Sunday, December 28, 2008

The Magic of Learning Styles

It’s the Holiday Season in many parts of the globe. Did you know that even the way you spend this festive time depends largely on your Learning Style?

Kinesthetic people will try to include in their programme items like skiing, wind-surfing, outdoor activities or trips to fun places.
Visual people will be far more likely to want to relax with a book or the TV.
People whose Learning Style calls for doing things alone will prefer to spend Christmas in a smaller crowd than those with a preference for many peers.
Those with a high responsibility attitude might be tempted to take their laptop along when visiting family or travelling away from home.
Those who don’t like the cold and live in the Northern Hemisphere will probably be checking out the holiday travel specials to warmer climates.

With almost 50 Learning Style elements, the list can go on and on. What is your Learning Style? If you’re new to this site, click here to find out. We guarantee that you will have a better chance of a prosperous 2009 when you know how to work according to your personal strengths.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Sleep and Learning Styles

Research studies show that we don’t get enough sleep. Teenagers and people in their twenties often sacrifice sleep time in favour of parties, computer games or TV. Adults forego sleep in order to cram more tasks into the day. Even young children, over-stimulated by their flashy toys and classes for tots, find themselves unable to settle down at night.

And yet our ability to learn is directly related to how well we can memorise new things, while our ability to memorise depends on our sleep patterns. We all know that we need enough sleep for our brains and memory to function properly, but what’s surprising is the fact that information becomes "cemented" in our brains as we sleep.

One study suggests that it is valuable to study right before going to sleep because sleep helps you store what you’ve learnt. In other words, if your Learning Style calls for evening-time studying, you may be better off than somebody who is a morning person.

What is your Learning Style? If you’re new to this site, click here to find out.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Learning Styles and Teaching Science

Question: Can you hammer in a nail using a banana?

Answer: Sure you can. If the banana is frozen using liquid nitrogen.

Lesson planning:
Try to hammer a nail with a ripe banana. Make a lot of mess.
Drop another ripe banana into liquid nitrogen for 30 seconds.
Use cryo gloves and crucible tongs to remove the banana. Do not reach into the liquid nitrogen with your gloved hand.
Hold the banana in your gloved hand and hammer the nail successfully.
Do not let the children touch the frozen banana.

Explanation for students: A banana is made up of a lot of water, and water doesn’t make a very good hammer. When frozen, the water molecules slow down and hold tight to one another, creating ice.

Now, wasn’t that a lot more fun than an ordinary science lesson?

That’s what multi-sensory teaching is all about: having fun. Creative Learning and Prashnig Style Solutions advocate multi-sensory teaching as a means of getting students to pay attention, to behave in class and to learn the curriculum.

If you’re a teacher, make things easy for yourself. Depending on the child’s Learning Style, a bored student will most likely act up in class. They may play the fool or refuse to comply with instructions or simply stare out the window and daydream. They will certainly not learn much and they will not make your day.

Determining your students' Learning Style is the first step to a stress-free fun day.
With school science results falling dramatically in many countries, it’s time to resort to tricks such as hammering nails with bananas or soap suds explosion... even if the tricks border on magic. After all, isn’t all science magical? And aren’t magic tricks simply science that we don’t understand yet?

Friday, December 05, 2008

What REALLY Can Change Your Life

Have you ever:
Yawned in a meeting?
Got stressed in a noisy environment?
Struggled to get your point across?
Had trouble remembering the seven things your boss told you to do?

It’s not your fault! It’s simply that the way you communicate and work is different to the one in your immediate environment.

Everybody is different. We all know that. The question is - what can we do about it?

Creative Learning provides a range of online instruments designed to analyse your communication and working style. The resulting report is easy-to-read, objective and non-judgmental.

Depending on your Working Style, you will be good at:
- Concentrating under pressure
- Dealing with clutter
- Making lists
- Working night shift
- Operating computers
- Handling people

You tell us. What else do you excel at? Find your unique set of strengths here.