Ways to Reach Different Learners in the Classroom

1. Engage their interests. My brother’s dyslexia made reading a struggle for him in early elementary. My mom tried what felt like every resource under the sun to help reading click for him, but it wasn’t until he found a book series that piqued his love of fantasy that reading became an exciting challenge instead of a frustrating chore. Personal interest is a powerful incentive. Offer choices based on interest to help students get excited about learning. Have students pick between two assignments based on what interests them more. Let them choose the book for the book report or the topic for the essay. Allow students to submit their own ideas for a creative project as an alternate form of assessment (e.g., mind maps, slide presentations, a short film, a panel talk show, a billboard, or an art piece).
2. Incorporate multi-sensory learning. Target more than one learning style by engaging multiple senses at once. The simplest way to do this is by adding visuals to a lecture. For an additional visual component, have students complete graphic organizers or draw pictures as you are presenting information. Provide a hands-on element with manipulatives such as blocks, cubes, letter magnets, or dominoes when you teach core math and ELA skills. For additional auditory learning, play music of the historical era, add sound effects to the story, or incorporate songs for memorization. A reader’s theater is a great option for rolling visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning into one.
3. Facilitate group work. Help your students become active learners by providing more opportunities for students to discover the information for themselves. One way you can do this is with student-led groups. Give each group a topic to research for a set time, then have them teach what they’ve learned to the rest of the class. You can also pause a lecture to give students a chance to digest the information in discussion groups, or you can create a series of tasks based on the learner objectives for students to complete in task groups.
4. Get them moving. Everyone, no matter the type of learner, benefits from movement. We’re all familiar with movement responses such as raising your hand or nodding your head. Come up with creative ways to respond to questions with movement (e.g., thumbs up/down, stand up/sit down, answer multiple choices by moving to one of the four corners of the room). With some imagination, charades or hand motions can fit into any subject. Have students use their bodies to act out or make motions for the letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks, poems, equations, butterfly metamorphosis, names of the presidents, and so forth. Divide your learner objectives into tasks at stations around the room for students to travel to. Use the classroom as a graphic organizer by creating Venn diagrams with Hula-Hoops or give students words on index cards to sort themselves into columns and rows. Spatial, kinesthetic, and interpersonal learners will come alive with the opportunity to get their bodies moving and mingle with their peers.
5. Make it a game. Even high schoolers are not above games. You may even find that they are the most enthusiastic to spin the wheel, push the buzzer, or answer the Jeopardy question. Game-based learning builds motivation and increases learner engagement. It also targets those tactile and interpersonal learners in your classroom. There are many digital options that can help you turn your content into a game, but you can easily incorporate physical game elements into your material as well. Get yourself a game buzzer, bell, or squawking rubber chicken and have students compete to answer a question. Use classic board games as review games. A favorite for my students was Jenga. We would divide into teams and answer questions. If the question was answered incorrectly, someone from that team would pull two blocks. If the question was answered correctly, someone from the opposing team would have to pull a block. For a more elaborate option, use the skills your students have learned throughout the year to put together a scavenger hunt or escape room challenge.

Remember to bring your own uniqueness to the classroom! Using your God-given talents to steward your students and their learning is a great way to engage all learners in any environment.