Major Mismatch on the Road Less Travelled

“A major mismatch between instructor styles and learners' style can lead to trouble. For example, suppose that learners prefer independent work and reading, but the instructor prefers group projects. Never rely totally on any one method, but try to vary them. If a student does not seem to be learning, consider whether his/her learning style might be at odds with your teaching style. Remain flexible and be able to change planned learning activities if students are having trouble in a given area.” -Susan A. Santo

Well, do I really believe this? Based upon what I have written already-no, not so much. Everyone has encountered someone with whom they mix like oil and water, and most of us can recall at least one educator who crossed our path that we just could not see eye-to-eye. Sometimes the facilitator gets on our nerves, smiles too much, or recently the comment was made in a training session that the instructors' voices were too "high pitched." It does not take much effort to find differences between the educator and the student. None of these were learning style issues; so I believe that learning style issues are just one small piece of the puzzle, which every educator is required to piece together in order to achieve success.

No, I do not believe that a difference in learning styles and teaching styles can lead to "trouble." My entire thirteen years of public education can attest to the falsity of this statement. I have had plenty of teachers with whom I did not connect, even though they were using my prefered learning style to teach. I also have had teachers with whom I completely connected who used my learning style, yet I still did not learn anything from them. Can we justify this as a learning style issue? Or is it a conflict of personalities, an inability to comprehend the material, or could it simply be a lack of interest all around? Is it the teachers' fault that I simply did not want to do the homework? And why do I feel like we should be speaking in hushed tones regarding such things? Perhaps I am afraid students will get their hands on this insider information and use it as another excuse for not applying themselves. "I got a D in the class because the teacher was not teaching to my learning style mom!" Yeeeaaa, that is just what I need.

Yes, an educator can use varying teaching methods to ensure that all students are included and actively learning, but can we really say that "trouble" lurks around the corners of every educational instituation because teachers are not using these methods? The reality is every educator is likely reaching some of his or her students, because the teacher will most likely be using a teaching style that is a refelection of his or her personal learning style. At least one student has to be on the same page. Then let us consider that millions of students have learned from styles that are not their own, and do you know what they call that? Adaptive learning! The student has adapted to the style the teacher is using. It might not be his own, but he stretches, and he reaches, and he can still acheive success. No, it is not easy, but the road to greatness never is.

Let's quit making excuses about learning and educating, and be cogniscent of individual learners themselves. Should learners be catered to because they have specific learning styles and teachers must bend over backwards to accomodate them, or should learning styles be viewed as another way to Build Relationships of Trust (BRT) and be used as a starting point instead of a defining point? Students will measure up when pushed to do so. I have seen students step outside their comfort zones and experience the growth that comes whenever they choose to change. I have placed students deep within a learning style that does not work for them, and I have seen those students struggle within that style, but most of them try. Each one of them still believes that he or she can achieve success. They were not told achievement would be limited because they were placed in the wrong learning style. So why ruin it for them now? Why coddle them only to discover that down the road they have to face the adverse effects of it any way? Why not encourage them to take the road less travelled? Those of us who have traveled it know that it leads to better places.


Resources:
Santo, Susan A. “Learning Styles and Personality”. The University of South Dakota. Updated: December 2007. May 26, 2009 http://www.usd.edu/~ssanto/styles.html Adapted.