SOCIOLOGICAL PREFERENCES

• WORKING ALONE, IN PAIRS, WITH PEERS OR WITH A TEAM.

There are students who want to work independently or alone. They feel distracted when working with others, their sense of focus and their thinking processes are inhibited.

Other students are productive when they work in pairs, especially if their partner is their best friend or bosom buddy.

Still, other students want to work with their peers, particularly those with whom they share common
interests, aspirations, likes and dislikes, talents and abilities. They find working with peers more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Lastly, there are students who want to work with a team or as a group. They find fulfillment in working with such groups or teams. Their productivity and performance are boosted by the contributions they make to the team’s success in a project or lesson.

• THE ELEMENT OF AUTHORITY.

Some students respond well to authority figures, like supervisors or teachers, who are knowledgeable and provide specific guidelines and a list of expectations. They tend to follow what the teacher says and need feedback and confirmation that what they are doing is right. Others respond well to teachers who are option oriented and approachable.

• THE ELEMENT OF VARIETY.

Research validates the belief that most students can learn, but each child concentrates, processes and retains new and difficult information in many different ways. This is the essence of learning styles.

ELEMENTS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PREFERENCES

• PERCEPTUAL STRENGTHS.

When a teacher gives a lecture, many students respond according to their perceptual strengths or learning modality.

Some learn best by listening attentively.

Others learn by seeing the words or pictures on the page. Some learn while doodling, taking notes or highlighting text. Others learn best when personally or physically involved.

• THE ELEMENT OF INTAKE.

Some students like to munch or take snacks while listening, reading or studying. Food or drink intake should be allowed as long as the productivity and learning of the students will intensify.

• THE ELEMENT OF TIME-OF-DAY.

Some students learn or study best during the evening or early morning. Others perform better in the late morning while others reach their peak in the afternoon. When we administer tests or teach new or difficult subjects during the preferred time-of-day of the students, their performance will be significantly better than if they had taken the test or been taught the lesson at a different time.

• THE ELEMENT OF MOBILITY.

Students are highly mobile. Generally, we need to let the students feel physiologically comfortable before asking them to study, learn, or concentrate on the lessons.

When students are forced to think, study, concentrate or learn in this kind of situation, minimal performance can be expected. Of course, there are always exceptions.

But generally, we need to let the students feel physiologically comfortable before asking them to study, learn, or concentrate on the lessons. When students feel comfortable, they can think and focus better.

ELEMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PREFERENCES

Analytic individuals capture and remember information best when it is presented in a step-by-step, methodical, sequential structure, one fact after another, little by little, leading toward an understanding of the concepts or lessons presented.

Global individuals process and retain new and difficult information best when introduced to the concept or idea first before beginning to work on a task. Globals need mobility and frequent breaks.

The author: Henry S. Tenedero is the president of the Center for Learning and Teaching Styles, an affiliate of the International Learning Styles Network, based at St. John’s University in New York. He is a graduate of the AIM Masters in Development management and of the Harvard Graduate School for Professional Educators. He is the author of the following books: Cooking Up A Creative Genius; The HI CLASS Teacher, Breakthrough Ideas in Education; and Using Passion and Laughter in Your Presentations. He can be reached at htenedero@yahoo.com