Whose learning style is it anyways?

When I started out into the realm of teaching, I was not prepared for what I was about to encounter. We are taught theory and best practice. However, these are all confined within the realm of a non-complex classroom. The idea of differentiation and classroom management are essentially impossible to teach in a university classroom setting. They must be learned on the job. When we did touch on differentiation, the reality of what we would find in the classroom was conveniently left out. They mentioned one or two in a class. In my first year of teaching, I had 7 individual learning plans. The following year I had 10. Needless to say, the theories that I first identified with as a first-year teacher have changed drastically during my career.

While coming out of university, I was tiptoeing in critical theory; my main focus was formed by cognitive theory and behaviourism. I honestly believed that we all had a specific “way of learning” and that I should vary lessons and assignments to encompass these learning styles. Furthermore, I quickly began to see that right/wrong exams for grammar were necessary and critical to learning the subject matter. While it was evident that this was not entirely going to work after my first year, I needed to further research and reflect on the other theories which may better explain and, therefore, inform my pedagogy. I began to see that my teaching was leaning toward more of a critical theory approach. While important to understand learning styles, doesn’t account for the underpinnings of social justice issues and the conflict that we see in society and its institutions. As I searched, I began to find the idea of constructivism (not by name, but by description).

This transition to a more constructivist mindset was gradual, as I was interrupted by a global pandemic. It was due to this pandemic that my transition became more solidified. I noticed that no matter the approach I took with the lessons there wasn’t a relationship between the students, material, and myself. The importance of the material became moot. I can’t say that this transition has been a complete success, seeing as my students still complain that learning equations with fractions and algebra is useless and they will never use it. However, there are small victories. I have now changed my approach to my classroom material to include topics they would like to learn about and guide them through the acquisition of skills they desperately need (ie. debating with facts). I found that the engagement increased within my classroom (and sometimes engaged even the most apathetic student) once I included social influences, choices, and projects. I am not a huge fan of exams, but, instead, projects where students can explore topics that interest them, and then discuss these topics with their peers.

Does this mean that I have solidified my pedagogy for the rest of my career? Of course not. The wonderful thing about teaching is that you are never done learning and growing as a professional. I will continue to research theories, reflect on my pedagogy, and continue to fine-tune my approach in the classroom.