Thursday 18 January 2018

Meeting the needs of our learners

One aspect of teaching that we discuss during our teaching course, is ‘meeting the needs of our learners’. The word ‘needs’ may sound challenging and complex, but if we just consider that each person learns in a different way, we could come up with an accommodating solution for many of our learners’ needs. As some people learn when they see, others when they hear or do things; why don’t we ensure that our organized activities and resources address visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners? Furthermore, the way that we learn can differ depending on a range of factors, a topic or skill that we learn being one of them.
Pikes’ cline of retention shows learning retention over 3 days.
10% of what you read
20%of what you hear
30% of what you see
50% of what you see and hear
70% of what you say
90% of what you say and do is retained
Pike (1989)


Even though it is difficult to come up with learning that could be pictured, dressed in words and evidenced in action; I strive to include interesting, sometimes funny pictures in my sessions, let people discuss things through and encourage them to move around the room. It can sound a bit ‘odd’ but I noticed that ‘cards matching activities’ in different parts of the room can have a beneficial effect on my learners, including improved communication and peer cooperation. This leads me to ponder upon another aspect of teaching ‘peer cooperation’ that I would like to discuss next time J