This article describes the first phase of a project to develop an empirically based scale to help multidisciplinary teams decide whether individual children need to start or continue braille instruction. Teachers and other practitioners (n=225) rated child characteristics on the extent to which they reflected the need for braille instruction, and…

Describes the four types of learning modalities (kinesthetic, tactual, auditory, and visual) and provides suggestions for adapting teaching styles. (SK)

Discussion of instructional materials design highlights perceptional modality preferences. Research on perception is reviewed; preferences for audio versus video, verbal versus pictorial, and listening versus reading are described; learning styles are considered; and theoretical and practical implications for audiovisual designers are suggested.…

Describes visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning modes and suggests children's literature that corresponds with each mode. Characteristics of students who prefer one of the three modes are given, and examples of children's literature appropriate to each group are provided. (KRN)

Comparison of 224 Pennsylvania secondary agricultural education students with a national sample showed that (1) the Pennsylvania students' cognitive skills were less developed; (2) their preferred responses to information were auditory and emotive; (3) small group and hands-on were preferred environments; and (4) they were less likely to prefer…

As dropout and student disengagement rates reach alarmingly high levels, learning styles theory offers one way to expand teaching methods and curricula to reach more students. Although accommodating individual differences is appealing, nagging doubts and murky research results (detailed in a sidebar) persist. Another sidebar explores culture/style…

Uses descriptive text, diagrams, and specific assignments to discuss the different learning modalities of students. Equipped with this knowledge and the power of instructional diversity, the joy of learning and teaching can be regained by simply transforming materials currently used in the classroom into materials that best fit a student's…

Effective learning requires (1) compatibility of teaching methods and students' learning strategies and (2) consideration of individual ways of dealing with the learning environment. Teaching strategies should generate constructive friction between the learner and the learning environment. (SK)

Time perception performance was systematically investigated in adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Specifically, the effects of manipulating modality (auditory and visual) and length of duration (200 and 1000 ms) were examined. Forty-six adolescents with ADHD and 44 controls were administered four duration…

Total Physical Response (TPR), developed by James Asher, is defined as a teaching technique whereby a learner responds to language input with body motions. Performing a chant or the game "Robot" is an example of a TPR activity, where the teacher commands her robots to do some task in the classroom. Acting out stories and giving imperative commands…

This study demonstrated that the modality principle applies to multimedia learning of regular science lessons in school settings. In the first field experiment, 27 Dutch secondary school students (age 16-17) received a self-paced, web-based multimedia lesson in biology. Students who received lessons containing illustrations and narration performed…

This book provides educators, parents and caretakers with a variety of instructional strategies for engaging K-8 students. These approaches are designed to enable all students to read easily and enjoyably by utilizing different styles and approaches. The techniques are not generally found in conventional classrooms, but are specifically targeted…

For some teachers, the increasing attention to digital and multimodal composing in English and Language Arts classrooms has brought into sharp relief the profession's investment in print as the primary means of expression. Although new forms of communication that combine words, still and moving images, and animation have begun to dominate digital…

Debate over the link between student learning styles and effective teaching has a long tradition, made more interesting by Karns's recent article "Learning Style Differences in the Perceived Effectiveness of Learning Activities." Fundamentally he asserts, in critiquing Morrison et al. (2003), that marketing educators should not adopt "a high…

Although extensive research has been carried out, describing the role of feedback in education, and many theoretical models are yet available, procedures and guidelines for actually designing and implementing feedback in practice have remained scarce so far. This explorative study presents a preliminary six-phase design model for feedback…