Learning about Learning An introduction to Preferred Learning Styles & Creativity

Learning about Learning An introduction to Preferred Learning Styles & Creativity Actorshop Ltd, 23 Q Building, The Grove, London E15 1NR. Tel:020 8534 0970 Email: admin@actorshop.biz

This session will focus on: • Why Preferred Learning Styles and Creativity • The ethos and values of the programme

What do you see? • Did you see a young woman in a hat first or did you see an old woman in a bonnet? • Can you now see both?

What do you see? • Did you see a skull first or did you see a woman sitting in front of a mirror? • Can you now see both?

What do you see? • As a boy, Richard Rogers was dismissed as stupid and sent to a school for backward children. When he finally escaped from formal education (having stayed much too long in an attempt to pass at least one exam) it was to become one of Britain’s best-loved and most-admired architects. Knighted in 1991, made a life peer in 1996. The Observer 12.02.06

What we see depends upon the references we have, but do we always have the right reference points when we work with children? • Did Richard Roger’s teachers have the full picture? Did they understand his Preferred Learning Style and his potential?

What do you want for your child when you send them to a school? What do you want the teacher to see? • Over the years, working in all sorts of settings, I have been struck by the despairing flocks of boys and girls out there trying to make a go of it but faltering badly and disappointing their teachers, their families, and, worst of all, themselves. It has to be hard, very hard, to be a disappointment . . . . . . . . .

When they grow up, they will be able to practice their brain's specialities; in childhood they will be evaluated ruthlessly on how well they do everything. Having seen so often the agony of those who taste failure at an early age, I have developed a fervent commitment to such kids and to their parents and teachers. All are well meaning, innocent victims of a child's particular neurological circuitry . . . .

On countless evenings I have driven home from work feeling emotionally depleted, dejected after listening to the sad tales of children who have come to equate education with humiliation . . . . A Mind at a Time, Mel Levine, MD. 2002

Enhancing Self-esteem In the words of the philosopher and psychologist William James (1890) • ‘with no attempt there can be no failure; with no failure no humiliation.’

The three parts to the brain . . . . • At the base of the skull is the primitive or Reptilian Brain • The middle brain or Limbic System controls your hormones, health, emotions and long term memory • The outerbrain or neo-cortex enables us to think and learn . . . .

So . . . Why PLS & Creativity? Uk research into the Arts in Schools found very positive results, but lacked clarity: • “There is substantial evidence that the arts can play an important part in raising achievement. There are three ways in which this can occur: changing children’s attitudes by increasing motivation and commitment, developing skills and increasing mental agility”. School Curriculum & Assessment Authority,1997

By comparison US research gave a greater focus to a child’s PLS or particular intelligence, which was refreshing and informative, but still focussed on the arts rather than ‘a creative classroom’ or ‘a new direction’

‘The Arts and Children - A Success Story’ • "Children learn in many ways - through different 'intelligences. Many students are by nature primarily visual or kinaesthetic learners. While some learn by hearing, others learn best by seeing or by experiencing ideas physically and through movement ...... Classes can be designed to serve special needs of populations such as visual and kinaesthetic learners whose mastery of academic subjects can be enhanced through intense instruction in the arts.' Maryland State Department of Education, USA, 1995.

What are Preferred Learning Styles? • PLS relate to the way we ‘get information into our brain’ • We take information into the body through our senses so it describes the sense or route that our neurological circuitry prefers • We can, therefore, be described as auditory, visual or kinaesthetic • Most of us are a blend, but some are not

Visual-spatial Logical-mathematical Linguistic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Bodily-kinaesthetic Musical Naturalist It is not Howard Gardner’s theory of ‘multiple intelligences’ – although this is relevant

Rita Dunn – an early researcher For the last thirty years Dr Rita Dunn at St John’s University, New York, has researched ‘Learning Styles’, which she categorised as being influenced by factors that are: Environmental; Emotional; Sociological; Physical and Psychological.

She has also researched . . . . . the two halves of the human brain: • Left side dominant or analytical learners tend to prefer step-by-step logic, speech and numbers • Right side dominant or global learners tend to prefer melody, patterns and intuition.

What is your PLS? It is important to remember that: • PLS’s have nothing to do with intelligence • Neurological pathways can be ‘re-configured’, so PLS’s can change • Categorising people can be helpful, but can also be very negative

Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools. Unit 19: Learning Styles Sept 2004 The inclusion statement in the revised National Curriculum charges all teachers with the responsibility to remove barriers to learning. One significant potential barrier is the mismatch between pupils’ preferred learning styles and learning opportunities.

