Noted educator Carol Ann Tomlinson shares the insights that shaped her thinking about informative assessment. Informative assessment goes beyond tests and the grade book. It means assessing students both formally and informally in multiple ways and giving frequent, productive feedback on student work. Informative assessment isn't separate from…

Styles are hypothetical constructs that help explain the teaching-learning process. Ten learning styles and six teaching styles are suggested. (Author)

Research shows that from the beginning students should be taught through their perceptual strengths; students can identify their preferences accurately; and younger children learn better through visual experiences than auditory experiences, and best through tactile-kinesthetic experiences. (Author)

A reply from Barbe and Milone to Dunn and Carbo concerning the latter's comments about their research on modality strengths and preferences. (MLF)

Most teachers can respond to differences in student learning styles. Eighteen elements of learning style, categorized as environmental, emotional, sociological, and physical are described. (Author/MLF)

Summarizes research findings on relationships among modality strengths, learning, and personal characteristics. (Author/MLF)

School districts should let parents, students, and teachers establish alternative schools to accommodate differences in learning styles. (Author)

A teacher reports on helpful advice she received from a colleague when she started teaching: to teach students in the cognitive mode in which they learn best (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or tactile). (TE)

Differing world views and cultural expectations affect how teachers and students relate to one another. (Author)