Secretaria

Working with styles 
By Dr. Kathie F. Nunley
A common concern among teachers is: Are we doing a disservice to students by allowing them to work exclusively in their learning style? If thestudent is allowed to complete all assignments in their own style, it probably is denying them some growth.
Obviously the real world doesn't always accommodate learning styles. Job sites oftenrequire a great deal of flexibility in performance and problem solving. Students need to challenge themselves and increase their comfort in a variety of learning styles. Teachers want to offer avariety of learning styles in class assignments, but the real trick is knowing when to match and when to mismatch learning styles.
Matching a student's style of learning is particularly importantin the beginning of the year, especially when working with students who have experienced little success in school, students who are struggling with concepts or students who have developed yearsof learned helplessness. Matching the learning style of the student to the assignment is a marvelous way to get students engaged and allow them to experience success.
However, once a studentsees that he or she can have a successful learning experience, the teacher should try to encourage the student to work in a wide range of learning styles, even those out of the student's comfortzone. This is known as mismatching learning styles. The easiest way to do this is through a wide variety of assignment choice offerings.
Students can pick their way through the menu ofassignments picking and choosing their way to a grade. There should be several choices in each type of learning style, but not enough to allow the student to complete the unit using only their preferredstyle. This engages the student right off, by allowing them to work and experience success, but at the same time,  forces them to branch out in other directions as they complete the unit.