Students Have their Say

With the various survey tools given in the reader I have been able to experiment with them and understand what pilots work best for me and which tools will enhance my research.
When it comes to researching how children feel about learning, I found the best way to do this is to talk and ask questions to my own students. I have the advantage of working closely with my students at my dance school and I was able to set up a SIG group and have a discussion with them on what they believed made a good teacher.

They were very quick to talk about teachers they had taken a dislike to and felt they had no connection with.  This had happened because the teacher showed no interest in them and was constantly looking at their phone throughout the lesson.  They also talked about how they found demonstration advantageous, where a teacher is able to show them a step they are struggling with or for example I was working on a dance with them for their exam and I was able to portray the dance ego it's full potential.  Being able to do this was good for the students to have an image in their heads of how the dance needed to look.

Many dancers will benefit from visual learners and having a demonstration video or live performance will enhance their learning tremendously achieving higher attainment overall. 

From this discussion I learnt how gaining respect from your students is of high importance without it they will not see you as a role model.

I used the website Survey Monkey to create a survey for my students so I had results on paper.  I found the survey I created needed to go into more depth and involve more on different ways children learn, so I have researched more into children's learning styles.

The BBC website had a very simple and informative way of describing the four learning styles;

Learning styles
Psychologists have categorised learning styles in lots of ways, but here's one way of looking at things, with four styles to choose from:

1. Visual learner

• Needs and likes to visualise things
• Learns through images - can remember the pictures on a page
• Enjoys art and drawing
• Reads maps, charts and diagrams well
• Interested in machines and inventions
• Plays with Lego and other construction toys, and likes jigsaw puzzles.
• Can be a daydreamer in class.

2. Kinaesthetic learner

• Processes knowledge through physical sensations
• Highly active, not able to sit still long
• Communicates using body language and gestures
• Shows you rather than tells you
• Wants to touch and feel the world around them
• May be good at mimicking others
• Enjoys sports or other activities where they can keep moving.

3. Auditory learner

• thinks in words and verbalises concepts
• spells words accurately and easily, as they can hear the different sounds - so tends to learn phonetically rather than through 'look and say' techniques.
• Can be a good reader, though some prefer the spoken word
• Has excellent memory for names, dates and trivia
• Likes word games
• Enjoys using tape recorders and often musically talented
• Usually able to learn their times tables with relative ease.

4. Logical learner

• Thinks conceptually, likes to explore patterns and relationships
• Enjoys puzzles and seeing how things work
• Constantly questions and wonders
• Likes routine and consistency
• Capable of highly abstract forms of logical thinking at early age
• Does mental arithmetic easily
• Enjoys strategy games, computers and experiments with a purpose
• Creates own designs to build with blocks/Lego
• Not so good at the more 'creative' side.

It is also important to be aware of your own style - it might conflict with your child's.

Have a look at the four learning styles and see what yours is (or are - you may favour a mixture) - and then assess your child's style. How does your child vary from you and how can you use your strengths and theirs in a complementary way to help them learn at home?

I found the comment at the end very interesting as it is something I have never thought about, how my learning style may conflict my students.  I will take this int consideration from now on if i find myself struggling with a particular students behaviour or focus.