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Thomas Adam Johnson ict-design.

org

An understanding about learning styles requires knowledge of brain functioning. The “whole-
brain” approach to teaching is an appropriate one because it enhances intra/inter-neural
connectivity in the brain, which has a significant positive outcome on learning. Lessons that
incorporate a variety of learning modalities in unison are more stimulating and beneficial for
students than the ones that focus exclusively on one or two learning modalities.

Although this is an established fact, teachers are still faced with the challenge of covering
contents within a specified time frame (we still teach at schools that are bound by traditional
views of teaching and learning). Teachers are constantly running out of time to complete the
“syllabus” and in the process, find it difficult to employ the “whole-brain” approach that considers
students as individuals with different preferences and styles in learning.

Recommend five concrete ways to enable a teacher to use the “whole-brain” approach to teach
his/her subject(s), and at the same time, complete the syllabus assigned to him/her. (5×5 = 25
points)

5 or more concrete ways to use a whole-brain approach:

•Cluster information: See where concepts can be grouped into themes, units or general
inquiries. Introduce general (umbrella) concepts that you know will cover many facets of the
curriculum. From here have exploratory sections that can span into other areas of focus. Make
sure to cover the entire syllabus in the clustering. Allow for student inquiry into broad clusters
while making sure that benchmarks are attained.

•Collaborate with others to see where the syllabus overlaps. Systematically break the
syllabus/curriculum down into parts to see where the focus will lie in your particular course. Look
at the most difficult and/or most interesting areas to focus the attention; from here take an
adaptive approach which will cater to student's learning based upon the needs determined
through formative assessment and subject overlap. If different teachers are teaching from their
subject’s perspective this will enable different learning style approaches to occur naturally while
maintaining the goal of covering the material.

•Encourage study groups giving empowerment. Allow for student inquiry: Keep open ended
questions and do not give answers. This will inevitably take the learning out of the classroom,
empowering the student to do their own learning. They will explore questions that may arise to
them and this will enable an approach that suits them best. Also, have classroom routine that
logically varies, either during the class or during the unit. The class can then be separated into
individual or group work so the students move through different learning centers catering to each
learning style and giving a well-rounded approach. This variation, along with the study group
approach will keep students eager for more because they know that something new and
sometimes a new way of doing things is around every corner.

•Provide Multiple Pathways to get to a standard, while involving Multiple Intelligences:

Words (linguistic intelligence)


Numbers or logic (logical-mathematical intelligence)
Pictures (spatial intelligence)
Music (musical intelligence)
Self-reflection (intrapersonal intelligence)
A physical experience (bodily-kinesthetic intelligence)
A social experience (interpersonal intelligence), and/or
An experience in the natural world. (naturalist intelligence)
Spiritual Intelligence
Moral Intelligence
Thomas Adam Johnson ict-design.org

Concern with ‘ultimate issues’ (Existential Intelligence)

Do not cater to just one intelligence entirely or wholly, but represent these different intelligences
to the students through diverse approaches to the same task. The students now have a choice to
obtain the objectives of the class. Make sure that students are not always choosing the same
way to approach the objective every time. Allow for some way to regulate and control this by
posting the multiple intelligences as a board on the front of the room, with the student names
down the side. As each student finished a project using that or those intelligences as the primary
foci, they put an “X” next to it so they know they have fulfilled this aptitudinal pathway.

•Follow the "Design Process" from the IBO. This process juxtaposes quite well to both "Bloom's
Taxonomy" and the "Guided Inquiry Process" in approach:

"Investigate -> Plan -> Design -> Create -> Evaluate" DP

“Knowledge – Comprehension – Application – Analysis – Synthesis – Evaluation” BT

“Concept Exploration – Evaluation – Extension – Application – Evaluation/Reflection” GIP

It is a progression of steps through scaffolding and an exploratory approach that allows the
students their own understanding, while maintaining proof process. At the same time it asks that
a teacher consider also a “Learner Profile” which covers these areas: Inquiring, Being
Knowledgeable, Thinking, Communicating, Being Principled and Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-
Taking, and Being Balanced and Reflective.

By following this course of action and reflecting also about the profile, the student works in a
cohesive manner, applying Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor skills but thinking and working
strategically with the process as the central focus.

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