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One of the most important ways we can improve how history is learned is by understanding exactly how it is that students learn. According to Kolb’s learning style model, there are four different dimensions to learning: visual or verbal; active and reflective; sensing and intuitive; and lastly sequential and global (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010).
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Visual and VerbalVisual and verbal learners are “individuals [who] prefer to receive information, in either visual representation, through pictures, graphs, charts, etc., or as written or spoken information,” which is one of the most common ways that students learn and why the traditional teaching method is thought to be the most beneficial (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010, pg. 315). The traditional teaching method works best for visual and verbal learners because it allows for the students to see the material in the form of a PowerPoint, while also being able to hearing the information during the teachers lecture. However, just because visual and verbal is the most common form of learning among students and works for the traditional style of teaching, does not mean it works for everyone.
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Active and ReflectiveActive and reflective learning are students need to process the information (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010). For example, a male or female student who is an active learner may “prefer to do something physical with information and tend to enjoy working in groups,” while the reflective learners like to be able to think about and reflect over the information in their head (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010, pg. 315). This can be done in the history classroom by having individual or group projects, which allows for students to create poster boards that display the event or time period the teacher assigns and then present it to the class. Assigning a poster board and presentation allows for the active learners to create something with their hands and also allows for reflective learners to think about and reflect over the event or time period during the presentation section of the assignment.
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Sequential and GlobalThe students who are sequential learners like to “understand information in a step-by-step manner while global learners like to understand the big picture, and then the individual steps and process fall into place” (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010, pg. 315). This can be done in the history classroom by giving a brief summary that tells the general overview of the event, and an outline that creates connections to specific details and lays out the step by step actions of the event. The teacher’s ability to give the students a summary allows for global learners to see the big picture and learn in the way that their mind benefits them, while the outline and connections to specific details is what allows for sequential learners the ability to retain and connect to the events in history.
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Sensing and Intuitive Sensing and intuitive learners are very common students who are very abstract and innovative (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010). This is because sensing learners are students who like data, statistics, and facts. They are very straight forward thinkers, and intuitive thinkers like “theories and interpretations of factual information” (Park, Crocker, Nussey, Springate, & Hutchings, 2010, pg.315). This can be done in the history classroom by presenting the information with a lot of facts such as population, war time casualties, literacy rates, and average income rate that can be seen on graphs and studies done about that time period. This presentation of graphs and studies allows for the sensing learners to obtain the data and facts that coordinate with the event they are being taught. For intuitive learners, the teacher’s ability to present the students with parts of the information and ask questions, slowly guides the students to the right conclusion, allows for the students to create their own theories and learn off of their own thoughts, and allows for the intuitive students to retain and connect best with the material.
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