Back To School: How To Know Learning Styles

The back-to-school season can be everything from exhausting and anxiety-ridden to dorkily exciting. No matter how you feel about the big return, there’s one question pressing on every teacher: how do I get my students back into learning? 

When it comes to readjusting, some children simply do it differently. There’s a jumble of learning styles each could prefer like visuals over text, or active engagement over passive listening. Teachers are tasked with finding a style that can accommodate the capabilities of all their students, but doing so can be made easier with a few enlightening hacks.

Kevin Butler’s 20 years of experience in the classroom spans across public schools in New York to fifth-grade at a startup school in Los Angeles. He currently teaches in the LA suburbs and he credits his 3rd grade teacher for inspiring him to be one too.

Kevin joined us for the second part of our back-to-school project, which began with Rebekkah Poe. He shared some super useful insights on how to engage students and creatively get to know their learning styles. So, whether you are in your first year as a teacher or a seasoned veteran, Kevin has dug deep into his two decades of experience in the classroom to give the best advice to help teachers get to know learning styles. 

Here are some back-to-school hacks to help you handle the bustle of the first few weeks of resumption.

How To Learn A Student's Learning Style
For Kevin, communication and observation are the best ways to learn a student's learning style. Have authentic conversations with your students and observe them. Being in an academic setting, Kevin says, is not totally necessary. The goal is to be able to see them beyond the backdrop of teacher-student interaction. 

When you observe your students in different settings, you will be able to see them as complete young learners. By engaging in conversation outside of an educational context, you’ll get to know them as people, and how their personality will be most open to learning.

Questions That Would Enable You To Learn Your Students' Learning Styles Quickly
When asked to give three questions that are used to ascertain a student's learning style quickly, Kevin had three main answers:

• What are their hobbies?
• What do they like to read?
• What are their favorite and least favorite subjects?

Find out what your student hobbies are – is it sports, music or dance? Knowing these key interests gives you an idea of how they spend their leisure time, which is a great indicator of their personality.

When you ask about the books they read, it’s best to make the question open-ended. Asking a question like "do you like to read?" could encourage a guarded answer and bring the conversation to a halt. Exploring more about which subject they enjoy and dislike will reveal the contrast that points to how a student's brain works. 

Steps On Preparing Engaging Lessons That Suit Your Students' Learning Styles
An engaging lesson doesn’t have to be a Michael Bay movie to hold students' attention. A lesson that fits only one learning style could limit the engagement of the portion of your class it’s not suited to. Aim for an approach that’s multi-dimensional and contains different aspects. Now you’ve got your bases covered.

Another step to follow is incorporating a sense of urgency. In a world of instant gratification, it is easy for your classroom to become dull by comparison to outside stimulation – especially if you're sandwiched between breaktimes packed with smartphone games. Tinker with ways to inspire your students by appealing to their senses. Use visual tools like videos, art pieces, or images to help them visualize. Music and texts can also be good alternatives. Ultimately, your lesson should be an experience that allows for collaboration, whether with the teacher or between the students themselves.

Hacks For Engagement And Catering To Multiple Learning Styles During A Lesson
Engagement is an art, and making connections between what you teach and what your students love is the biggest hack you could use during a lesson. In his book ‘Light, Camera, Teach’ Kevin narrates an experience where he taught grammar by connecting it with the game Minecraft, which was all the rave among his students. He turned the lesson into a buzzing game where the students had to build sentences using parts of speech, and his class loved it.

Although it might not be easy to do all the time, being able to make that authentic connection with your students is worth it. Leave your world for a moment and enter theirs. What media, cultures and interests are they engulfed in outside of school? It doesn’t have to be Minecraft, or games at all. It could be as simple as weaving in the names of beloved artists your students listen to, but striking that chord of fun and familiarity is important.

Chat to Mom And Dad
With the classroom constantly changing with new tech, why not look beyond the four walls to freshen up learning? Consult parents in the learning process, leveraging their ability to know what kids do after school. If you take a short call to find out a little about their children, you could apply some insider tips to help them learn better. Who knows more about what gets a kid going than mom and dad, after all? This small interaction could offer a valuable peek into their parenting style and how that translates into the educational welfare of your student. 

Final Thoughts On Going Back To School 
Teaching through the pandemic was a first for everyone. But now we can begin the new school year with a positive mindset and return to class with a bubbling desire to form new relationships, whether it is with students, parents, or colleagues. It may be difficult at first, but let things flow by making new connections and experimenting with new techniques.

The key to knowing students’ learning styles is observing and making a genuine connection with them. Learn to take a holistic view by asking questions that would reveal sides of their personality you wouldn’t typically see at their desk. Also be sure to prepare engaging lessons that are multi-layered, inspiring and collaborative, while also embracing topics that truly interest your students. Finally, bring the parents into the conversation and get them interested in taking accountability for their children's education.

There’s the tip of the iceberg for Kevin’s trailblazing approach to engaging students in the modern age. He builds upon his techniques and experience in his acclaimed educational screenplay titled Lights, Cameras, Teach. To enrapture your students from day 1 to the final exams, grab up your copy over at Amazon and Barnes & Noble today!

Featured image by Santi Vedrí on Unsplash