Page 234 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

climate for learning.
In summary, there is no single educational theory or model for practitioners to use to facilitate learning and

behavioral change. However, the theory that the professional prefers will undoubtedly influence the way he or
she teaches and the relationship with clients and employees. Individuals and groups are more likely to be
motivated if the information presented emphasizes the personal consequences of behaviors, as mentioned in
the Health Belief Model, and is appropriate to the individual’s stage of change. Positive reinforcement
appropriate to the needs and interests of the individual should be arranged.1,2

CASE ANALYSIS 4

What would be your recommendation for follow-up?

Learning Styles and Teaching Styles

Both teaching style and learning style affect the learning process for the client or the employee.

Learning Styles

People have preferred learning styles. People’s learning styles play an important role in how effectively they
deal with new information. Each of us has a unique learning style and teaching style. Think for a minute
about the ways you learn best or how you process and remember new information. If you recall your own
school experiences, you preferred some teaching methods to others and processed and retained for a longer
period of time material presented in your preferred style.

A unique learning style differentiates people in terms of preferences for content, methods of delivery,
learning environment, and teaching techniques. Learning-style preferences are defined as “preferred ways of
studying and learning, such as using pictures instead of text, working with other people versus alone, learning
in structured or in unstructured situations, and so on.”2 Emphasis is placed on the learner and the learning
environment.

Different styles of learning reflect the fact that learners differ in their preferences for and ability to process
the content of various instructional messages. We perceive things through our senses. Brilliant individuals
who do well learning new information from reading (visual learners), for example, may be all thumbs in a
hands-on activity or experience enjoyed by others (tactile/kinesthetic learners). Some people learn well by
listening to lectures, participating in group discussions, or talking things through (auditory learners, for whom
their own discussion enhances remembering). These preferences influence how easy or difficult learning is for
the individual, and therefore they have important implications for educators. People have been described as
“hear-learners,” who are thinking about the topic at hand; “see-learners”; “feel-learners,” who make judgments
based on feelings; and “do-learners,” who prefer active experimentation.14

Components of style that influence learning include cognitive, affective, and environmental factors.
Cognitive factors are the person’s preferences in thinking and problem solving. Those who think through an
experience tend more to abstract dimensions of reality. They reason and analyze what is happening. Others
who sense and feel (affective) tend to prefer learning by way of more concrete, actual, hands-on experiences

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