Thinking and learning styles
Thinking styles
- Visual learners tend to represent the world to themselves in pictures. They may use phrases such as “I see what you mean”.
- Auditory learners remember more of what they hear and may use phrases like “That sounds like a good idea”.
- Kinaesthetic learners tend to remember things through feelings, both physical and emotional. They tend to use terms such as “I love it. Let’s go for it”.
Learning styles
- Activists learn best from new experiences, problems and opportunities from experience. They love games, teamwork, task and role-playing exercises. They react against passive learning, solitary activities like reading and independent research, and tasks that require attention to detail.
- Reflectors learn best when they can think over an activity. They enjoy research, reviewing what has happened and what they have learned. They react against being forced into the limelight, having insufficient data on which to base a conclusion and having to take short cuts or do a superficial job.
- Theorists learn best when what they are learning about is part of a system, model, concept or theory. They like structured situations with a clear purpose and dealing with interesting ideas and concepts. They often dislike participating in situations that emphasise feelings.
- Pragmatists learn best from activities where the subject matter is clearly linked to a real problem and where they are able to implement what they have learned. They react against learning that seems distant from reality and all “theory and general principles”.
Most people naturally teach and work with groups in a way that matches their own thinking and learning style. Is that true for you?
With what kinds of learners would you be most effective?
What kinds of learner would have most difficulty learning from you?
How can you adapt your communication style to reach more learners?
In practise everyone uses a combination of ways of thinking and learning, and every group of children presents the facilitator with many different learning needs and styles. Keep this in mind when selecting activities from Compasito, balancing the types of activities to match the differing needs and learning styles of the children you work with.
Differences in thinking and learning can also account for the way activities run and how children debrief and evaluate them. You will notice that the same activity produces different levels of participation and different results in different children. Some children are more likely to respond to debriefing questions than to other children. Remember, too, that thinking and learning styles may account for only part of these differences. Because of a whole range of factors beyond your control, the same children may react quite differently to the same activity on a different day! As you become more familiar with Compasito activities, you will be better able to account for these differences.