UNDERSTANDING LEARNING
STYLES OF MALE STUDENTS OF
AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE
Adrienne Foster, Ph.D.
West Los Angeles College
Spring 2012 Tech Fair
April 26, 2012
THE PROBLEM:
• Only 12% of African
American boys are
proficient in reading.
• More than 70% of
remedial reading students
are male.
•80% of African American
students in K12 are male.
•53% of all African
American males drop out
of high school.
•Out of the 9% of
students enrolled in
LAUSD in 2009-10, 26%
of the suspensions were
African American
students.
•242 (18%) of Fall 2011
first time students at
WLAC were AA males
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage
FRAMEWORK
Some of the issues that form the framework, driving force, and foundations
of this approach to understanding African American Male student learning
styles will include the following:
 Is there a correlation between the high percentage of White female
instructors and the high percentage of African American males that do not
succeed in college?
 Theoretically we know that students learn differently. Do we make those
learning style adjustments in our pedagogy, curriculum, and classrooms?
 If students are not learning the way we offer instruction, are we changing
the way we teach?
 In our classrooms, students are generally asked to perform only one task
at a time. The reality is that 21st century students are multitaskers. How
can you say a student cannot learn when he can listen to his iPod, send
text messages and make comments on Facebook at the same time?
Understanding Learning Styles of Male
Students of African American Heritage

According to Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, there are five types of
instructors/teachers:





Custodians – low expectations of students;
Referral Agents – quick to discipline;
Instructors – teach subjects, not students;
Master Teachers – understand and teach subjects and knows
the importance of developing a pedagogy that is congruent with
students learning styles;
Coaches – in addition to knowledge of subject and learning
styles of students, they also know the student’s culture and
respects it.
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of African
American Heritage
BLACK MALE CULTURE QUIZ
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is culture?
What is the cultural deficit model?
Are you afraid of tall African American male
students?
Are you afraid of African American male
students with sagging pants?
What are the “Dozens”?
What are the differences between how African
Americans and the White Culture view words?
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage
7.
8.
Black Male Culture Quiz (con’t)
What are language arts skills needed to play the dozens?
How many of you have taken a class in African American
history or culture?
DISCUSSION
Understanding Learning Styles of Male
Students of African American Heritage
IDEAL STUDENT*











Quiet
Works Independently
Left-brain learner
Passive
Neat
Well organized
Likes multiple choice tests
Mature
White
Female
Middle class
CHALLENGING STUDENT*











Loud
Likes to stand or fidget
Short attention span
Right brain learner
Aggressive
Slow reader
Disorganized
Doesn’t like multiple choice tests
African American
Male
Low income
Understanding the Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage
Left Brain Student
Right Brain Student
As it is in general (Analytical)
 Rules
 Standardization
 Conformity
 Memory of specific facts
 Precision
 Logical
 Cognitive
 Linear
 Hierarchical
 Deductive
As it could be (Relational)
 Freedom
 Variation
 Creativity
 Memory for essence
 Approximate
 Psychological
 Affective
 Patterned
 Democratic
 Inductive
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage
DISCUSSION
Where do most African
American male
students sit in
the class?
Where are you? Do
you ever walk to
the back of the
room?
Do you allow headsets
in your class?
Where do we go from
here?
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of African
American Heritage
Is this a gang?
Would you be afraid
of this group of
students on the
campus?
Understanding Learning Styles of Males of African American
Heritage
Is this a gang?
Would you be afraid
of this group of
students on campus?
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of African
American Heritage
Is this a gang?
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of African
American Heritage
In no way am I an expert on the learning
styles of African American male students,
I just wanted to raise the issue as a
discussion opportunity.
What’s next?
Thank you.
Understanding Learning Styles of Male Students of
African American Heritage