MANAGING ICT The bigger picture
Mary Blake discusses why a deeper knowledge of
a how a child processes information can help build stronger collaborative partnerships between schools, parents and students
E
arly in my 30-year teaching career, i realised that a thorough understanding of how each individual child within my class processes information is the key to helping them achieve their potential. i took part in a tracking exercise,
where i followed students from my form group to their various lessons for a day. Sitting as a participant in their different classrooms, i gained a real insight into how my students were learning. it taught me that at secondary level, students have to be very adaptive, their learning environments change all the time; the way in which they are taught alters every hour, they move from physically active lessons to sedentary lessons, lessons where they are encouraged to participate and others where they have to remain silent. That day laid some very important foundations for me and the way in which i taught.
in recent years, our understanding of how students
learn has moved on significantly. Within education, much emphasis has been placed upon identifying each child’s learning style in a drive to “personalise the learning experience and teaching”. Many schools are now taking this a step further by
embracing the multiple-intelligence approach. This builds upon the traditional auditory/visual/kinaesthetic model by acknowledging that a child will have several different intelligences, not simply a style of learning. For example, a child may be both kinaesthetically
smart (e.g. good at sport) and picture smart (e.g. good at art or map-reading) and so cannot be categorised into one particular learning style. Pressure on teachers to comply with the plethora of
initiatives and directives from the government can be overwhelming, and make it difficult to keep focused on the individual learning needs of every student within the class. yet at the heart of every class are 30 very different students, all coming into school to learn the same material in a wide variety of ways. Teachers need to look at how each and every student
processes information. Tapping into every child’s most effective learning style will help to maximise their learning potential and help even the most able students achieve more. The more we understand how each individual
student learns, the more successfully we can teach and the better our results – a theory endorsed by current educational thinking. Patrick leeson, director, education and care with
Ofsted, has said: “When teachers use more creative approaches, pupils’ learning is more relevant and engaging, it fires their imaginations, they enjoy the challenge and feel a greater sense of achievement. Schools need to ensure that teachers are properly supported to keep their main focus on the quality of learning, so good leadership, sharing of best practice, CPD, and seeking new ways to improve learning are vital.” as teachers, we have to be aware that excellent
teaching involves successful partnerships with students and a shared understanding of how best they learn. no
matter how excellent a teacher thinks their lesson is, if the student is not receptive to the format in which it was presented little will be achieved. Teaching students how they learn and the processes involved is a great starting point. Good, strong, collaborative partnerships between parents, carers, students and teachers, will heighten our understanding of what makes every child tick. allowing students early on in their school career to be educated about how they learn will be of huge benefit. The underlying cause behind many of the difficulties
many children experience at school can often be learning-related, so a thorough understanding of each student’s learning performance from an early age can help to reduce the risk of disaffection. as an adult, i have come to learn through trial and error how best i learn; however, for a huge proportion of young people this self-knowledge can come too late to achieve their potential at secondary school. new technology now expands on the traditional
kinaesthetic, auditory and visual learner assessment criteria, to the root of a learner’s cognitive make-up and mental efficiency. This detailed knowledge of how a child processes information and how this impacts on learning helps teachers to tailor their teaching methods to engage and help them achieve their potential. if teachers share that knowledge with students very
early in their school career, then we are going to greatly improve their chances of learning effectively. it also helps teachers pinpoint issues in the highest achieving students which, if left unacknowledged, could restrict them from fulfilling their potential. For example, a student could possess fantastic visual, auditory skills and focus, but display poor decision-making skills and impulsiveness. in a real test environment, these traits could lead to a student making rushed decisions and could inevitably result in them underachieving. Where students are already on the road to
disengagement, knowledge of exactly how they learn can help open new, positive dialogue with them. Often, when a student is helped to understand their strengths and weaknesses, it can instil a new-found pride upon which teachers can then build, both in class and at home. These insights can play a key role in parental engagement, uniting parents, teachers and pupils in a common understanding of the child’s ability.
SecEd
• Mary Blake is an educational consultant at ePace, which has, in conjunction with cognitive psychologist Professor Rod Nicolson at the University of Sheffield, developed a new online profiling tool. Visit
www.epaceonline.com
Mary’s top tip
Host a learning Week at the beginning of each new school year to enable teachers to dedicate time to understanding how their students learn. This is also a great way to open dialogue and build a positive relationship with parents. involve the school’s SEnCO when planning your learning Week as they have extensive experience of tailoring lesson delivery to students with a variety of learning needs.
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SecEd • March 3 2011
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