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Discover Your Child’s Learning
Style - Table of Contents & Excerpts
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Mission Statement
A Note From The Authors
Introduction
Part I Get On The Team
Chapter 1 The Eager Learner
Chapter 2 Success for Every Child
Chapter 3 Who C.A.R.E.S.
Part II Do The Profile
Chapter 4 The Learning Style Profile: Getting Started
Chapter 5 Dispositions: The Way the World Sees Us
a. The Performing Disposition: Move
b. The Producing Disposition: Organize
c. The Inventing Disposition: Discover
d. The Relating/Inspiring Disposition: Interact
e. The Thinking/Creating Disposition: Create
Chapter 6 Talents: Our Natural Gifts
Chapter 7 Interests: So Easy to Overlook
Chapter 8 Modalities: More Than Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic
Chapter 9 Environment: Beyond A Desk and Four Walls
Chapter 10 Putting It All Together
Chapter 11 Follow-Through Activities
Part III Coach For Success
Chapter 12 Stay F.I.T.T.
Chapter 13 What About Learning Disabilities?
Chapter 14 How To Talk To Your Child’s Teacher
Chapter 15 Educating For The Real World
Epilogue: Some Last Thoughts
Appendix I Learning Style Profile Assessments
Appendix II Resources
References
Index
About the Authors
©1999 by MWillis & VKHodson
The following excerpt is taken from
Discover Your Child's Learning Style, Introduction
copyright 1999 by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson:
Children begin life as successful learners! They are born with incredible
eagerness and ability to learn. The purpose of this book is to provide
tools to help you keep that eagerness and ability to learn alive
in your child. After 50 years of combined experience working with
students, we are convinced that parents are the most important teachers
in a child's life. In the book, Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius,
Thomas Armstrong states, "One of the most consistent research
findings is the important role that parents have in educating their
children. In program after program where parents are closely involved
in their children's learning process, there has been a dramatic
improvement in student motivation and achievement."
With the information presented in this book, you can feel confident
that you are supporting your child's unique learning process, and
giving him tools to be a self-directed, successful learner.
There is a Swahili Proverb that says, "The greatest good we
can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but
to reveal their riches to themselves." And, as Dorothy Corkill
Briggs says, "When children know uniqueness is respected, they
are more likely to put theirs to use." (from Awakening Your
Child's Natural Genius by Thomas Armstrong, 1991) Each child has
unique gifts to contribute to the learning process. It is our job,
as parents and teachers, to help kids know what their gifts are
and how to nurture them.
The School Model of Education has traditionally provided one curriculum,
one teaching environment, and one teaching methodology to fit all
learning needs. This structure has favored some learners, has left
others out, and over the years has created a population of learning
"misfits." Everyday we work with young people and adults
who are living with the effects of "learning style-biased"
educational experiences. From these people we have learned that
helping kids find out who they really are–what they are good
at and what they love to do–is the most important way of maintaining
natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. We need to stop drawing
attention to what kids can't do and start emphasizing what they
can do. We need to stop forcing kids to learn in ways that don't
work for them and start paying attention to the ways that do work.
We need to stop telling kids who we think they are and start working
with the person they know they are. We need to realize that when
it comes to increasing learning success, a young person's interests,
talents, expectations, hopes, and goals for himself are better motivators
than a parent's or teacher's goals.
The "school world" has known these principles for many
years–since the 1890's , in fact! Already, by then, in spite
of this knowledge, "The status quo was rote memorization and
recitation in classrooms thronged with passive children who were
sternly disciplined when they expressed individual needs."
(from Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson,
1992) John Dewey was among the voices of the time proclaiming that
schools should meet the needs of each child, not the other way around.
In 1896 he established a school at the University of Chicago which
inspired and cultivated the interests of individual children. Educators
took note of its successes, while administrators apparently ignored
the implications. Although Dewey is known as the father of modern
American education, our educational system is not modeled after
his ideas.
One hundred years and many research studies later, not much has
changed, even though now we know even more about how the brain learns,
how different styles affect learning, and what teaching methods
work best. Many more voices, including Howard Gardner, Thomas Armstrong,
Priscilla Vail, and Rita Dunn have declared the importance of respecting
children's individual learning needs. So, today, we bring this information
to you, the parents, and ask you to provide your children with the
personal attention they need to become self-directed, eager learners.
We are excited to introduce you to our Learning Style Model of Education.
It encourages you to accept a central role in supporting your child's
unique Learning Style. When you help your child identify and respect
his own learning strengths, interests, talents, and needs, you give
him roots in the gifts he was born with. When you help your child
discover his dreams, passions, and goals, you give him the wings
of motivation and purpose for becoming an eager, self-directed learner.
In both cases your efforts result in a more successful learner.
The Learning Style Model has three components:
1. Get On Your child's Team
2. Do The Profile
3. Coach For Success
You might be wondering what the words "team" and "coach"
have to do with learning. Sounds like sports, right? Actually, people
in sports make use of many principles of learning that are not applied
to school work! This "sports approach" says that everyone
needs a coach. Athletes understand this principle. Even those of
us in the general population who are not interested in sports grasp
the concept that if you are a serious athlete you need a coach.
People training for the Olympics wouldn't dream of doing it without
a coach. Nowadays, there are also personal trainers, lifestyle coaches,
weight loss coaches, organizational coaches, and money management
coaches! Why don't we have learning coaches?
Part 1 of the book introduces you to the idea of getting on your
child's team and prepares you for discovering your child's Learning
Style. In Part 3 this idea is expanded upon and you are taken through
the process of becoming your child's learning success coach. In
between, in Part 2, you are introduced to the Learning Style Profile
which will give you the Learning Style information needed to successfully
coach your child.
