Page 235 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

and are more intuitive. Some learn best by thinking through ideas; others learn best by testing theories and
learn through self-discovery or by listening and sharing ideas.

SELF-ASSESSMENT 1

What is your preferred way of learning? What is your preferred teaching style? Describe the
environment where you prefer to study.

In addition to perceiving differently, people process information in different ways. Some are reflective,
watching what is happening and thinking about it. Others are doers who prefer to jump right in and try. In
learning to use a computer, for example, some prefer to read about it first and others just try different things.
In a study environment, some require absolute silence to process information, others can block out sound, and
still others prefer sound and turn on a radio or music when studying and learning. The learner’s style
preference may vary from situation to situation, affected by the subject matter or skill to be learned.

Learning styles are a function of personality.7,15 One’s personality can affect the preference for style of
intervention. Extroverts, for example, enjoy a group environment for learning, whereas introverts prefer to
listen, go away, and then try out the learning. Sensors need facts and details, whereas intuitives prefer the big
picture and want to have a hand in getting there. Thinkers like brief, concise, logical information, and feelers
want a way to change that will not affect themselves and others in a negative way. Judgers believe rules give
structure to what they do, whereas perceivers find self-monitoring to be too structured.

Instruction can be improved and learners are likely to perform better if the professional identifies the
learner’s preferred learning style and makes the instructional environment compatible. Although people may
have a mix of learning styles, many have a dominant style. To measure learning styles, researchers have
developed a variety of inventories. Though perhaps helpful, they have been criticized for lacking reliability and
validity.2

The instructor can attempt to diagnose the learning style by observing how people learn or by asking them
questions about their preferences, such as “Do you prefer to read, to view, to listen, or to have actual
experiences?” “Do you prefer to learn alone or in groups?” Whether training employees or designing adult
nutrition education programs, professionals should offer new information in a variety of ways, since people
learn in different ways—by thinking through ideas reflectively, by hands-on experiences, by solving problems,
by experimentation, by trial and error, by viewing material, and by self-discovery. Since the preferred style
varies with the situation, offering alternative techniques and methods that reflect the variety of ways in which
people acquire knowledge and skills allows the learners to learn in their preferred mode at least some of the
time.

CASE ANALYSIS 5

What learning style would be most successful for Mr. Richards?

Teaching Style

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