Running Head: LEARNING STYLES
Barton
Learning Style Inventory
Jenna Barton
Kennesaw State University
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LEARNING STYLES
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Learning Styles Inventory
The results of my learning style assessment were fairly evenly split between Linguistic,
Logical-Mathematical, and Interpersonal (Edutopia Staff, 2009). Interpersonal was my strongest
with 100% and linguistic and logical-mathematical tie for second with 75%. I ranked as 58%
visual-spatial which was surprising to me because I feel that I am not visual-spatial at all. I was
also 63% intrapersonal, 58% bodily-kinesthetic, 44% musical, and 17% naturalistic. I have taken
quizzes like this before and I am always split between multiple learning styles. I feel that these
are fairly accurate for me and speak to why I became a Math teacher. I love talking and
explaining concepts because of my linguistic aptitude. The thing I enjoy explaining the most is
mathematics because of the beautiful logic it contains. I also love giving feedback and helping
other people because of my strong tendency toward interpersonal. However, I feel that
sometimes I make the mistake of assuming that all of my students have similar learning profiles
and do not account for the visual spatial, intrapersonal, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and
naturalistic learning styles in my classroom.
In an online classroom it is important that you reach as many different learning styles as
possible because you never know what types of students will eventually take that course. One
key aspect of an online course is building a strong community where students collaborate, give
each other feedback, and make frequent discussion posts. This would address the linguistic,
interpersonal, and intrapersonal learners. The intrapersonal learners would enjoy the initial
posting and the interpersonal would enjoy the responding. It is also important to make sure not
all assignments require peer interaction to fully recognize the potential of the intrapersonal
learners.
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To engage visual spatial learners, I would make sure I had plenty of graphics, videos, and
diagrams to support the instruction in the online classroom. It would also be important for these
learners that the information be arranged in an attractive and easy to follow format. Another way
to support visual spatial learners is through the use of interactive online tools. In math, Geogebra
is a great way of making many math concepts very visual and hands on. This will also engage
the bodily-kinesthetic learners.
Since my class is a math class, it is very easy to address the logical-mathematical
learners. However it is much harder to address the musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic
learners. These are also the most difficult to address in any online class. The key to these
learning styles is student choice in product. Allow a bodily-kinesthetic learner to make a video of
him acting out word problems. A music learner may choose to express a concept with a
memorable song. A naturalistic learner may choose to write about how the mathematics we are
discussing relates to a topic in nature or daily life.
A great way to address multiple learning styles all at once is to group students in
heterogeneous learning style groups. This would allow for each individual to shine where they
are strong. The interpersonal learner would likely be the leader of the group. The linguistic may
take on the role of writing up the groups final assignment. The logical-mathematical could be the
problem solver. The musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic could tailor the groups output to
include aspects of their learning styles. Of course, you will not always have a perfect mix in
every group.
Learning styles are important to accommodate for in any classroom, but especially in an
online course. One of the best aspects of online learning is the great potential for differentiation.
LEARNING STYLES
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A teacher should differentiate not only for ability and aptitude for the subject manner, but also
for the way in which each individual student learns.
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References
Edutopia Staff. (2009, March 26). Edutopia.org. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/yourlearning-styles
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