Activity B

Learning styles

Tutors will explore specific activities they can use with Aboriginal learners.

Aboriginal learners and learning

This information comes from Creative Student Assessment: A Guide to Developing Meaningful Evaluation, available online from Manitoba Advanced Education and Training, Adult Learning and Literacy.

It is now well recognized that many Aboriginal learners have learning preferences and styles that may be very different from their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Work by Brent Kaulback published in the Canadian Journal of Native Education indicates that “Indian and Inuit children are most successful at processing visual information and have the most difficulty performing well on tasks saturated with verbal content.”

Studies of Aboriginal cognitive learning styles indicate that many Aboriginal learners may prefer to have information presented in a meaningful context with an emphasis given to the introduction and overview before getting into specific details and applications. These studies also suggest that Aboriginal learners may learn best if material is presented through images such as diagrams, metaphors, and symbols, and if concrete support materials are used.

It is also important to recognize that Aboriginal learners may prefer to interact with information in ways that are different from their non-Aboriginal counterparts. Studies suggest that they prefer a “watch then do” or “listen then do” or “think then do” approach to learning. Since most classrooms frequently use a “trial and error” approach, where learners are encouraged to try out an answer verbally and then improve the answer after receiving feedback from teachers and peers, Aboriginal students will not experience an optimum learning environment if their preference is not recognized and accommodated.