The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Tag Archives: learning styles

Growing & Learning

20 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, learning environment, Teachers

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engaged learners, goldilocks, learners, learning environment, learning styles, schools, theory of learning, zone of proximal development

Heather Siple-Tod3-1-29_003
IMG_1245
Division using Stamp Game

One of the first things educators learn about in their quest to become teachers is the zone of proximal development – the “just right” conditions for learning to take place. Just like Goldilocks, if something is too easy or too hard, a student is not likely to fully engage in learning. It’s only when it’s “just right” and the student needs some guidance to achieve his or her goals that the student becomes curious, interested and most able to accept a learning challenge.  Continue reading →

Hard Work

07 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, learning environment, Montessori Education, Teachers

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hard work, learners, learning styles, montessori

IMG_3200Most of us think working harder will produce better, different and desired outcomes. This may work when trying to learn to ride a bike or clean a room, but it may not. There is something to be said for hard work. It is the stuff the American dream is made of. However, it can also be said that some things that are easy for one person may be quite challenging for another. If you pay attention, you will notice this everywhere you look.

Most adults drive a car, typically learning it as a rite of passage of their teenage years. Some people are better at it than others. There is much more to driving than learning how to turn the car on, put it in gear and operate the various switches. For instance, figuring out where to look, how to make sharp turns, and how often to monitor the mirrors and cars around you matters… a lot. These skills may be intuitive or not. They may require lots of practice, which may or may not lead to substantive improvement. We all know those drivers who just aren’t as attentive, careful or skilled when we see them on the road. Continue reading →

Making Learning “Just Right”

08 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by Lisa Lalama in 21st century learning, Learning, Montessori Education, Research, Wilmington Montessori School

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brain, factory model of education, individualized learning, learning styles, school, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

brain based learningSeveral years ago, two friends and I led a two-week summer camp. The theme was the brain and how it works. We focused our efforts on offering activities that would allow campers to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to a variety of experiences. The goal was for them to discover what they find easy or enjoying doing, as well what they find hard or uninteresting. We all participated in activities that were easy, just right, or difficult.

Much of school is about just that. Easy. Just right. Difficult. One person’s experience is not the same as another’s, and yet schools persist in trying to make everyone’s experience the same – a factory model applied to individuals. Factories don’t exist to fit the individual; their purpose is to create conformity and uniformity. That simply doesn’t work in schools. It isn’t an effective way to learn. I may need more time to conduct an experiment or read a book but less time solving a math problem or applying logic to a given situation. We are each individuals, and many of us didn’t learn much about our learning style until we were out of school. If we were successful in school, there could be many reasons but one reason for many is that we simply knew how to “do school.” We understood the way school worked, could manage to meet most requirements with relative ease and fit into the mold. Some of us did not have that luxury. Instead, we may have struggled with things that others found easy; we may have not understood how to meet the mark and succeed in school. But, once we found something we loved to do, we figured that out, no matter how hard it was.

Many schools, like Wilmington Montessori, are trying to do things differently. We are looking for that “just right” level of instruction for every student, not just a select few. We strive to be responsive to the needs of the children in their classrooms today – not those who were there last week, last year or 10 years ago. This is a tall order but it is one that is necessary. We know much more about learning and how brains work today than we did a century or even a decade ago. We have the ability to design instruction with the student in mind. We know that we are preparing students to enter a workforce that is quite different from that their parents or grandparents entered. It is a new world, a world that is moving at a faster rate of change than ever before. We need to be responsive and adapt student experiences, ready to make it “just right” for the children who will be doing all they can to be contributing members of their world as they continue to learn and grow.

Summer Reflections

06 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by Wilmington Montessori in Learning

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family, joyful learning, learning, learning styles

Heather Siple-First Day-MS-Sami-Lydia-Will

As summer comes to an end, I have been thinking about the fun I’ve had with friends and family. One thing I was reminded throughout the summer is that even as adults, we all come with our preferences, struggles and abilities.

A friend who visited for a few days this summer did some “odd jobs” at our house, jobs that we may have had to hire someone to do if not for this visit. He loves being busy and is able to figure out how things work even if they are new to him. By the time he left, we had checked several jobs off of our list. While traveling with family, one member relied on another to determine the inner workings of a schedule and map. It was too frustrating to untangle for one and easily done by the other. And yet another family member said that writing is too hard, and he always asks someone to write for him if it’s an important communication. He is well-spoken and has a professional job. He just can’t write well and finds it incredibly frustrating. Continue reading →

“Every student can learn, just not on the same day or in the same way.”

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning

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George Evans, individualized learning, learning styles, teachers as guides

Every Student Can Learn.pngComing across this quote the other day reminded me of so many times in life when learning just happened and just as many others when it kept slipping through my fingers. There are countless times that I have tried to do something and kept making mistakes or missing the mark, only to return to the task the next day or week and accomplish the goal in record time. Learning isn’t neat and tidy; in fact, it can be rather messy.

Years in school – as a student, teacher and administrator – have taught me that everyone can learn… on his/her time frame. This runs up against the need for schools to teach certain concepts at specified times of the year as mandated by the chosen curriculum. I ask, once again, are we teaching curriculum or children? Every teacher I know would opt for the second choice; we are teaching children. If that is the goal, how do we make sure that we are addressing the needs of those children? How do we meet them where they are each day when they may be in very different places? How do we measure their progress and set the next goals? This is the very difficult work of schools.

Teaching and learning are often not aligned. Children may be ready to learn in ways or on days that we are not ready to teach them. However, if learning is the priority and children are at the center of all we do, isn’t it time that we slow down, stop and look at the individuals who make up our classrooms? Isn’t it time to guide them in their learning no matter the day or the way?

Mythbuster: Theories of Learning Styles

12 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Research

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auditory learner, kinesthetic learner, learning modalities, learning styles, learning theories, mythbuster, visual learner

learning modalities (1)Are you an auditory, visual or kinesthetic learner? Do you prefer to listen, see or move to gain the most from a learning experience? Most of us will say we think we know how we learn best. However, in the past few years research has debunked the idea of preferential learning styles.

Research has shown that we actually learn and retain information equally well through any of these paths. Evidence suggests that we may prefer one type of learning over another but that, in practice, that preference doesn’t improve our performance. Once study strategies are taught, we have the ability to do as well through any of the modes of learning. Reading this information made me question my own preference for visual learning. I prefer to see and take notes to learn rather than to attend a lecture where listening is the main pathway to attain information. Maybe I placed too much emphasis on my note taking as a kinesthetic way to learn? Or perhaps I overrated my need to see the information that is being discussed along with hearing it?

We don’t learn in isolation, nor do we retain isolated facts for any length of time. Taking notes in a lecture may help you focus. Moving might support attention and interest for some people. Now that research has proven we can learn in various ways, does that mean that we don’t have a preference? Probably not. But it does mean that we don’t need to rely solely on that preference. We can learn in new ways and need to open our minds to the possibilities.

The Definition of Success

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers

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assessment, creativity, learner outcomes, learning, learning styles, montessori, problem solving, standardized testing, success, teaching, yong zhao

Screen Shot 2017-09-21 at 8.17.07 PMAssessments are performed at the beginning of each school year. Teachers use them to determine what children remember after a long summer, which skills are strong and where additional support might be needed. Most of the assessments are measured against the “norm,” or the average student of that grade or age. When the results are favorable, the student is deemed to be on the right path; when they are less than optimal, it is determined what skills are lacking and what help is needed to reach that benchmark or average. Though this information may be useful in determining an instructional path for the development of specific skills, it cannot serve as the guiding force for learning. Continue reading →

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