Do Classroom Teaching Methods Incorporate All Types of Learning Styles?

An individual’s learning style is a natural pattern of processing or acquiring knowledge. Three types of learning styles that were studied are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (tactile). An individual’s ability to acquire knowledge depends upon the style of instruction received by the teacher. The purpose of this project was to examine whether the teaching methods used in a high school biology classroom take into account different types of student learning styles. Student teaching in a biology class has given the author the opportunity to study the learning needs of the students. The participants were given a questionnaire during class asking each student to answer questions that would reflect their preferred style of learning. The students were also asked what methods were used during instruction that satisfied their learning style needs or caused them to struggle. The author then analyzed the data from the questionnaire to determine if the students felt their learning needs were met