A Reflection on Classroom Observation: A Reminder Regarding Accommodating Different Learning Styles

Kerry Mullan, Australia

Kerry Mullan coordinates and teaches French as a foreign language at a university in Australia. She is interested in French and Anglo-Australian interactional styles and discourse analysis. This article is based on an experience of classroom observation and peer review undertaken in 2008. E-mail: kerry.mullan@rmit.edu.au

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Introduction
Learning Styles
Other Observations
Conclusion
References

Introduction

A recent experience of peer review and observation undertaken for a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching qualification was both highly rewarding and interesting, and I would like to share my observations with others. The chance to receive feedback on my teaching and to watch another language teacher at work was extremely useful. Teaching is a somewhat solitary activity, where it is easy not to question one’s performance in the classroom or be unwilling to set new challenges for oneself; we can choose not to critically reflect on a class that did not go well, or attribute it to other factors - such as lack of time or preparation, or even the students - without analysing our own performance. Peer review is an excellent way of both reaffirming what we do in the classroom, and providing suggestions for ways to improve, thereby enhancing the experience for the students.

While the majority of the feedback I received was reassuringly positive, the two suggestions for improvement, made independently by my departmental advisor and the subject co-ordinator, both point to a similar area: that of accommodating different learning styles. This is the main area to be focused on here, followed by a brief section on some other general observations.

Learning Styles

Students learn in different ways and at different rates, and their understanding varies considerably according to personality, background and particular talents.

(Farrell et al. 2007:10)

Learning styles have been defined in a number of ways, such as “cognitive, affective, and physiological traits that are relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment” Keefe (1979: 4); or “the individual learner’s distinctive and habitual manner of acquiring knowledge, skills or attitudes through study or experience” (Smith and Dalton 2005: 7). As well as numerous definitions of the term itself, there are several groups of distinct learning styles, such as being field-dependent vs. field-independent (Witkin et al. 1954); being left-brain vs. right-brain dominated; McCarthy's four learning styles (1980); Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences (1993); and the four modalities: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile ways of learning (adapted from Bandler and Grinder 1975 from the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming). The four modalities are the group I will discuss here, albeit by necessity rather briefly (It must also be pointed out that I will not cover any differences in learning style based on the cultural background of the student; this topic is too vast to be covered here.)

The essential differences between these learning styles are as follows (adapted from Haynes 2008). Visual learners are able to recall what they see and respond well to written instructions and diagrams or images. Auditory learners are better able to recall what they hear and prefer oral instructions; they learn by listening and speaking. Kinaesthetic learners learn by moving around or touching and manipulating objects; they need to involve their whole body in learning. Similarly, tactile learners learn best by touching and drawing (cf. Torres Quedo and Cárdenas Cabello 2008: 2-3 for a more detailed explanation of these different learning styles). While learners usually show an overall preference for one of these styles, they are unlikely to be wholly visual or auditory etc; learners usually prefer a combination of styles, often two in particular.

Understanding and catering to these different learning styles in the classroom is clearly very important. As pointed out by both Torres Quedo and Cárdenas Cabello (2008: 2) and Verster (2007: 1):

• Students learn better and more quickly if the teaching methods used match their preferred learning styles.
• As learning improves, so too does self esteem; this has a further positive effect on learning.
• Students who have become bored with learning may become interested once again.
• The student-teacher relationship can improve because the student is more successful and is more interested in learning.

Following some initial training in this area as part of my first teaching experience in 1995, I have become aware of these different learning styles in practice over the years. Like the teachers questioned in Smith and Dalton’s study (2005), I have developed a wide range of activities to cater to the different learning styles of my students. However, these methods are based on experience and observation rather than on the systematic application of any particular learning theory, and no doubt like many other teachers, I occasionally fall into the trap of favouring a teaching style which corresponds to my own preferred learning style (visual-auditory).

This was brought to my attention in both of the classes where I was observed. In the peer review report for my first class (where the objective was the revision of relative pronouns in French), the comment was made that “some students tend to be more visual than analytical in their understanding of grammar. And perhaps more visual support for relative pronouns could have helped learners to better understand their use.” The report suggested using a diagram to explain the use of prepositions with relative pronouns, and gave a useful illustration. While I am primarily a visual learner, I tend to rely on the written word rather than images, and this was a useful reminder of a more pictorial way of explaining a grammar point to visual students. (Similarly, timelines can be useful for illustrating different tenses.)

In the feedback for the second class where I was observed (where the objective was the consolidation and practice of the past conditional tense in French), it was pointed out that I could have elicited more oral examples of the grammar point under review from the students before asking them to complete a written activity. Overall, the class did contain a lot of written practice, and although some oral practice was included, more spontaneous shared examples as a group would indeed have been useful, especially for those students who are more auditory than visual. My initial motivation for the written activity was to give the students time to prepare their answers before sharing them, to allow them to reflect on the quite complex construction of the (only recently acquired) past conditional in French. However, some of the stronger students may well have been prepared to offer some examples, which could have benefitted the weaker students, without singling out any particular student and possibly embarrassing them in front of the class. This is another occasion where I focused on a primarily visual activity, and neglected the other learning styles; indeed, that class contained no activities to cater for kinaesthetic or tactile learners at all!

