• have a clear understanding of the
preferred learning styles of the
pupils within a class
• provide learning opportunities that
address the full range of preferred
learning styles
• know how to create a match
between the nature of the learning
opportunities and the learning
style of the pupil
Are these recommendations only an
ideal, or can they be realised
throughout a school despite large
classes and an exam-driven
curriculum? The team at Fingerprint
Learning have devised a programme
for a whole school with large classes
to become a learning-focused
community of staff and students as
distinct from merely ‘bolting on’
learning styles. We believe that five
elements are essential for a
programme of personalised learning
throughout a school.
1. Brain-Based
Ninety five percent of knowledge
about the brain has been discovered
in the last twenty years! Since all
learning takes place in the brain, it is
this organ that teachers mainly seek
to affect. Even when new teachers
are taught about learning styles in
college they rarely receive even one
lecture on the brain over a four year
course! Personalised learning is not
merely a matter of methodology. It
must be based on an understanding
of how the brain learns. A teacher
trying to implement personalised
learning apart from knowledge about
the brain is like a physiotherapist
who knows procedures but has had
no lectures on bones, muscles and
nerves! It is building without a
foundation. At Fingerprint Learning
we have seen teachers make sense
of learning styles when they have
gained a working understanding of
the brain.
2. Teacher-Friendly
How can the ideal of personalised
learning relate to real situations in the
classroom? Teaching can be like
trying to find space to write on an
overcrowded flipchart. There isn’t
room on the page for everything
teachers are expected to implement
– learning styles, for instance! We
have found that good teachers
already teach to various learning
styles. It is already on their page. Our
programmes aim to build on what is
already in place. It is true that an
exam-driven curriculum leaves little
room for teachers to experiment with
new approaches to learning. We
believe that even if teachers cannot
fit more onto the page they can be
helped to look at the page in a
different way!
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3. Observable Results
League tables and frequent testing
have developed a statistic-driven
educational culture. The benefits of
personalised learning must be
observed by more than statistics.
They must be experienced in the
students’ and teachers’ lives and
work. Fingerprint Learning aims to
produce observable and encouraging
benefits in the classroom for
teachers and students. Even one
workshop will bring about immediate
results in the classroom.
4. School-Specific
Personalised learning emphasises
that individual pupils learn in different
ways. This is also true of schools!
Each school has its own ‘fingerprint’
- a specific identity that will
determine the integration of learning
styles into its curriculum and
pedagogy. The content of seminars
and manuals needs to be individually
tailored to each school. If the
integration of learning styles is not
school-specific, attempts to
introduce them can become a barrier
to progress instead of a way forward.
5. Exciting
When life involves ‘keeping up’
with what is expected of us, it is
exhausting and de-motivating.
When personalised learning
becomes another thing to ‘keep up’
with, its potential benefits are
squandered. A brain-based, teacherfriendly,
school-specific, resultsproducing
programme can make the
DfES recommendations exciting!
Why? Because it puts the whole staff
on the ‘front foot’ instead of running
to ‘keep up’ all the time. They are
creating the future of education
instead of perpetuating the past or
running on the treadmill of the
present. Teachers who catch this
excitement can be infectious within
a school! |
