Thursday, February 25, 2010

Learning Styles Course - Online in March

Have you ever wanted to dig deeper into your students’ Learning Styles? Have you wondered what it implies for a child’s learning when they are highly holistic or internally motivated? Have you looked at a group profile and compared it to your own Teaching Style Analysis report?
Now you can.
When: 1 - 31 March 2010
Where: online
How much: EUR150
We don’t have set times when you have to be in front of the computer - do it at your own leisure. Nor do we have Real Time participation, though email participation is encouraged.
Classes will be held on a designated Yahoo Group. The way it'll work will be fairly structured yet informal, to accommodate all learning styles and most schedules:
  • the tutor will post a lesson on the forum (this will be available on the yahoo group's website and as an email sent to your address), usually with homework assignments
  • the participants will ask questions, post feedback and share homework - all by means of an email/post to the yahoo group
  • although the lessons will be posted on designated dates, the participants will be free to do them whenever it's convenient, bearing in mind that it's always best to do it when most of the class is doing it, of course....
Click here to read more
Click here to book

Thursday, February 18, 2010

1st on-line Learning Style Certification Program


LEARNING STYLES IN ACTION

A new Approach to

Personalized Learning and Micro-Teaching

Recommended for teaching principals, tutors, active classroom teachers and educators

who already have some experience with Learning Styles and want to gain better understanding of practical applications of style diversity in the classroom


When: 1 - 31 March 2010

Where: online

How much: EUR150




Friday, February 12, 2010

Bad Behaviour - Bursting the Belief

IT’S A LEARNING STYLE NEED

Did you know that the habit of hair chewing / nail biting discussed in last week’s blog can often be mistaken for bad behaviour?

The need for chewing or snacking when you’re supposed to be doing homework is a matter of the child’s Learning Style. It should be recognised for what it is: a comforting action under pressure or to relieve boredom, which also seems to help with problem solving.

Sadly, the need for intake (chewing) is often interpreted as neurotic behaviour because the more it’s forbidden, the greater the need and it could then lead to compulsive behaviour.

WARNING!

Combined with the need for tactile stimulation, the need for intake often leads to smoking. Is your child at risk? Find out here.

ADVICE

Parents should observe, under which conditions their children chew most and when do they ‘forget’ to do that (most likely when their hands are occupied and they are really engaged in an activity). Acknowledging the need and getting to know their Learning Style is the best starting point.

INTERVIEW

Today we’re fortunate to have Barbara Prashnig, a world expert in the field of Learning Styles, to answer our questions.

Q: Does hair-chewing increase under stress?

A: Although there are so far no scientific studies on that subject, from anecdotal evidence & observation from LS users, people (and children in particular) who have taken up the habit of chewing their hair (in LS terms have a high need for intake/mouth stimulation combined with a preference for tactile stimulation), seem to increase when they experience the following:

a) being VERY excited, talking about something, reporting and not having anything to do with their fingers;

b) concentrating deeply, forgetting the world around them but again, not having anything to chew or occupy their fingers with;

c) being bored, impatient also can bring about this behaviour – it seems to be comforting.

Q: "My child only seems to chew when they find the homework boring. What does it mean?"

A: See point c) above. Make sure, your child learns multi-sensory, can move about when needed, has it comfortable, the right light level, noise or quiet etc according to their personal style combinations.

Q: If the school has a rigid no-chewing policy, can the chewing need to relieved by matching the child's other learning needs?

A: Not necessarily, particularly when the urge for chewing is very strong (remember: it’s biological and can influenced by will only with difficulty). When a child’s hands are occupied & the learning is multi-sensory, then often the need for chewing goes down, but chewing also often functions as a thinking or learning-enhancer.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Chewing Hair - A Matter of Learning Style



  • “Take that hair out of your mouth!”
  • “Stop biting your nails!”
  • “Have you eaten the other half of the bookmark?”
  • “Don’t suck your collar.”
  • “Don’t chew the pencil.”
  • “If you carry on biting your nails, you’ll get an infection.”

If this is a familiar mantra in your household, wait. Before you start painting your child’s fingers, pens and clothes with bitter substances, try to get to the root cause of the problem.

Every child has their own unique Learning Style, in other words, every child learns in a different way:

  • some need to feel good about the topic they’re learning,
  • some need to make a model of the new concept,
  • some need to work closely with a group of friends in order to understand best...
  • ... and some need to chew something while concentrating.

All in all, there are 49 Learning Style Elements that affect your child’s ability to concentrate on their school work. Please have a look at the LSA Pyramid to see what they are.

If your child tends to chew when reading or doing homework, give them sugar-free gum, a healthy snack, a water bottle or a wooden spoon to chew on. Less stress for you, more learning for them.

Incidentally, would your child enjoy playing a maths-based board game or baking a cake in order to learn their fractions? Find out here.