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  • 4 Types of Learning Styles

The 4 Types of Learners: What Learning Styles Can and Cannot Do in Your Classroom

October 13, 2026|

If you have taught for any length of time, you have probably taken a quiz that sorted you into a learning style, or watched your students take one. The idea is familiar and appealing. Some students seem to learn best by seeing, others by listening, others by reading and writing, and others by doing. This framework, often called the four types of learners or the VARK model, appears in workshops, lesson planning templates, and countless blog posts. It offers a simple promise: identify how a student learns best and teach to that style so that you can watch your student’s achievements rise. The framework is worth understanding, and there is real value in knowing your students’ preferences. But, the promise that applying learning methods or preferences in your instruction improves student outcomes is overstated and is worth delving into so that you understand the true impact of what implementing learning style preferences does in your classroom. Decades of research now tell us that matching your instruction to a student’s preferred style does not necessarily improve academic outcomes alone. This article explains what the four types of learners are, what research actually shows, and how you can use the idea of learning preferences in a way that supports your students without overpromising results.

  • Scientific Investigation Framework

The Scientific Investigation Framework: Re-Designing Labs in the Science Classroom

June 16, 2023|

Science is different in other content areas in that the foundation of its existence relies on asking questions about the world around us, forming and testing a hypothesis, and analyzing the results. It’s only natural that a science classroom would mirror the essence of this field. While direct instruction and practice-based learning have their place, the science classroom is where learning to discover is as important as the content itself. In this blog post, we’ll outline a specific process, the Scientific Investigation Framework, that will provide structure to discovery-based Lab work that will transform how students are introduced to new content and practice the necessary processes of a true scientist.

  • Cooperative Writing Blog

Cooperative Writing-An Engaging Paired Writing Strategy

June 20, 2022|

Cooperative Writing is a paired activity where two students complete a writing task together. Cooperative Writing can be an excellent support strategy for struggling students, students with special needs, or English Language Learners (ELLs), because it can be an opportunity for stronger writers to help their peers who might struggle with writing. For example, ELLs can learn new vocabulary from native English speakers and improve their speaking skills as they communicate together about the given topic. Or, advanced students can coach each other on ideas for providing additional detail within their sentences. Students can share ideas and collaborate verbally on the writing before drafting, which takes some pressure off the more struggling writer. It can also help to build the confidence of both students, encourage the growth of social skills, and help to improve the sense of classroom community. It's a simple, fun activity for students that maintain engagement throughout your lesson.

  • Supporting Oral Presentation

Supporting the Oral Presentation: A Checklist for Providing Feedback to Student Presentations in Your Classroom

May 19, 2022|

Students will be tasked with showcasing and presenting their work in various ways throughout their educational careers. This could be activities like reciting poetry or text, presenting at a science fair, participating in debate, or presenting a final project within their content-area class. Typically, you might design your presentation rubrics to focus on what matters most in your course- mastery of the course content. Because presentations can be used as one assessment method for students to showcase mastery, you might be looking for depth of content knowledge, accuracy, or expertise in the content students are discussing and how well the presentation itself communicates the students' message. These components are critical for an effective student presentation. But the actual characteristics of an oral presentation should also not be overlooked. For students to truly be effective communicators and demonstrate their best work, they will also need to be effective public speakers. Monitoring a student's public speaking ability and providing feedback and guidance for improvement can help develop them into effective communicators that will accel above and beyond your academic requirements for a presentation.

  • Positive Affirmations

Promote Positive Affirmations Between Students in your Classroom

May 5, 2022|

In a classroom context, positive affirmations are phrases and acknowledgments of positive aspects of a child’s personality, effort, behavior, or other characteristics. When affirmations are present in your classroom daily, it helps to set a positive tone within your classroom environment and enriches children’s perceptions of themselves. You may be most familiar with positive affirmations as a way for students to acknowledge aspects of themselves and use them as a mantra to help them continue to behave in a certain way. For example: “I am kind. I am smart. I am a hard worker. I am a helper. I am a leader.” Recited often, individuals may begin to have a healthier outlook on life, their character, and what they are capable of. The point of positive affirmations is to acknowledge yourself and others from a place of positivity and not criticism. This helps create motivated and happy children who value themselves, their work, and their peers.

  • Reverse Brainstorming

Reverse Brainstorming: A Method to Build Creativity in Your Classroom

February 12, 2022|

Our educational system is not always constructed to best support creativity. Consider the countless hours students spend studying facts, reciting definitions, or learning how to solve math problems using provided formulas. Creativity may sometimes take the backburner in a lesson when important concepts must first be taught. But creativity in instruction is not an all-or-nothing focus. Just as we need to make sure that students are learning the foundational knowledge and skills within each lesson objective, we also need to make sure that students can use those concepts and apply them creatively through experiences and activities. Often, we see students thrive most when they are provided with opportunities to apply concepts, stretch their thinking, and complete tasks “outside of the box.” Sometimes, though, this can be difficult for students. While some students have a natural, innate ability to use their creativity in meaningful ways, others may struggle with expressing creativity. But this does not mean they can’t improve! In fact, most researchers agree that creativity can be practiced like a skill and improved. Though there are many types of creative expression, one specific kind is called divergent thinking. It is a creative process that can easily be implemented into classroom activities across content areas.

  • Project Based Learning

A Glimpse at Project Based Learning in the Classroom

December 13, 2018|

As an educator, you have probably heard of Project Based Learning, or PBL, but might have been overwhelmed by all it seems to encompass. Take a close glimpse of an actual PBL project in action in the classroom to see that it is completely manageable!  After reading this article, you will have a basic understanding of Project Based Learning and what it looks like in the classroom.

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