Both of these suggestions are useful reminders to try and include activities which appeal to all learning styles in every class, wherever possible. (See Helgesen 2008 for a list of classroom tasks which cater for visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile learners in all skills areas). Verster (2003) also offers tips on planning lessons for students' preferred learning styles. Both of these resources are useful when planning classes.) However, this also led me to consider the fact that most students are probably unaware of their preferred learning style (and possibly the fact that different learning styles exist at all), and could benefit from some information on this topic - both to enhance their experience in the classroom, and to enable them to develop independent study skills as autonomous learners. Coffield et al. (2004: 37, 50) encourage the use of learning styles to develop students’ self-awareness and metacognition skills, and Smith and Dalton point out that learners who are aware of their own learning styles and preferences make more informed choices about how to engage with learning (2005a: 13).

This could be achieved by asking students to fill in questionnaires which encourage them to think about their preferred learning styles, such as those available in Revell and Norman (1997) or Wingate (2000) (which includes detailed explanations for learners of these different styles), or one of the many online questionnaires available, such as the Abiator's Online Learning Styles Inventory. The Teaching English British Council website offers a ready made lesson plan for a class based around a listening comprehension on different learning styles for learners of ESL, which could be adapted and used for learners of French (or any other language). The aims of the lesson include raising awareness of personal learning styles and providing concrete learning aids to enable learners to better exploit their strengths for learning a language.

Other Observations

In this final section, I would like to briefly mention some other aspects of my teaching practice which became apparent while being observed. It was a reassuring experience to receive positive feedback in general concerning my teaching, and it was very useful to see some similarities in the teaching styles of my departmental advisor and myself. It was especially interesting when - both while watching a video of myself teaching and observing my departmental advisor in the classroom - I was able to see the students’ engagement and reactions in the classroom. This is something which is much harder to do when actively teaching, although we do of course do this to a certain extent as teachers.

It is clear from the video that I wholeheartedly enjoy teaching - I spend a lot of time smiling and joking! This obviously helps my rapport with the students and their relationship with each other, attested to by the fact that the students also spend a lot of time smiling and laughing. My departmental advisor pointed out that when I corrected the students, they automatically repeated the correct version after me, which is something I had not noticed myself. This demonstrates that the students do not feel in any way threatened in the classroom - even when corrected - and are highly engaged in the activities at hand. At several points during the videoed class, I noticed that the students were completely silent and utterly engaged - not only at times when I was giving instructions, but also during the activities. This was particularly rewarding to observe.

Also reassuring was the fact that, as some of the students attended both my and my departmental advisor’s classes, I was able to observe my students participating in the other class, and to see that the two or three more problematic ones behaved the same way for both of us!

Conclusion

Overall, the experience of peer review and observation - and especially video recording a class to be subsequently analysed - was extremely useful as a way of informing my own teaching. As well as receiving some very valuable feedback, I acquired some new teaching ideas from the observation of my departmental advisor and was able to share some of my own, thus creating an important pedagogical exchange in our department. I found peer observation to be a positive and beneficial experience, and I firmly believe that all teaching staff should be encouraged to undertake this activity on a regular basis.

References

Abiator's Online Learning Styles Inventory: www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html

Bandler, R. and Grinder, J. 1975. The structure of magic. USA: Scientific Books.

Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E. and Ecclestone, K. 2004. Should we be using learning styles? What research has to say to practice. Learning & Skills Research Centre. www.lsda.org.uk/cims/order.aspx?code=041540&src=XOWEB

Farrell, K., Devlin, M. and James, R. 2007. Nine principles guiding teaching and learning: the framework for a first-class teaching and learning environment. Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.

Gardner, H. 1993. Frames of mind (2nd edition). London: Farmer Press.

Haynes, J. 2008. Teach to students' learning styles. EverythingESL.net. www.everythingesl.net/inservices/learningstyle.php

Helgesen, M. 2008. Making sense of it all. English Teaching Professional 54. January 2008.

Keefe, J. W. 1979. Learning Style: An overview. In NASSP's Student learning styles: Diagnosing and prescribing programs. Virginia, USA: National Association of Secondary Schools, pp 1-17.

McCarthy, B. 1980. The 4MAT® System: teaching to learning styles with right/left mode techniques. USA: Excel.

Learning Styles. 2006. Research Digest. Canberra Institute of Technology. Edition 29, February 2006. www.cit.act.edu.au/__data/page/871/Research_Digest_29.pdf

Revell, J. and Norman, S. 1997. In your hands: NLP in ELT. London: Saffire Press.

Smith, P. and Dalton, J. 2005. Accommodating learning styles: relevance and good practice in VET. ANTA. www.ncver.edu.au/research/proj/nr3013.pdf

Smith, P. and Dalton, J. 2005a. Getting to grips with learning styles. ANTA.
www.ncver.edu.au/research/proj/nd3103b.pdf

Torres Quedo, E. I. and Cárdenas Cabello, R. 2008. Learner differences: implications for language teaching. Humanising Language Teaching Issue 5; October 2008. old.hltmag.co.uk/oct08/mart04.htm

Verster, C. 2003. Planning lessons for students' preferred learning styles. Teaching English (British Council website).
www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/planning-lessons-students-preferred-learning-styles

Verster, C. 2007. Learning styles and teaching. Teaching English (British Council website). www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/othertry/other_activities.shtml

Wingate, J. 2000. Knowing me, knowing you: classroom activities to develop learning strategies and develop conversation. UK: Delta Publishing.

Witkin, H.A., Lewis, H.B., Hertzman, M., Machover, K., Meissner, P.B. & Wapner, S. 1954. Personality through perception. New York: Harper.

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