of assimilating information that may differ from yours is the first step to becoming a more effective teacher.

During high school and in my first attempt at college my learning style preference was visual and tactile. I next attended a language school where I developed auditory learning skills. This was adaptation, but it is not my preference. I can say that my learning style has developed over my life. Some attributes I have place me squarely into the auditory learner category, I am a competitive learner and prefer to see the 'big picture' first. Dwelling in the minutia of the smaller parts of a concept or system loses me right away. What can I do with this information?

As an instructional designer or instructor I must remain aware and deliver or design instruction that attempts to cater to all learners. I can't assume that seeing one diagram with all of the parts depicted in their respective relationship will impart to all learners the information intended without breaking it down for them as well. What is presented first isn't as important as ensuring it is. And I can't leave out the tactile/kinesthetic learners either. I must provide them the opportunity to physically touch something related to that concept, or to physically create an iconographic representation of that concept to allow their mind to grasp it. Those that need to reflect individually must have time to do so, while those that need to buddy up and discuss the concept with their fellow students must be presented the opportunity as well.

How could that in-service about facilitation been delivered more appropriately? Aside from modeling facilitation, that is. I can think of a few things he could have done right off the top of my head:
- A handout with the major concepts shown in relationships.
- An activity to break us into groups for a brainstorming session to elicit opportunities for facilitation in our courses.
- A short video clip demonstrating facilitation or the antithesis followed by a short guided discussion.

When I am instructing or facilitating, all strategies or activities are something I view as potentially necessary even though they are not necessarily my preference. However, I am aware that my learners are all individuals with their own preferred methods of assimilating information. Each one of them deserves my respect. After all, I am there for them.