Overview of Session 3: The Learner

• Dicuss objectives.
• Show overhead, An Overview of Session 3.

Note to facilitator: Sections on processing dimensions (how the brain processes information) and on whole picture vs. detail-orientated learners are located in the second section of the tutor training manual. Presentation information, handouts and overheads are included if you are interested in discussing these with your trainees.

Part 1: Learning Styles

A 1: How the Brain Perceives Information

25 minutes

• Introduce the topic by discussing your own learning style and how it affects how you learn.
• Explain that knowing how we learn helps us become more effective learners.
• Discuss how knowing the way our learners learn enables us to use the lesson time more effectively.
• Show overhead, Learning Styles I (How the Brain Perceives Information).
• Call attention to some of the characteristics for each learning style noted in the tutor training manual.
• Ask trainees which learning style they favor and ask in what ways they learn best. (Do they like to write down what they are learning? Do they find that graphs or pictures help?)
  • You can also have trainees do a survey such as the Barsch Learning Style Preference Form (available from the Saskatchewan Tutor Training Kit¹). However, tell trainees that it might be better to use their own judgment regarding what works well with a learner rather than subject a learner to a test which she might not fully understand. Paraphrasing the information for the learner may destroy the validity of the test. In addition, many tests are culturally biased and cannot be taken too literally.
• Take note of what styles the trainees believe they possess.

¹ Saskatchewan Literacy Network, Saskatchewan Level 1 Tutor Training Kit (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Literacy Network, 2000.)