Learning Styles: Fact or Fantasy

Wishful thinking

Wouldn't it be wonderful if each one of us learned in our OWN unique way. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a key that could unlock our creativity, our learning, our minds. Sometimes educators suggest that they have such a key. They suggest that they can figure out if we are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. They suggest that there is a test that can determine which is our learning style. They suggest that they can  prepare the kinds of lessons based upon this test that is specifically tailored to that learning style, and then we will succeed. Well, this is a nice fantasy. (And there's a lot of  propaganda out there that makes you think it is possible. But that particular line of thought is flawed.) 

The problem is tests that are created to determine learning styles are not reliable. This means that the first time a person takes the test, he might be an auditory learner. And the next time he takes the test, he might be a visual learner.  This is truly problematic.  This is a problem in another way. Educators who think a person is a visual learner may pander to that one sense and ignore the other senses. In addition, when experts looked at the results of interventions that matched the participants learning style, such as auditory lessons for auditory learners, there was no difference in amount learned than lessons that did not match, for instance auditory lessons for visual learners. 

Now here's the good news. The good news is that we learn through every single sense we have. We know that learning which incorporates seeing, hearing, and doing is far more effective for children than learning through just one sense. Lessons for children need to use all of the senses as much as possible. 

Reading: Too good to be true?

“Grandma can I play my game now?” Headsprout is one of the cutest computer programs that I have ever seen for the purpose of teaching kids how to read, designed for early readers four through seven. ZZ had just turned four, and he loved it. I was testing the program for a specific educational purpose and ZZ was a perfect test subject. (And let me say right up front that I do like many of the features in this program and overall the design. I'm still investigating.) The first few lessons were great, but he needed to repeat lessons at times. I chalked that up to the fact that he was at the extreme lower limit of the recommended age range. Soon the concepts in the lessons became harder and moved faster. Well, I canned the program for ZZ for now. Now this is not saying that when he is older that he won't benefit from the program or that other kids couldn’t benefit. (I might even try again when he’s closer to five.) My point, however, is that there are many, many computer programs, TV commercials, etc. that promise that you can teach your kids, especially babies, to read. I’m sure that these will work with some kids (because kids are very unique, and you will always find some kids and some parents who can make it happen), but I provide information for the general population and what works for most kids. And for most kids, it’s just not that easy. One thing that is easy, though, is the parting of money for parents who are eager to help their children succeed.  So, watch out parents. There’s an old maxim that says – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. 

Dyslexia: It would be wonderful (4)

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone with reading difficulty could use something like a camera and take a picture of the words and have those words converted into speech? It would be wonderful, and there is! One very smart inventor who is also dyslexic created one. This technology is not entirely new, however. For many years we have had  computer software that scans written material and reads the words on the page out loud. Some programs even highlight the word one at a time so the reader can read along. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Dyslexia is cured. Right? Not so fast. What we have found is that reading is not just getting the words off the page. Reading is the process of gaining meaning from print. Many students with reading difficulty have trouble on two fronts: figuring out what the words mean as well as figuring out how to say the words. And sometimes figuring out what the words mean all together is more problematic than decoding itself. Now, for some people, just figuring out the words on the page is very, very helpful. For others, it is just a piece of the pie. So when we think about the use of technology, we cannot see it as a panacea. We need to remediate the underlying causes as well as selecting assistive technology that can make life a little easier. Now, this camera thing is certainly helpful. And I applaud the inventor. But, we still need to teach kids how to read. 

Dyslexia: My Child Can't Read (3)

Not every child who is having difficulty learning to read is what we would term ‘dyslexic,’ which is a language-based disability. Some children just haven’t had the experiences with language and letters that other children have had. This can happen for many reasons. For instance, some children haven’t been to pre-school. Some children come from homes that have limited books around the house. Some children like to be outside and have little tolerance for sitting still and ‘reading’ books with their families. And finally some children have not received systematic instruction in letter/sound correspondence or phonics. Sometimes, children who have limited experiences for whatever reason are termed at-risk. That means that if they don’t catch up with their peers, they ‘may’ have difficulty in school later on. (The operative word here is ‘may’ because every child is an individual, and some defy the odds, in essence pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.) At-risk is serious and needs to be addressed with the same focus and energy as teaching for children with disabilities. So, what can we as parents and educators do to help these at-risk kids? The first thing is to recognize that there is not a minute to lose. The kids are behind and need to catch up quickly. They do not have the time to figure it out for themselves because the other kids in the class are moving ahead very rapidly. Kids at-risk need to not only to keep up with the other kids in the class, they need to CATCH up. That means that they may need to accomplish 1½ times to 2 times a much learning in one year, and sometimes even more, much more than the other children in class. So, parents and educators need to be cognizant of the type of instruction that will most benefit children at-risk. The good news is that many times, the same kind of instruction, explicit and systematic, that works with children with ‘dyslexia’ works just as well with children at-risk. The difference is that children at-risk usually make the connections easier and make progress at a faster rate. So, parents if your child is behind in reading, for whatever reason, steps need to be taken to address the situation, and the earlier the better! 

