Teaching for the Success of
all Learning Styles: Five Principles for Promoting Greater Teacher Effectiveness
and Higher Student Achievement for all Students
By John Shindler
California State University, Los Angeles
Partial Text: Full Version with Footnotes available
with PLSI orders.
Introduction
One of the biggest challenges that teachers face is to
find ways to succeed with all of their students, not just those with whom they
have a natural affinity. Too often we accept that we simply cannot reach all
students, and to approach some students as unsolvable puzzles - less able or
less inclined. Even the most talented and well-trained teacher can find many
students difficult to work with. Often these problems are rooted in substantive
emotional and/or behavior issues, but more often our difficulty understanding or
promoting the success of particular students is a result of fundamental
incongruities in cognitive preferences and learning styles.
Research into teacher and student differences suggests
that when teachers do nothing other than what they are prone to do,
similar-typed students do better in their classes, enjoy the experience more,
and are viewed more favorably by the teacher. Conversely, students who are less
similar to the teacher by type are less successful, report liking the teacher
and the class less, and even receive lower grades on average. However, when
teachers take steps to understand and mitigate issues related to incongruence,
these effects are minimized.
What
is the solution?
Given the fact that any class of students will be
diverse in their learning styles and cognitive orientations, it is important to
find solutions that will benefit both the teacher and all of his or her
students. Presented with this reality, some teachers respond with denial and/or
indifference. They choose to ignore the issue and approach all students from
their uniformly narrow set of attitudes and practices. Without a great deal of
luck, this approach is usually a lose-lose proposition in the end - unhappy
students and a frustrated teacher. Many teachers upon becoming aware of the
reality of the incongruence of their teaching style and their students’ learning
styles set out to change their personalities to adapt to the styles of their
students. This is a well-intended solution, but in the end it is overly taxing
and unhealthy for the teacher, and a lose-win solution. Still other teachers,
having learned of their students’ learning styles, set out to design an
individualized program of instruction for each student. Again this is a noble
effort, but the cost in time and effort makes this impractical for teachers with
even modest class sizes. A growing number of teachers are adopting an approach
incorporating “multiple intelligence (MI) theory.” The results are usually
improved teaching performance and a classroom that meets the needs of more
learners. However, MI theory is limited in that it is not particularly useful in
diagnosing student needs, helping make sense of differences, or providing
insight or direction for those attempting to build relationships with those of
incongruent types.
To achieve an approach to teacher-student incongruence
that could truly be considered win-win, it must be systemic but practical, and
be an asset to the teacher at the same time it promoted student growth and
achievement. Ideally, diversity would be approached as a benefit, rather than a
liability. Moreover, a truly successful approach would allow the members of the
classroom community to be themselves, succeed to their potential and value the
gifts of the other members of the community.
5 ingredients seem to be critical to creating a win-win
approach to difference. First, the teacher needs to have an awareness of who
they are, what they value and their natural “default preferences”. Second, the
approach needs to provide the teacher a systematic means to understanding the
learning needs and cognitive style preferences of each of the students in the
class, as well as helping the students function collectively and appreciate one
another’s gifts. Third, the teacher must have well established pedagogical tools
that are effective across learning styles. Fourth, the approach would need to
provide the teacher an understanding of both sides of each learning dimension
and offer strategies to meet the needs of students who work out of opposing
preferences. Finally, the system should illuminate the conditions in which
different types of students work best so that the teacher can create
opportunities for each student to work to their particular strengths. These
ingredients could be considered to be hierarchical in nature, each element
building upon the last, as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Five Principles for Succeeding with Student Learning Style Diversity
Principle 1: Know Yourself and Your Teaching
Style/Type Tendencies
On first inspection, it may
seem to be of little value to undertake a self-examination of our values related
to teaching. Most of us believe that we know ourselves pretty well, and that
what we most desire are better ideas or more resources. But, the greatest
hurdles we as teachers face when attempting to understand why some of our
students are not comfortable, not learning, or not on their side, in most cases,
are related to our limiting assumptions. Too often, we do not have a
sufficiently broad perspective to make sense of each of our students’ needs, and
as a result, we see those needs homogenously and miss out on their diversity.
Practices explained in depth
in article
Principle 2: Gain an understanding of each of your
students’ learning styles and needs, and promote a community of learners
respectful of one another’s strengths and differences.
As you become more
familiar with the four dimensions of cognitive preference, you will find a
greater ability to see those preferences in your students. It is not critical
to formally survey your students, but often giving an inventory can be
enlightening to both teacher and student. For the teacher, the results of an
inventory can provide a degree of certainty that an educated estimate cannot.
For the student, the inventory offers an introduction to the idea of organic
learning style differences, and provides a concrete method for initiating the
process of personal type awareness. For many students there is a great
liberation to understanding features that make them unique, and for some why
they consistently think and feel differently from other students. The Paragon
Learning Style Inventory (PLSI) student version and the Murphy-Meisgeir Type
Indicator (MMTI) were both developed for young people, ages 8 and up.
Practices explained in depth
in article
Principle 3: Use teaching methodologies and strategies
that promote the maximum degree of success for students of all types/styles.
The simplest way to ensure a group of students with
diverse learning styles succeeds is to incorporate pedagogical practices that
promote cross-type success, and avoid practices that are ineffective regardless
of type. The following 6 practices are proven to lead to high levels of
achievement, and provide an excellent start in creating a classroom where more
students win and fewer students lose.
Practices explained in depth
in article
Principle 4: Be mindful and respectful of the needs of
students on the other side of each learning style dimension.
As we become more knowledgeable of our own preferences,
it is common to discover that it has been easier to teach in ways that has
worked better for the students on our side of each of the four dimensional
fences.
Practices explained in depth
in article
Principle 5: Provide opportunities for students to
work in their strengths areas for some part of the overall learning experience.
All students need to spend some part of each lesson or
day working to their strengths. Each of the 4 academic types (i.e., IS,IN,ES,EN)
has different strengths, preferred modes, and activities in which they will feel
most comfortable. Table 2 briefly outlines the student profiles and some of the
needs of each of the 4 types.
Table 2: Learning Profiles of each of the 4 Academic Types – IS, IN, ES, EN