Students all respond to different methods of study in different ways. For example, some benefit from charts and diagrams more than others, while many find their retention significantly improves when they listen to an instruction rather than read it. Understanding different types of learners in your classroom before planning a lesson will help the students absorb the material and provides a great opportunity to introduce effective study skills. Help your students discover how they naturally tend to absorb information, and encourage each of your learners to consider these techniques.
- Auditory learners are the students who understand more by listening. They may do well in a lecture setting or class discussion. They should be encouraged to tape record your class sessions and then listen to them again as they are studying. This strategy will help them connect the study materials or passages in a book with what was said and understood in class. These students may also find it helpful to read the information out loud to themselves. Sometimes they benefit from some sort of "background noise" like music when they study. It may seem counterintuitive to suggest distractions of that sort, but the noise helps to stimulate their thinking and will help them remember the material better.
- Visual learners need to see something before they will understand the information. If they are in a lecture class, they may need the important parts written on the board as a visual representation. Directed note taking is also helpful to a visual learner as they have a written representation of what they should be listening for instead of just being expected to pick out the main parts themselves. To study, teach the students graphic organizers (like Venn Diagrams, flash cards or outlining techniques) to organize their thoughts and ideas from the book. They may also do well by reading the chapter or getting a print out of a PowerPoint presentation if you use one in class.
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Author: Heather Scoville