Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

theconversation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–17 of 17 posts

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#11

Post by kendallpark »

My experience as a student is that there are methods of learning that work well for me but not all my classmates and vice versa. I feel like the issue is that these small preferences aren't generalizable into these abstract forms like "auditory learner."

I also feel like teachers catering to "styles" of learning cripples students in the long run. Instead students need to be encouraged to figure out how to manipulate the material into content that's understandable to them. For example, I hate PowerPoints. I don't get anything out of PowerPoints. But at my school, 99% of lectures are given in ppt, so I have to figure out how to distill that information into something useful. And that's MY struggle. No one is going to help you when you get to college or graduate level education. It would be far more helpful to teach students how to take charge of their own education.

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#12

Post by copperx »

uryga wrote: post #8
MrFantastic wrote: post #5

I'm not sure I agree. In sports some people can watch a new technique and instantly be able to copy the movements. Other people have to be guided through each step. It's a combination of visual data and proprioception. Personally, if if calculations come up conversationally, I have to see the numbers, I can't process calculations aurally. I also remember names better if I can see them in print.

About the math: I don't think it's just you. I'm pretty sure math is easier for everyone when visualised. So there's no need to introduce a theory of "learning styles" - it's just that some subjects are better understood using one sense, period.

I'm always aware about Dijkstra's comment on visualization of math. His concern was that math concepts can't be visualized; take for instance the concept of a triangle. The moment you visualize it you're seeing a specific instance and you forgot about the general model.

Maybe animations can help. You could animate a triangle morphing into a myriad of instances, even bizarre ones.

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#13

Post by todd8 »

Having three kids navigate the US school system, I have become very skeptical of the justifications given for almost any teaching method. I was saddened when my daughter came home from school with a one page worksheet that purported to show that she was a "kinesthetic" learner. This division of kids into categories makes them feel they can learn in only one way.

Other experiences with the education establishment included:

Early introduction of laptop/tablet convertibles in the sixth grade (an approximately $2000 Toshiba) with Windows XP, a stylus and an unresponsive low resolution screen. This was supposed to facilitate math instruction because homework problems and answers could be written out on the tablet instead of on paper.

Later when the tablets didn't work out they introduced iPads for use instead of textbooks.

World history being taught out of an Art History book (we were told that subjects like the Monroe Doctrine weren't going to be covered).

Everyday Math, from the University of Chicago. This math method introduces its own varied algorithms for the basic four arithmetic operations. I ended up having to buy some Singapore school system math books to teach my daughter over the summer.

I met with the headmaster of the school several times to inject my opinion, but naturally, not having an Education degree kind of disqualified my opinions from being taken seriously. (I have Math, EE, and CS degrees).

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#14

Post by JoeAltmaier »

How about adults then? My buddy can't abide lots of drawings and diagrams - his eyes glaze over. He wants to read it in prose. Never mind how dense; he learns (prefers) only from written descriptions.

My wife had a classmate that paid someone to read his textbooks to him. Couldn't process it visually.

I know its anecdotes; but these folks have at least a very strong preference for different modes of learning.

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#15

Post by awesomerobot »

nanny wrote: post #4
awesomerobot wrote: post #2

If you start to look at the "different ways" claims, they fall apart pretty quickly with basic logic. One of the most common claims I hear is that someone is a "visual" learner. If that were true, wouldn't it also mean that we're leaving kids behind that learn through taste? What if I'm an olfactory genius and I should be learning maths through scent?

>One of the most common claims I hear is that someone is a "visual" learner. If that were true, wouldn't it also mean that we're leaving kids behind that learn through taste? How does that follow at all? I fail to see any logic here, let alone "basic" logic.

If someone learns better through sight, there must be someone that also learns better through other senses right? What are learning "types" often limited to only cognitive/spacial?

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#16

Post by uryga »

copperx wrote: post #12
uryga wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About the math: I don't think it's just you. I'm pretty sure math is easier for everyone when visualised. So there's no need to introduce a theory of "learning styles" - it's just that some subjects are better understood using one sense, period.

I'm always aware about Dijkstra's comment on visualization of math. His concern was that math concepts can't be visualized; take for instance the concept of a triangle. The moment you visualize it you're seeing a specific instance and you forgot about the general model. Maybe animations can help. You could animate a triangle morphing into a myriad of instances, even bizarre ones.

That may be a valid concern, but isn't that how we learn about all things? Generalize "chairness" from many examples of chairs we've seen? I feel like visualising is really helpful while getting to the point where you actually "feel" the concept of a triangle in your mind. Animation sounds like good way of doing that too.

Re: Students are not hard-wired to learn in different ways

#17

Post by nanny »

awesomerobot wrote: post #15
nanny wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>One of the most common claims I hear is that someone is a "visual" learner. If that were true, wouldn't it also mean that we're leaving kids behind that learn through taste? How does that follow at all? I fail to see any logic here, let alone "basic" logic.

If someone learns better through sight, there must be someone that also learns better through other senses right? What are learning "types" often limited to only cognitive/spacial?

>If someone learns better through sight, there must be someone that also learns better through other senses right?

No? Why does the existence of a sight-learner imply that there must be a taste-learner?

Post reply on HN