#10: Understand Your Learners
Tailoring our teaching approaches to address the diverse learning preferences of students improves student engagement.
Welcome to the summer 2024 “Top 10” series for new faculty! Catch up with the series introduction here:
#10: Understand Your Learners
Each student that walks into our classroom brings a unique set of backgrounds, learning preferences, and motivations. By taking the time to get to know our students as individuals, we can better tailor our teaching approaches to meet their needs and maximize their learning. I like to start the process of getting to know my students by gathering information about their academic backgrounds, interests, and career aspirations. This can be done through icebreaker activities, surveys, or informal conversations.
Recognizing the diverse ways our students learn allows us to employ a variety of teaching strategies. Some students may thrive in interactive group discussions, while others prefer individual reflection or hands-on activities. By incorporating different methods into lessons, we can engage a broader range of learners and enhance their overall learning experience.
“Learning Styles” vs. Learning Preferences
As instructors, we often grapple with the challenge of catering to the varied learning preferences of our students. It's important to recognize that these preferences do not define our students' overall capacity to learn. While certain activities may spark more motivation and engagement, research shows that learning effectiveness is not solely dependent on these preferences.1 For example, engineering students may grasp complex mechanical concepts better through hands-on experiments than through traditional lectures. Similarly, students studying economics may benefit more from interactive simulations that demonstrate market dynamics rather than reading assignments.
The key lies in utilizing multiple modalities to enhance learning outcomes.2 This approach, known as dual coding3 or breadth of processing, suggests that combining various methods like reading, listening, and viewing images can improve memory retention. By providing multiple encoding pathways, we increase the chances of information being reliably recalled by our students.
While the idea of learning styles - that students have a dominant sensory modality (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic) through which they learn most effectively, and that instructional methods should be tailored to match a student's dominant learning style for optimal learning - has been thoroughly debunked,4 students do benefit from attention to learning preferences. Learning preferences are more flexible and context-dependent, and may include factors such as working alone or in groups, using technology, participating in more hands-on activities, or a combination of these. Learning preferences can also be influenced by factors like motivation, prior knowledge, and the complexity of the material being learned.
Put “Understand Your Learners” into practice…
To better understand our students - and to help students understand their own learning better - I like to encourage students to share through a series of reflection prompts connected to a “take action” item. Here are some examples:
Preferred Learning Modalities: Do you find it easier to learn through visual aids (charts, graphs, videos), verbal instruction (lectures, discussions), or hands-on work (interactive simulations, labs) for your studies? Which types of in-class activities help you learn best (e.g., group discussions, problem-solving exercises, individual work)? How do you feel about class participation and discussions?
Take Action: Experiment with different modalities & media to discover the most effective ways for you to learn and retain information.Learning Environment: Do you prefer a structured learning environment with clear guidelines and deadlines, or a more flexible approach? How does the physical classroom setup affect your ability to focus and learn? Do you have any specific needs or preferences regarding the classroom environment (e.g., seating arrangement, noise levels)? Do you prefer working alone, in pairs, or in groups?
Take Action: Be proactive in creating or adjusting your learning environments to suit your needs, whether that means finding a quiet study space, using noise-cancelling headphones, or requesting specific seating arrangements, and experiment to find what works best for you.Study Habits and Techniques: What study techniques do you find most effective (e.g., flashcards, summarizing notes, teaching others)? How do you typically prepare for exams or quizzes? Do you use any specific tools or apps to help you study? If so, which ones?
Take Action: Try out different study techniques and tools, and reflect on which ones work best for you, being open to experimentation to find the study methods that maximize your learning and productivity.Feedback and Assessment: How do you prefer to receive feedback on your assignments and exams? What type of assessments (multiple-choice, essays, projects) do you feel best demonstrate your understanding of the material? How do you handle and reflect on the feedback you receive to improve your learning?
Take Action: Seek out opportunities to receive constructive feedback, using it to identify areas for improvement and develop effective strategies for future learning.Motivation and Engagement: What motivates you to engage with the course material? How do you stay focused and motivated during long lectures or study sessions? What types of rewards or incentives help you stay motivated?
Take Action: Reflect on what motivates you and try to incorporate those elements into your learning process, finding ways to make the material personally relevant and to reward yourself for your efforts and accomplishments.
It’s not always possible to adapt learning materials and activities to each student’s specific preferences, but it is helpful to know what they think works best for them, and to be able to translate that into actions they can take to improve their learning.
How do you learn about your students and adapt to their learning preferences? Please share in the comments!
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© 2024 Tips for Teaching Professors
Bruff, D. (2019). Intentional tech: Principles to guide the use of educational technology in college teaching. West Virginia University Press.
Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
Paivio, A. (2007). Mind and its evolution: A dual coding theoretical approach. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Ex: Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119; Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers & Education, 106, 166-171; Willingham, D. T., Hughes, E. M., & Dobolyi, D. G. (2015). The scientific status of learning styles theories. Teaching of Psychology, 42(3), 266-271. Nancekivell, S. E., Shah, P., & Gelman, S. A. (2020). Maybe they're born with it, or maybe it's experience: Toward a deeper understanding of the learning style myth. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(2), 221-235; Rohrer, D., & Pashler, H. (2012). Learning styles: Where's the evidence? Medical Education, 46(7), 634-635.
I 💯 agree that getting to know students is important. When student feel known and/seen, they def get a motivation boost. I always survey my students the week before classes start and refer to the info at several points in the semester.
Mixing up what we do in the class from period to period is great practice too, but from a Cognitive Psych/Learning Science perspective we should be doing this for different reasons. The advice from Cognitive Scientist Daniel Willingham is that we should change activities based on content, not on students. Some content lends itself well to hands-on lab type activities, some content can be “seen” in video footage and other content is best engaged with via reading, lecture, and discussion. Dual coding is always useful, but this is about blending verbal and visual cues, to offer learners two access points when trying to recall it in future.
When we focus too heavily on individuals we send an implicit message that feeds a fixed mindset and undermines motivation (“this activity, suits me— finally I can succeed”) whereas focusing instead on content and how to best engage with the material keeps the focus on learning the material, something everyone is capable of. As well, mixing things up helps keep attention fresh.
All that is to say: while your recommendations are great, the reasons for why they are sound are different, when viewed more deeply through Cognitive and Motivational Science.
If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend: Why don’t students like school? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4959061 — it’s written for secondary school teachers but applies just as well to undergrads!