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learn his or her strengths and weaknesses. Each student with identified special needs should have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The special education teachers in your school will have suggestions for specific strategies to use with individual students. Contact the special education facilitator with any questions you might have. For those with severe disabilities, you may have an aide or a paraprofessional to help you daily in the classroom.
    L EARNING S TYLES
    Students differ in how they receive and process information, but they will have consistent patterns of response. In order topromote student achievement, teachers must recognize their students’ learning styles.
    Sensory Modalities. You are probably aware that students receive information through their senses. Some learn best by seeing information; these are the visual learners who process the world primarily through observation. For them, graphic organizers, charts, tables, pictures, and videos are essential.
    Others learn by hearing; these are the auditory learners. They prefer to hear new information. They would rather hear a story than read a book. For these students, learning is enhanced by audiotapes and videos. They may be particularly responsive to music.
    Some students like to touch objects and manipulate them. These tactile-kinesthetic learners benefit from drawing, creating models, and acting out situations. Of course, a multisensory approach in the classroom will benefit all students.
    Global/Analytic Style. This learning style refers to how people process information. The global learner uses the right hemisphere of the brain to focus on spatial and relational processing. This student goes from whole to parts, looking for patterns and determining relationships. The analytic learner uses the left hemisphere of the brain for linear processing. This student moves from the parts to the whole, looking for details on which to base an understanding. While students use both approaches, some tend to rely primarily on one style or the other. Teachers need to model both ways and provide student opportunities to practice both approaches.
    Field-Independent/Field-Dependent. Students who are field-independent like to work alone. They enjoy competition and like individual recognition. Field-dependent students prefer to work with others. They like to collaborate and look to the teacher for direction. Again, teachers need to offer activities related to both styles—providing times when students can work individually without the teacher as well as times when they work with others under the teacher’s supervision.
    Impulsive/Reflective. Some students are quick to answer questions, make predictions, and guess solutions. These are the impulsive responders. Others are more reflective and take their time to reply. These students do not want to make a mistake and answer carefully to avoid errors. Teachers must provide ample wait time for students to formulate their responses and encourage other students to be patient. Reflectivity is a common mode of response in many Far Eastern cultures.
    As you will see in the following table, by planning and implementing a variety of strategies, you will be well-equipped to address the learning styles of your students.
     
Learning Style Type
Sample Teaching Strategies
Audio
Verbal directions, direct instruction
Visual
Pictures, graphic organizers, videos
Tactile-Kinesthetic
Artifacts, models, acting out ideas
Global
Look for patterns and relationships
Analytic
Present details for analysis
Field-Dependent
Cooperative activities
Field-Independent
Self-directed projects
Impulsive
Ask for predictions
Reflective
Provide time to formulate responses
    M ULTIPLE I NTELLIGENCES
    Students also differ in their intellectual capabilities. Howard Gardner identifies eight categories in which students have strengths and weaknesses. They include: verbal-linguistic, naturalistic, interpersonal, spatial-visual, musical-rhythmic, intrapersonal,