How To Accommodate Different Learning Styles In An Online Tutoring Environment
An online tutoring environment is developed keeping in mind the receptiveness of a student to different modes of teaching. This enables satisfying learning outcomes.
Both adults and kids have differing comfort levels with watching, reading, listening, and physical movement. Some kids read a lot, while others may fall off to sleep as soon as they open a novel. In the world of books, the only option used to be to read it or not to read it. Now, books are available in the form of audio recordings, movies, and games. In the same way, learning is done through these four primary methods today. No one should completely learn through just one method, but everyone must learn in a style that suits them most and helps them absorb better.
The way of learning that existed before the pandemic is turning obsolete today. There is no going back to it. Online learning will remain an integral part of education. Good learning will be about arriving at the best hybrid model. While a balance between offline and online is often discussed, what also needs attention is the balance that can be struck between various learning styles in the purely online tuition models. Only then it can result in the desired learning outcomes. One can remarkably gain from identifying what type of learner a student is and then applying those findings to online tutorials. Various schools & universities around the world have identified the need to cater to different learning styles and, even if it is not stated by them, this thought drives their pedagogy and infrastructure design. Several studies have carried on the subject.
Studies that project the future, point to a growing need for online tuitions in the years to come. This includes business research on online tuition too. The pandemic has emphasized the need to use technology well to achieve the learning goals of a student.
Different learning styles to practice in an online environment
One of the path-breaking studies on different learning styles was conducted by Neil Fleming. He expressed his findings by creating the VARK framework of learning styles.
Let us look at how each of these different learning styles is reshaped in the online learning and tutoring space:
Visual - If you learn most comfortably by watching, your learning style is visual. When tuition goes online, a visual learner can benefit if video features are used significantly. Tools such as a digital whiteboard help the student do their homework, and they can watch a teacher talk to them and give feedback. One of the best aspects in the last two years has been the progress made in video-based education delivery.
Auditory - Some people learn best through listening. We all know of friends who may get bored at the sight of a video but will remain glued to content delivered with good audio quality or provided as a podcast. Such students respond well to one-on-one discussions where they ask their queries and listen to them being addressed.
Reading - This is the most primary mode of learning. Traditional pedagogy was also based on learning by reading and writing. While many students tend not to be good readers, a section of students still do love reading. This becomes their main strength when they learn in online tuition. Handouts, reading material, and links are provided to such students to learn in this way.
Kinesthetic - One of the most impactful ways of learning is through doing. In the offline world, before the pandemic, it was thought that we needed to go to a school or a venue to learn by doing. To the delight of students whose learning style is kinesthetic, online classes guide you on how to do it and ensure excellent learning outcomes through several methods. Solving real-life problems is enabled by scenario and role-play-based learning does evoke kinesthetic skills. Tasks are provided where interactivity is high.
Conclusion
There is plenty of evidence that one can learn an entire skill through a purely online course.
Online education was growing dramatically before the pandemic as well. The role of teachers is now more of a mentor and enables students to become self-taught. This foundation became the savior of education in the pandemic era. Students, parents, teachers are getting together to derive the complete benefit of online education as skills can be learned digitally to an extent that can make a learner job-ready.
Online tuition learning is also an outcome-based education. Various skills can be learned online. A proper strategy can help a student do very well in examinations. One of the best ways to get the preparation strategy right for learning any topic is to understand different learning styles. One can mold a study plan by creating a mix of different learning styles and giving the maximum weightage to one’s preferred method.
Different learning styles are well-accommodated in the online tutoring environment because there are various teaching styles too. Online learning tools are developed with research and checking for their effectiveness.
