Every student learns at a different pace. Too often, students are taught en mass, are all given the same material and too often, a significant amount of students are left behind their peers. Here are some examples to help students learn at the pace that suits them.
Different Style
Every student learns at their own pace, which means that educators need to be adaptive and flexible in their teaching styles. Examples of proven differentiated instruction strategies include auditory stimuli, visual stimuli or a hands-on approach. A combination of all three styles can be beneficial in any setting as any of these styles can have an educational connection with the student.
Environment
The environment in which a student learns, plays a particularly important role in how they absorb knowledge. While maintaining a professional decor, an educator must consider the following for their classroom setting; Temperature, lighting, sounds, and a distractive background can all lead to a decline in the understanding of the subject. Aim for a well-light, cool room with a neutral background. Allowing movement may also be beneficial in the student learning process as movement comes natural to some, but ensure that they do not distract others in this process.
Formal VS Informal
Not every student learns equally in the same environment. While some may thrive behind a desk, others may thrive learning in a more creative environment. The human body is built for motion; a stretch break every 20 minutes ensures that there is sufficient blood flow in the body, which acts as stimuli for the brain. A slouching student may indicate that they may be unengaged with the subject at hand and require a change of pace.
Social Interaction
While not every child may be extroverted, group activities can be extremely beneficial in any learning process. Cooperative learning is an important skill for any student to learn, though this skill may be more difficult for introverted students to learn. Ensuring a thorough follow-up with these students is key in their success. This can open the student up to new concepts, ideas or learning strategies not currently in their learning repertoire.
Open Concept
Young students perceive the world in a far more open way than their adult counterparts. They are able to take ideas that they do not have a personal connection with and create new, interesting concepts. It is important as an educator to keep an open mind when dealing with young students as they are able to make connections to their subjects that are not necessarily fluid with how adults perceive the same issues. It is better to encourage students’ individual understanding of a subject than to refuse their ideas outright, though gentle guidance may occasionally be required.
It is clear that all students learn at different paces, in different environments, and in different styles. Through adapting your current method of delivering education, you will be able to cater to students at all levels in their learning journey.
This is a guest post. Link has been provided. Image via Google.
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