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Physical and biological
needs that affect learning
Eating times, time-of-day energy
levels and the need for mobility can also affect learning ability.
Try learning, for instance, when you
are hungry. It's hard for most of us.
And some people need to constantly
nibble.
Some people are morning people.
Others are night owls. Again, the Dunns have found that students do
better when their class-times match their own "time-clocks." 10
Significantly, they've found that most school and college students are
not morning people. "Only about one-third of more than a million
students we have tested prefer learning in the first part of the
morning," they report. "The majority prefer late morning or
afternoon. In fact, many do not begin to be capable of concentrating on
difficult material until after 10 a.m." For daytime learning, the
Dunns recommend 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. But who says high schools shouldn't be
open evenings for the night-owls?
The Dunns confirm that "the
tactile-kinesthetics" face most learning difficulties in
traditional schools.11
They often drop out because they can't focus well sitting down hour
after hour. Those that stay often "get into trouble" and get
suspended. Others are often unfortunately classified as "learning
disabled" and put into "special education" classes -
where they do more of the same: lots of seatwork activity, paying little
attention to their true strengths and learning styles.
Every top learning environment we
have seen caters to a variety of intelligence-traits and a variety of
learning styles. But many high schools in particular still seem geared
to "academic" two-dimensional teaching - directed mainly at
linguistic and logical learners. Not surprisingly, many of the people
involved in school administration were themselves high-achievers in
logical-mathematical and linguistic ability - so to them that type of
environment naturally seems best.
How to determine students'
preferred learning styles
Again, one simple way is to ask. A
simple request and discussion on learning styles and preferences is also
often one of the simplest ways to break down barriers between teacher
and students. You can also often tell people's preferred style by
listening to them talk.
Ask a visual learner for
instructions and she'll tend to draw a map. If she is starting
to grasp an otherwise difficult subject, she'll say: "I see
Contents
Page Preface
Introduction
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