To accommodate pupils’ preferred learning styles, the teacher needs to: • Have a clear understanding of the preferred learning styles of the pupils within a class • Provide on a regular basis, learning opportunities that address the full range of preferred learning styles within a class • Know how to create a match between the nature of the learning opportunity and the learning style of the pupil • Take into account those pupils who have mainly one learning style, ensuring that they can access the learning, but not letting them work only within this style

Defining creativity - a process that covers such a wide range of activities and personal styles is inherently difficult. But four key features of the creative process are: Using imagination Pursuing purposes Judging value Being original How does this relate to creativity?

Imagination and Purpose • Imagination is definitely a key part of creativity, but . . . • Creative people are purposeful as well as imaginative. Their imaginative activity is directed at achieving an objective (although this objective may change overtime).

Value • Imaginative activity can only be creative if it is of value in relation to its purpose; if it satisfies what pupils set out to achieve. • Pupils will need to judge the value of what they and others have done; to evaluate critically what they have achieved. Is it, for example, useful? Aesthetically pleasing? A valid solution? Does it work?

Originality • Creativity suggests originality; that the results are new. But how new? Do we have to come up with something that has never been thought of before? Common sense suggests not; that a creative outcome can be original on different levels. • To the person involved - personal originality • For a particular community – social originality • For humanity as a whole – historic originality

So . . . What is Creativity? • Creativity involves doing something. People are not creative in the abstract; they are creative in something – in mathematics, in engineering, in writing, in music, in business, in whatever. You cannot be creative unless you are actually doing something. In this respect creativity is different from imagination

How can you spot Creativity When pupils are thinking and behaving creatively in the classroom, you are likely to see them: • Questioning and challenging • Making connections and seeing relationships • Envisaging what might be • Exploring ideas, keeping options open • Reflecting critically on ideas, actions and outcomes.

Can Creativity be Taught? • It is often said creativity can’t be taught. This comes from the idea that only certain people are creative and most are not. • Teaching for creativity involves teaching creatively. Young people's creative abilities are most likely to be developed in an atmosphere in which the teacher's creative abilities are properly engaged. • So . . . How can we further develop creativity in our classroom?

. . . . Teaching for creativity involves teaching creatively. Young people's creative abilities are most likely to be developed in an atmosphere in which the teacher's creative abilities are properly engaged.

Why is Creativity so Important? Creativity improves pupils’ self-esteem, motivation and achievement. Pupils who are encouraged to think creatively and independently become: • More interested in discovering things for themselves • More open to new ideas • Keen to work with others to explore ideas • Willing to work beyond lesson time when pursuing an idea or vision.

Creativity Prepares Pupils for Life • Creative thinking and behaviour can be promoted in all national curriculum subjects. • Pupils who are creative will be well prepared for a rapidly changing world, where they may have to adapt to several careers in a lifetime. Many employers want people who see connections, have bright ideas, are innovative, communicate effectively, work well with others and are able to solve problems.

Creativity: Find it, promote it . . . • The QCA materials, Creativity: Find it, promote it, provide information and case study examples in order to encourage teachers to promote pupils’ creativity • Over three years, the creativity project investigated how teachers can promote pupils’ creativity across all National Curriculum subjects at KS 1, 2 & 3

Creativity: Find it, promote it . . . • The conclusions confirm that, by making only small changes to their existing planning and practice, teachers can promote pupils’ creativity through the National curriculum and existing teaching frameworks of the Primary and Key Stage 3 Strategies

Excellence and Enjoyment • The 2003 DFES ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ strategy states that, enjoyment is the birthright of every child . . . children learn better when they are excited and engaged – but what excites and engages them best is truly excellent teaching, which challenges them and shows them what they can do. When there is joy in what they are doing, they learn to love learning.

Every Child Matters, Nov 2004 – Personalised Learning How can it be achieved - what do young people say: • It wont happen without the right resources • Make sure there is flexibility • Staff with the right skills • Employ a range of methods for communicating

Guardian Newspaper 03-10-06 • Official: creativity works – an Ofsted report on Creative Partnerships in schools gives a resounding yes to a venture that has grown into a £140m programme. Inspectors say that the experience of working alongside creative practitioners helped pupils develop personal and social skills, encouraged them to be more risk taking and had a beneficial effect on their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. It calls on the DfES and DCMS to give more pupils the chance to work in this way.

Barriers to Creativity • ‘A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn, it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right person’s brow’. Bill Lucas: Power Up Your Mind • Creative organisations understand the barriers to creativity and know how to overcome them.

How does your PLS affect your view of school? • Think of your three favourite subjects at school • Discuss them with people in your group and see if you have similar preferences • If you have different subjects discuss how subjects were taught as this is usually the key

Learning about Learning An introduction to Preferred Learning Styles & Creativity