Appreciate different learning styles – Speid

Sharing how extremely timid he was as a child, Owen Speid, president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), said that he understands firsthand the importance of catering to the need of every student and joined a number of stakeholders in calling for a greater appreciation of different learning styles.

Speid was addressing a Professional Development Workshop hosted by Lorrfam Productions, which was held last Thursday at the Medallion Hall Hotel, St Andrew.

The workshop brought together a number of partners in the education sector to discuss the importance of understanding different learning styles to maximise student achievement.

PRIORITISE CHILDREN’S NEEDS

The JTA president said that it is crucial that teachers make it a priority to accommodate the needs of every student they encounter, which would give every child an equal chance of achieving excellent results. He emphasised, too, that it is critical that parents grasp very early, how their children learn.

“When I was a young child growing up, I was very, very shy. In fact, I would know answers to the questions teachers asked, but I just wouldn’t talk. Maybe if my teacher understood the importance of understanding the way different children learn and the way they are able to participate and included some drama, music, or even [had them] draw something on paper, maybe that would have pulled something more out of me,” he explained.

Lorraine Hamilton, host of the event and managing director of Lorrfam Productions, expressed similar views, indicating that parent-teacher collaboration is an integral factor in accommodating the various ways children learn.

“Children need guidance in all areas of development, and that development process starts on the first learning ground with the first teacher in the first classroom, which is the home. The big giant that we, as parents, face is trying to understand how our children learn and what strategies can be used to aid in their development,” Hamilton said.

“Knowing your child’s/student’s learning style will undoubtedly create great achievers, but this can only materialise when parents are fully involved and dedicated to forming a close relationship with their child and teacher,” she continued.

Keynote speaker Tamika McCreath, educational social worker for region one at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, said: “Whether a student is a visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learner, whether a student has linguistic, facial, or logical mathematical intelligence, whether a student has learning challenges or even learning disabilities, the tag line still remains true. Every child can learn, every child must learn.”