The Learning Style Profile included in this book involves much more
than determining your child's Modality (that is, whether he is auditory,
visual, or kinesthetic–the usual definition of Learning Style).
In this Model, Modality is just one-fifth of your child's Learning
Style. This Profile also assesses Talents, Interests, Environment,
and Disposition, to give you a more complete picture of who your
child is as a learner.
The Profile asks young people to speak for themselves; we provide
the questions and listen respectfully to what they tell us. Our
experiences have shown us that genuine acknowledgment of how kids
see themselves unlocks a treasure trove of interests, concerns,
dreams, hopes, and passions–which provide the real reasons
and motivation to learn. If we expect young people to behave responsibly
and competently in society when they leave high school, it is unrealistic
and unwise to wait until they are 17 or 18 years old to talk with
them about goals, ask their opinions, and encourage them to make
decisions based on their own talents and interests. Recently, a
college admissions director commented in an article, "This
is probably the first time in their school life someone is asking
them, 'Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?'…We
want to help them make intelligent choices." (from article
in Ventura County Star, "Fair to provide college education,"
4/14/99) High school graduates will be better equipped to make intelligent
choices if we ask these types of questions as they are growing up.
Gradually, during the school years kids need to:
1. learn about their own strengths and weaknesses
2. set their own goals for the future
3. practice more and more complex skills that help them meet their
own short and long term goals
4. take daily, active responsibility for their choices so that they
can mature into competent people who are on their way to being productive,
responsible adults
The Learning Style Model of Education believes that students are
capable and that their potential is unlimited. It expects differences
in individual students–different learning readiness, different
rates for learning, and a need for different teaching methods. For
most children, learning the content of different subjects is not
a problem when they are taught through their Learning Styles. Higher
standards can be met when programs are individualized, because eagerness
to learn and ability to learn increase. The more success and accomplishment
young people experience based on their unique styles of learning,
the better equipped they are to deal with learning and life in general.
Author David Guterson, himself a high school teacher, believes that
"…massive institutions are by definition incapable of
such a sophisticated responsiveness to individual students…The
finest possible curriculum is precisely the one that starts with
each child's singular means of learning. Instruction and guidance
are best provided by those with an intimate understanding of the
individual child and a deep commitment to the child's education."
(from Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense)
Thousands of families we have come into contact with over the last
fifteen years have proven this to be true. It is hoped that this
book will give you the knowledge, inspiration, and courage to become
your child's Learning-Success Coach. Using the Learning Style Model
of Education, you can be an advocate for your child's Learning Style.
Through this process you will unlock the eager, self-directed, successful
learner in your child!
The following excerpt is taken from
Discover Your Child's Learning Style, Chapter 2 - Success
for Every Child
copyright 1999 by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson:
Marcy, age 12, had difficulty with her school work because she couldn't
figure out what she was supposed to do. Exasperated, her mom told
her to just read the instructions again, but this never helped and
her mom always ended up having to explain the directions. There
were a lot of tears, and they fought over school work every day.
When Marcy was brought in for a Learning Style evaluation, it was
discovered that her Modality strength was Auditory-Verbal. She was
encouraged to read instructions out loud to herself two or three
times, and for the first time, she was able to complete her work
independently. The key that unlocked her ability to comprehend was
that she needed to hear the instructions in order to understand
them.
Jim, age 8, couldn't memorize the math facts. His parents had tried
flash cards, timed drills, offering rewards, and taking away privileges.
Nothing worked. Jim's Learning Style assessment showed that he had
a Performing Disposition and a Body Coordination Talent, so it was
suggested that he practice reciting the facts by bouncing a ball
on flash cards or while jumping on a rebounder. This met Jim's need
for learning through movement, and he began to remember the math
facts.
Looked at from one perspective these are all "learning problems"
that need "fixing." Looked at from a Learning Style perspective
these "difficulties" are clues to a child's natural Talents,
Dispositions and ways of processing information (Modalities). These
attributes don't need "fixing;" they need to be acknowledged
and used as doorways into each child's unique way of learning.
The Learning Style Model of Education looks at all the ways that
people are talented. Each child is viewed as gifted and intelligent.
According to David Elkind, "There isn't sufficient individualization
in the schools. High standards are best met by individualization.
Most of the printed curriculum material makes little provision for
wide differences in Learning Styles. It's not that we shouldn't
have expectations and standards, but we need to recognize that children
don't all learn in the same way at the same rate." (from Educational
Leadership Magazine, 4/96)
It takes personal attention to discover and nurture the self-directed,
eager learner in any child. Schools are not known for having enough
time or sufficient numbers of teachers to give children individualized
attention; therefore, if you want personal attention for your child,
you are going to have to take charge and give it yourself.
Life-long self-images are formed by how successful we are in school.
The word "failure" often echoes in a person's ears well
into adulthood and undermines marriages, parent-child relationships,
and careers. There are many stories from adult clients about the
negative consequences of having been labeled a failure in elementary
school.
Rather than applying labels–such as ADD, Dyslexic, Learning
Disabled, Hyperactive, Slow, Average, Below Average, Above Average,
Gifted, Unmotivated, Disruptive–and attempting to "fix"
the child, the Learning Style Model of Education emphasizes each
child's unique learning needs.
This makes it possible for every child to experience Learning-Success(tm)!
Discover Your Child’s Learning Style by Mariaemma Willis &
Victoria Kindle Hodson, Prima Publishing, is available at all bookstores
or online at www.coachingforlearningsuccess.com
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