An Exploration of Learning Styles and Their Impact on Learning

With reference to your life experience to date write an essay exploring your own approach to learning and studying. Comment on what you consider your strengths and weaknesses and how these will affect your training and your future antenatal teaching.

Introduction

'Learning is a natural part of being alive. As long as you are alive you can go on learning.' (Rogers J. 2001:20)

I have always loved learning, but have previously focused on the results and little on the processes involved. In this essay I intend to reflect on my past learning experiences and analyse how these experiences have influenced the way in which I learn and study today. I will endeavour to examine my strengths and weaknesses, and identify my developmental needs, in order to become the best Antenatal Teacher I can.

Learning Styles

'A learning style is the method of educating particular to an individual that is presumed to allow that individual to learn best.'

(Wikipedia, 2008)

Current models and theories of learning suggest that most people favour one particular 'learning style' over another when processing information or stimuli. Over 80 learning style models have been produced (Wikipedia, 2008), but most theories bear witness, in part at least, to the work of Dr David A. Kolb. Kolb developed the concept of experiential learning, creating a cyclical model of learning from Experience through Reflection and Conceptualisation to Action, and then onto further Experience (1975 cited by Rogers A. 2002: 110). This model suggests that a person has to progress through four different states when processing new information or knowledge. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (1995) went on to define four styles of learning, based on Kolb's learning cycle: Activist, Reflector, Pragmatist and Theorist. Honey and Mumford recognise that most learners naturally favour one learning style over the others, but believe that all four styles must be adopted in balance if the learning cycle is to be completed and true learning achieved. Their Learning Styles Questionnaire (1986) is designed to help identify natural strengths and weaknesses and is a useful tool when considering an approach to learning, and teaching.

In addition to understanding which learning style is adopted most instinctively, and which requires development, it is also useful to recognise how the brain of an individual learner prefers sensory input. A Neuro-linguistic programming model, commonly abbreviated to VAK, has been developed to explore the sensory modalities of learners. This model suggests that most people prefer to take in information through the Visual sense (seeing and reading), the Auditory sense (listening and speaking), or the Kinesthetic sense (touching and doing) (Fleetham, 2003). I will now go on to look at my past learning experiences in the light of these models and hope to identify ways in which I can become a more effective learner.

My Learning Profile

Analysis of my own learning style, using the tools outlined above, has allowed me to identify my strengths and weaknesses in the context of learning. I have always been aware that I am a visual learner, preferring to communicate and learn through images, pictures, colours and maps, but it was interesting to discover that I also have a strong Kinesthetic leaning. Often, the inspiration for the verbal content and structure of my presentations will come from the development of visual props. I can visualise objects, plans and outcomes in my mind with ease and instinctively reach for the whiteboard or flip chart when trying to explain a fact or idea to someone. This can be - and has been - very useful in a classroom environment. However, I realise that without visual triggers and the option to try things out for myself, I find it hard to concentrate and retain information.

Further investigation of my approach to study (See Appendix I) has highlighted my preference for an Activist style of learning (Honey and Mumford, 1995). Reflecting on my past experiences, this knowledge becomes very helpful as I now have a better understanding of my previous successes and failures. Returning to Kolb's Learning Cycle armed with this new knowledge I can identify a need to improve my Reflector and Theorist Styles in order to learn more effectively. In the context of Kolb's theories, I am failing to analyse and reflect upon my experiences before jumping to plan my next move. I feel this is a fair and just assessment of my past learning experiences and hope that by addressing my developmental needs I can become a more effective learner, and ultimately a better teacher. Nolan (1998) talks of the advantages of teaching to small groups, allowing the Teacher to establish individual relationships with members of the group and recognise the different learning styles of those individuals. In order to do this effectively a teacher must first understand his or her own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning. A teacher should then be able to assess and recognise the preferences of his or her students when choosing an approach in the classroom.

My Learning Life

In my early education I was lucky enough to feel excited by school and thrived in a happy, supportive education environment (see Appendix 2). In later years I found that there were some subjects in which I did not have a natural ability and I began to try avoid these areas wherever possible and hide the fact that I was struggling. Like most people, I remember my teachers throughout school as "good" or "bad", but looking back through more objective eyes I can see that the "bad" teachers were simply those who did not recognise my learning style, or adapt their own teaching methods to make lessons more accessible to me.

Recently I was lucky enough to attend a Montessori Teaching Workshop (see Appendix 3) organised by my son's nursery school. During the seminar the teachers set out to explain their approach to education and included some practical exercises to demonstrate their methods. One exercise illustrated how the Montessori system teaches long division. I clearly remember the feeling of failure in the Maths class when I couldn't grasp this subject, taught in a lecture style with no scope for practical exercises or group collaboration. During the short Montessori workshop I attended I was introduced to a lively, practical way of learning the same information, and it felt as though a veil had been lifted. I believe a different approach