SECTOR INSIGHTS
SECTOR INSIGHTS
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PIGEONHOLES AND FALSE DICHOTOMIES: MODERN EDUCATION SHOULD FOCUS ON OPENING NEW DOORS FOR STUDENTS, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF CLOSING OTHERS ― The key theme that can be consistently felt as one explores the findings of educational research through the decades, is that there is no ‘silver bullet’— no single best way to educate children. In some areas, this has led to exciting developments in pedagogical approach. All too often, though, the human need to structure and compartmentalise ourselves and our ideas has led to the creation of false dichotomies that we must work to dispel. by Rob Earl, Senior Vice Principal, North London Collegiate School (Singapore)
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here was a time in the not too distant past when lesson plans in schools all over the world contained the letters ‘VAK’. These stood for ‘visual’, ‘auditory’ and ‘kinaesthetic’ and were used to identify strategies used in class to cater for each of these types of learner. Teachers would create video, image or diagram-based resources for their visual learners, consider their language and soundscape for their auditory learners and meticulously craft practical activities for their kinaesthetic learners. What most did not realise at the time, and many still don’t, is that tailoring the method of instruction to an individual’s preferred ‘learning style’ does not improve learning. In fact, it often limits it. However organised and structured each of us may feel we are, in truth our brains are messy. They are unimaginably complex
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networks of interlinked thoughts, ideas and snippets of information collected through all five senses, often simultaneously. Consider, for example, a time when you smelled a particular scent, and it immediately conjured a picture in your mind’s eye of an event or person. Or the fact you can almost hear a song playing in your head if you read the lyrics or see a photograph of the band. These things happen because your brain’s ability to retain information is magnified when more than one of your senses is stimulated and more neural connections can be made as a result. Focusing on one particular ‘learning style’ for an individual can actually make it harder for them to commit things to their long-term memory, not easier.
In many modern schools there is an increasing focus on evidence-based teaching, where the strategies used in the classroom are informed by educational research. Rather than tailoring their resources to the preferred learning style of the student, teachers in these schools tailor them to the content and the context of the lesson and employ ‘dual coding’. This seeks to ensure that multiple senses are stimulated at the same time, for example by combining words with an image or a diagram to help the brain to form the necessary connections for long-term retention. Sadly, though, the neuroscientific ‘myth’ of learning styles persists. Surveys have shown that the vast majority of those within and outside of the education profes-
Issue 94 / September 2023