I didn't really know what to name this first post, so it is what it is. I decided on the title of my blog because as I was thinking about what to call it, I thought of the Spanish verb "enseñar", which has a double meaning. It means, "to teach" and also "to show". So, in Spanish when someone says, "Enséñame", they are saying, "Teach me" or "Show me"..the meanings are synonymous to them. This helped me to think about our recent discussions on learning styles. I think we could all agree on one thing at least...we'd much rather be shown something, than told about something. For example, when I wanted to tear apart the carburetor on my lawn mower (something I had never done before), and I wanted someone to teach me how, I immediately hit the Internet. I read some posts people had left on how to do it...not much help, but then I stumbled upon a video someone had made of the whole procedure. Guess what! I was immediately an expert. I knew what all the parts were called and where they were located, and how they came apart, what to look for when inspecting them, and how to put them back together, before I ever touched my mower. The application was simple after that. I didn't have to go back and refer to a page I printed out and try to figure out vague textual descriptions of components, or stare at awkward diagrams. I knew the components when I saw them...because someone had shown them to me.
Now, what is my point with all of this? What I am trying to come to is my opinion that, if we cover the basics (the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic parts) the majority of students will be successful. Going back to my example, in the video, I was being shown (visual) how to do the task, as he was telling me (audial) how to do it, as he also showed me how to manipulate the tools used to take components apart (kinesthetic- I realize this one may be debatable to some people, but I believe in being shown how to "turn the wrench this way as you put your arm that way to turn the nut to the left" is pretty close to getting a kinesthetic feel for how to do the task) and thus complete the task. And...that's my rant for today.
You have a point about the basics...VAK. I think that educators and researchers have overcomplicated thoughts about learning styles because everyone has to put their own spin on it to make it their own, or whatever. Keep it simple....I've found to this point about as many learning styles as there are learners and they all have slightly different twists...and yet, there are some common foundations..like VAK. Glad you fixed your car!!
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