Effective learning occurs when teachers account for the needs, strengths and styles of their students in their teaching approaches. It is important for teachers to adopt inclusive approaches that allow them to attend to the unique needs of their students. As they develop lesson plans, teachers should give special focus to learners with disabilities and those with special needs. This assignment involves examining the learning styles and needs of students by administering the Cornell Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire for Children. For the assignment, a group of five students from an urban school that is comprised mostly of African American students were recruited. Three of the students were male while the other two were female with ages ranging from 7-9. One of the students who participated in the questionnaire had special needs while another was an English-language learner. For example, there was a student with a learning disability. As the results of the questionnaire revealed, there are stark differences between my personal learning style and the learning approaches that the five students prefer. I am an aspiring teacher who recognizes the importance of stimulating the senses so as to create engagement.
Self and Student Development Plan
The following table offers a summary of the results of the questionnaire.
| Dimension | Student 1 (with special needs) | Student 2 (English language learner | Student 3 | Student 4 | Student 5 | Personal |
| Music | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Picture | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Word | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Nature | 1 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Math | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Body | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| People | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Self | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
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As the table above shows, there are stark and clear differences in my own performance and those of the students in the various dimensions of intelligence. The performance of the student with special needs is poorest while the other students perform fairly well. Another issue that is evident is that in nearly all the dimensions, I perform better than the students. This is to be expected and should be incorporated into the teaching plan. If effective learning is to occur, the needs of all the students need to be met. In the following section, a development plan for myself and the students is developed. The purpose of this plan is to show how teachers can leverage their individual strengths to promote learning.
The development plan that will be adopted for the students involved tapping the potential of the brain. In her text, Caroline Leaf (2013) contends that the human brain holds immense potential that can be tapped to accelerate learning. This insight will be incorporated into the development plan for such students as the one with special needs. As is shown in the table, this student’s performance on all the dimensions of intelligence is worrying and disappointing. To improve performance, focus will be given to building his confidence and assuring him that through dedication, he can achieve better outcomes. Another issue that will be incorporated into the development plan is promoting stimulation and addressing the issues that cause stress. John Medina (2014) observed that students tend to suffer distraction when classes are boring and that stress hampers learning. A possible explanation for the poor performance of the five students is that they find their classes to be stressful and demanding. For example, in such dimensions as math, all the students had scores of less than 5 which is the threshold for excellence. One can argue that the students find mathematics to be needlessly difficult and inconsistent with their learning approaches. For their performance to improve, focus must be given to creating an engaging learning environment that is devoid of stress-triggers. One of the issues that is surprising is that the English language student performed well in nearly all the dimensions. What makes this surprising is that students taking English language classes tend to lag behind their peers since their primary languages hampers their efforts to learn a new language and acquire new skills (Akowuah, Patnaik & Kyei, 2018). The development plan for this student will involve building on the strengths of this student. It is true that the focus of the development plan should be on enhancing the skills and strengths of the students. However, I recognize that I also need to tailor the plan to facilitate my own development. Among the areas where I perform poorly is in math and picture intelligence. The development plan will involve close collaboration with the students. It is understood that peer tutoring is an effective strategy for improving performance in such subjects as mathematics (Department of Education, n.d). The implementation of this development plan will undoubtedly go a long way in encouraging the students to embark on performance improvement through collaboration and building on their competencies.
