Something new I hope sticks … a weekly collection of writings around the Internet about education.
Seth’s Blog: Back to (the wrong) School
which reminds of one of my favorite Sir Ken Robinson talks
Do Schools Kill Creativity and, of course, another one that made the rounds Changing Education Paradigms
As a mother of six children, a home educating mother of six children, including a child with developmental delays, cognitive impairments, and other myriads of exceptionalities, I whole heartedly believe that we all have different learning styles. I believe we can all learn no matter what approach or style is used to teach a concept. I believe we each benefit from one or two styles over others, but that we are not limited by that one or two. As a child grows, develops, and matures, the style of learning the individual benefits from most will change. None of this negates the fact that every individual needs exposure to all learning styles and approaches. I could really write a whole article on my thoughts pertaining to learning styles and my philosophy of it all. No matter what my children’s best learning styles are I find they can get bored from time to time so we need to mix it up, even if that means using an approach that is not always the one that benefits the most. That’s why I love this quote from Dan Willingham (University of Virginia) from a recent NPR news story (transcript, listen):
Mixing things up is something that we know is scientifically supported as something that boosts attention. And we all sort of can feel this intuitively if you’ve been doing one thing for a long time and then something changes.
and this one from Patti Neighmond
In fact scientists have found that variety boosts both attention and retention.
So, what is my point? Whether you believe in learning styles or not, do not box your child in!
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