Dyslexia: My Child Can't Read (2)

I'm going to use the term reading difficulty instead of dyslexia because the term dyslexia conjures up, in so many parents minds, images of kids reading words backwards (which is totally erroneous). Reading difficulty is not a simple construct. And it appears from research that it really has nothing at all to do with intelligence. It can occur in children who are cognitively delayed (low- IQ) to those who are gifted and talented (high-IQ). That's something that we as parents have just got to get out of our heads. The idea that since my child can't read, he or she (because it occurs just as often in girls as it does in boys) is not very smart.

Let me assure you parents that many, many children with learning disabilities are very, very smart. When I was a fourth grade teacher, a little cowboy was in my class. He could not read. He came to me not reading, and he left my class without learning how to read (That wouldn't happen now. Believe me! but then I didn't have the know-how like I do now. And this little boy's face still haunts me because I could not help him over 20 years ago.) Anyway, back to the story. He may not have been able to read. But he could ride. The kid was the top rodeo star in his age group for the entire western U.S. He knew more about horses and ranches than most adults. Smart, smart kid with a great generous personality to match. I felt totally dumb next to him when talking about things that he was really GOOD at. So, parents, your kids who are having difficulty reading, celebrate what they can do well. Then just get them the help they need to read.

Homework: Two sides to the story (2)

Johnny and Jimmy (Fictitious names, can you tell?) are in Ms. Jones (Fictitious name, again, can you tell?) 5^th grade class. Ms. Jones assigned what she thought was a reasonable amount of homework, considered about 10 minutes per grade, a total of about 50 minutes for 5^th grade. Jimmy raced home from school and began his homework immediately, hustled through it, and ran out to play. Johnny, on the other hand, dragged his feet on the way home. His mother prodded him to begin his homework right after he finished his snack. Then two and a half hours later, he finally completed it. And that was right after dinner, right before bath. Even though the names are fictitious, the circumstances are not. The length of time it takes one child to do homework can be radically different for another child. The first child’s parents will not be concerned about the amount of homework given. appearing reasonable. The other child’s parents, however, might have a different opinion about the amount of work assigned. If it appears that the teacher is assigning too much homework, it’s time for honest communication.


If I were Johnny’s parent (Just hypothetically thank goodness, I’m too old to want another child. Happy with my grandchildren), I would first find out how long the teacher THINKS the assignments should take. Next, I would find out how long the assignments are taking the other kids in the class. If other children are completing the assignments with only REASONABLE assistance within a reasonable time frame (and the operational word here is 'REASONABLE'), I would next make sure that Johnny was doing the homework in my presence. This would reduce the amount of off-task behavior that could be a problem. If he were applying less than optimal diligence, I would help him organize and give him set times for completion of each part. And I would set a timer for him, breaking the tasks into smaller components. If this doesn’t correct the situation, there may be something else going on. I would watch Johnny to see what areas were the most problematic. I would then communicate again with the teacher. He might be having difficulty at school also. Remember, the amount of homework teachers think they are giving can be experienced differently by a variety of children, depending upon their skills and family structure. So, parents, this is just a little bit of advice from an old teacher about homework.

Learning Disabilities: And ADHD

ADHD is one of the most common pediatric disorders diagnosed today. In a current study, researchers found that children diagnosed with ADHD also had learning disabilities, especially writing and reading. Now the important thing is that not ALL children with ADHD have learning disabilities. This is something as a special educator that I have known intuitively throughout my entire career. But seeing the numbers of children who can be effected in print somehow validates this observation for me and makes it more important. And I think it is important to bring it to our attention again. Think about this statistic. At least 2/3 of boys diagnosed with ADHD have writing disability (which is highly related to reading disability), compared to 1 in 6 in those who do not have the disorder. In addition, 57% of girls with ADHD also have writing disability, compared to 1 in 10 who do not have it. In addition, girls with ADHD are 10 times more likely to also have reading disability. There are implications here. If your son or daughter is diagnosed with ADHD it can seriously effect their learning and their future outcomes. It's a good idea when a parent gets this diagnosis to follow up with a screening for learning disabilities. It can change your child's life.