5 Ways To Save Money On Learning Styles

 

1.      If you know your child’s Learning Style, you won’t waste money on fashionable learning tools that don’t help.

 

How much is your child’s future success worth to you? Would you buy them educational software, fancy Cuisenaire Rods, private tuition, wall posters?

 

You may be wasting your money. A child who does not learn well with a computer will not benefit from even the best educational software. A child whose greater strength is learning alone will not learn well with a tutor. Wall posters are great, but only for those who learn in a visual manner.

 

Your child’s Learning Style is the way in which they learn best, all their strengths and non-preferences regarding the input, the learning environment, the social groupings and their attitude towards learning.

 

What does your child’s Learning Style need in order to learn best? Find out.

 

2.      If you know your child’s Learning Style, you won’t waste money on motivational rewards.

 

Some children will be motivated in their studies by a promise of a treat, gift or outing, and they will go out of their way to collect stars or reward points. Others are internally motivated and will not respond to the carrot-or-stick scenario. Is your child externally or internally motivated?

 

3.      Get the Student version.

 

All our LSA instruments for children come in two versions: the full package that contains the report for the child’s teacher and parent, and the Student version that has the report for the child. To save money, you can buy the Student version.

 

 

4.      Buy in bulk.

 

It’s the old paradox: the more you buy, the more you save.

Check out our volume discount rates.

 

5.      Join the CL club.

 

If you’re a school, you can get a discount from us. Click here to find out about the CL Club.

 

 

5 Common Learning Mistakes - and how your Learning Style can help

 

1. Studying the way your best friend does

 

You visit your best friend and you see that she has colour-coded folders for every school subject, where she keeps self-created mind-maps and highlighted texts from the textbooks. You think it’s a terrific idea and you buy your own set of folders... only it’s soooo boring to keep them up to date!

 

If that’s the case, chances are that your Learning Style is not analytic, and it may not be visual (click here to see what that means). You need to discover your own Learning Style and find out how you study best. Here’s how to do it.

 

 

2. Doing homework the way your teacher says

 

·        Sit up straight at a desk.

·        Have a bright desktop lamp.

·        Make sure the room is quiet.

 

These are good suggestions, but only for people with preference for a silent, light-filled, formal environment. What does your Learning Style need in order to learn best? Find out.

 

 

3. Leaving learning till last

 

Some people do well in tests even if they only study the night before or early on the morning of the test. When you try, however, you are too tired to concentrate.

 

That’s probably because your Learning Style doesn’t allow you to function well under pressure, plus you’re probably not a night owl or a lark. Discover what your Learning Style strengths are.

 

 

4. Regular revision

 

All learners benefit from regular revision, but some people do not benefit from keeping to the same routine when revising. Does your Learning Style prefer variety or sameness? New ways or old ways? A predictable time slot? We can help.

 

 

 

5. Study aids

 

Having study aids that are inappropriate for your Learning Style is even worse than having no study aids at all. If you are not tactile, tactile instruments will frustrate you. If you’re not auditory, learning tapes will bore you? What do you personally need?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learning Styles and Surfing the Internet

Does Your Learning Style Make You A Computer Slave?

 

In today’s world, it’s good to be good with technology. It’s good to see computers as fun. It’s good to feel at home on the Internet.

 

But can too much computer time be harmful?

 

Socialising

 

When you're a teenager, your popularity is determined by the number of friends you have on Bebo, MySpace and Facebook. So far, so good.

 

Recent research suggests, however, that our brains evolve to know no more than 150 people, including those in your house, family circle and neighbourhood. 150! Most city schools today are twice the size, and we're not counting childhood friends, the kids in the street who go to a different school, your mates from swimming lessons, and so on.

 

Add to that people you befriend online, and you can almost smell your brain short-circuiting as you try to sort out the Jenny from ballet and the Jenny from school and Aunt Jenny and Jenny online who goes by the handle born2bwild....

 

Some people like socialising on the Net more than others. Do you?

Discover Your Style.

 

Homework

 

Today’s teachers expect Internet research and projects generated in word processors. Is learning with the computer your strength? Do your Learning Style Assessment (LSA) to see whether you would be better off with a field trip or a DVD.

 

 

What’s your Fun Style?

 

What do you do for fun? Play computer games or climb trees?

(Just something to think about.)

 

Do you spend too much time in front of the computer? Find out.

 

 

 

E-learning and Learning Styles

To E-Learn or not to E-Learn - It’s a Matter of Style

 

E-Learning has many advocates and many obvious advantages. Nevertheless, a recent article attempted to argue that nothing could beat face-to-face learning with a real teacher. So, let us examine the issue more closely.

 

Teacher Contact

 

• The article claims that: “the more contact we have with our teachers the better we learn”. True... for many people, particularly those who accept teacher authority. But what about those who don’t?
• Research of Learning Styles has shown that students who have no respect for teacher figures would benefit from the non-challenging non-authoritative environment of E-Learning.

 

 

Verbal and Visual Clues

 

·        What about the fact that “humans are designed to learn from one another using both verbal and visual clues”? Also true. Except that many people’s Learning Style Analysis (LSA) profiles indicate a non-preference for verbal and visual input.

·        Students whose strength lies in tactile learning (particularly that combined with learning through words) will benefit from E-Learning more than they would by only attending class.

 

 

Social Groups

 

·        “Learning in groups is not just socially more enjoyable, it is a proven source of motivation.” Again, yes for some, no for others.

·        If you look at the Learning Style Pyramid, you will observe that some people prefer learning alone, others with just one friend, others yet in a group or a team. Those who like learning by themselves will flourish under the E-Learning Model.

·        Oh, and speaking of motivation... check out the Motivation Element, too. Not everybody is motivated by the same source.

 

 

What’s your Style?

 

• Are you a good candidate for E-Learning? Find out.
  

Learning Styles and the Magic of Classroom Management

How Teachers Make Magic

 

This is a true story of a New Zealand teacher called Tony. Read how he uses his knowledge of Learning Styles to make magic come alive in his classroom....

 

The Magical Classroom

 

·        The magical look is balanced: plenty of colour, but not too cluttered and not too bare.

·        The displays are functional and aid the learning process for visual students.

·        Children’s artwork is displayed in the corridor outside the classroom for the whole school to see: this makes the children feel proud and it keeps the classroom’s walls free for study aids.

·        Tony uses the findings of the class Learning Style Analysis (LSA) profiles to control the temperature and light in his classroom according to his students’ needs.

 

 

The Magic of Music

 

·        Tony knows that soft background music helps some of his students learn better - and he knows how many because of the free Learning Style Group Profile report.

·        He also plays his guitar in class and encourages students to make up songs that help them memorise difficult material.

 

 

The Magic of Motivation

 

·        Motivated students learn better. Motivated students behave better. That’s what Tony got when he scrutinised the summary of his students’ attitudes (found in the free Learning Style Group Profile report) and learnt how they responded to external motivation.

·        He also told his students that this was their classroom and negotiated with them what kind of class they want to be. Together they defined the behaviours and rewards they were acceptable to all.

 

Tony is well aware of the 10 Most Common False Beliefs About Learning  - are you?