Module 2: Responsive Assessments
We have discussed some of the implications for ELLs with regards to standardized and traditional tests. We understand that ELLs are faced with the challenge of learning content area knowledge, culture, and language concurrently. Knowing that it takes years for ELLs to acquire academic language proficiently, how do we assess students that are just learning to speak, read, and write English on grade-level standards?
This week is about assessment strategies and ideas that incorporate our student’s visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning channels while encouraging meaningful connections that make learning engaging and easier to retain and transfer. For ELLs, these types of assessments are critical because language is given the contextual support that makes new concepts accessible. Relevance is provided; motivation is high, and learning styles are taken into account. In short, learning comes to life in ways that students can see, hear, and feel, making it more comprehensible and engaging.
Content with Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Support
Over the last couple of decades, the field of brain research has boomed. Membership in the Society of Neuroscience went up from about 500 people in 1969, to about 30,000 in 2000 (Conyers & Wilson, 2005). The research gained in this relatively short period of time has huge implications on the field of education. Much more is now known about the brain’s natural learning processes. As a result, a much clearer picture of what instruction and assessment should look like has emerged. One of the most important understandings that has come to light is the idea of utilizing students’ visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles (VAKs) as conduits for accessing new information. It makes sense that, “students learn best in their own learning style.” (Conyers, 2005). It also makes sense that teachers tend to deliver instruction based on their own personal learning preferences. The problem with this as education research (Hannaford) indicates, is that the typical classroom is usually a mismatch between teaching and learning styles. The teaching style of the typical classroom is often lecture while 85% of students tend to be more visual and kinesthetic and less auditory (Conyers, 2005). “Neuro-scientists say that 90 percent of the brain’s sensory input comes from visual sources and the brain has an immediate and natural response to symbols, icons and strong, simple images” (DePorter et. al., p. 103).
While our minds have the ability to remember an almost infinite amount of information (Carter 1998), the findings of the National Training Laboratories (Sousa 1995) indicates that when using the traditional lecture style of teaching, only 5% of the information is remembered 24 hours later. This is in drastic contrast to the research of Nobel Prize winner Francis Crick (1994) which proved that a person shown 2500 different color slides for about 10 seconds each, could still recognize about 90% of them after ten days. Learning preferences are neurologically based so students are not likely to change styles. In fact, only 7% are able to switch easily and automatically to a non-dominant style (Conyers, 2005).
The implications of these findings are huge. Our students are, in large, visual and kinesthetic learners. Yet, most of our instruction is verbal/auditory. If we overwhelmingly deliver education in a format that is not easily processed or retained, then this will result in the loss of time and energy. And although learning styles encompass much more than just the VAKs (including left and right brain dominance, multiple intelligences, and background experiences), if we focus on the VAK delivery of our lessons, we enhance lecture and/or text with contextual support which will have a greatly increase our diverse learners’ abilities to access and retain the concepts that we teach.
The first step is self-awareness. We have to know how we present in the classroom. How do our diverse individuals perceive us? And how does our teaching style affect our learners? Take a few moments to complete this questionnaire VAK Test that will give you some insight into your own learning style.
Were you surprised by your results? Did your results show heavy preference for one learning style, or more of a balance between two or even all three? Do your results reflect your typical style of teaching delivery? There is no right or wrong answer. The truth is that we all (unless there is an existing disability) process information through all three channels. However, identifying our individual preferences is beneficial to us as learners and as educators. For example, if we know that we learn best visually, we can design study strategies for ourselves that will best suit our individual style or modality. And as educators, we can make a conscious effort to design lessons and assessments that are differentiated to meet the individual learning preferences of each of our students. Such learning style inventories can be used with our students to gather valuable information about what kinds of learning preferences our students have.