CCSS Lesson Plan
While it is crucial, a development plan is not sufficient to enhance student performance. It should be accompanied with a lesson plan which outlines the measures and tools to be integrated into teaching. Medina (2014) identifies some of the most effective strategies that enhance learning and enables teachers to align their competencies and styles with the needs and strengths of their teachers. These strategies include brain exercises, encouraging student to engage in physical and engaging activities, promoting healthy amounts of sleep, and prioritizing teaching approaches that place focus on visual stimulation (Medina, 2014). Medina also advises that teachers should challenge their students to participate in assignments that involve exploration. All these activities will be adopted as part of ensuring that all the students benefit from the learning process. More importantly, the teacher should exercise patience and understand that different students have varying learning styles and needs. While some students love the outdoors, others prefer the challenge of mathematics. Medina notes that the brain of each individual works differently and it is therefore important for teachers to tailor their styles to suit the needs of individual students. McCormick and Scherer (2018) agree that teachers should ensure that their approaches reflect the diversity of their students. Furthermore, these scholars advise that teachers should encourage social interaction and motivate the students to pursue excellence. Another issue that these scholars address is that there are various factors that underlie academic performance. It is only when teachers consider these factors that they can implement teaching strategies which yield improved performance.
The discussion above has addressed the activities to be adopted as part of the lesson plan. Other issues that should be integrated into the plan include objectives and approaches for supporting the student with special needs and the one taking English language classes. The main objective of the lesson plan is to adapt the teaching style to the unique learning preferences of the students. To help the student with special needs, various measures can be adopted. Some of the measures that have proven effective include sensory stimulation, offering constant guidance, and simplifying the learning process (“Successful Strategies for Teaching”, n.d). For the English language student, no special instructional methods are necessarily needed given that this student has a rather versatile learning style and performs remarkably well in the various measures of intelligence. However, interpersonal interactions, visual stimulation, and practical assignment are among strategies which are recommended for English language learners (“Strategies for Teaching”, n.d). These strategies will form part of the lesson plan for the English language student.
Reflection and Conclusion
My interactions with the five students allowed me to understand that students have varying needs and that it is unwise for teachers to use the same style for all their students. The host teacher agreed that the exercise was critical as it also enabled her to acknowledge the diverse needs and learning styles of her students. She confirmed that she would be changing her lesson plan to reflect the diversity of her students. The main lesson plan changes that are needed involve adopting a framework which ensures that each student feels that the lessons reflect their learning styles. Furthermore, the new lesson plan leverages strategies that are known to enhance engagement and stimulate the senses while encouraging collaboration among students. By working together, students are exposed to new learning styles and are able to broaden their perspectives. Medina’s text confirms the need for teaching approaches that are fluid and reflective of student needs. She provides some rules which define how the brain functions. These rules include the role that exercise plays in enhancing brain power, the brain’s involvement in human survival, the fact that brains are structured differently, and that the brain gives little focus to things that it finds to be boring. Furthermore, Medina notes that repetition is the key to enhancing short-term memory and that memorization allows individuals to retain long-term memory. Other rules include the importance of good sleep, the damaging effects of stress, the need for sensory stimulation and the supremacy of sensory stimulation. Medina adds that brain structure and function vary by gender and that exploration holds the key to learning. All the different rules have been integrated into the development and lesson plans. It can be expected that the implementation of these plans will result in improved performance and the creation of a more inclusive and engaging class environment.
References
Akowuah, J. A., Patnaik, S., & Kyei, E. (2018). Evidence-based learning of students’
performance in English language in Adu Gyamfi Senior High School in the Sekyere South District of Ghana. Cogent Social Sciences. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2018.1503577
Department of Education. (n.d). Improving math performance. Retrieved February 4, 2019 from https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/math.pdf
Leaf, C. (2013). Switch on your brain: The key to peak happiness, thinking, and health. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Medina, J. (2014). Brain Rules, 12 Principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
McCormick, C.B. & Scherer, D.G. (2018). Child and adolescent development for educators (2nd ed). New York: Guilford Press, Inc.
Strategies for teaching science to English language learners. (n.d). California State University, Northridge . Retrieved February 4, 2019 from https://www.csun.edu/science/ref/language/teaching-ell.html
Successful strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities. (n.d). Learning Disabilities Association of America. Retrieved February 4, 2019 from https://ldaamerica.org/successful-strategies-for-teaching-students-with-learning-disabilities/
