B: Aboriginal Learning Styles

For those trainees who will not be working with Aboriginal learners, this section could be used to help introduce the notion that the way we classify learning styles is cultural.

If your trainees will be working with Aboriginal learners, you may want to present this information in class.

  • Show overhead, Aboriginal Learning Styles and highlight pertinent areas.
  • Tell trainees that, when planning a program for Aboriginal learners, it is important to design lessons using all 4 aspects of the human being: mind (mental), body (physical), heart (emotions) and spirit (intuitive).
  • Touch upon the two ways learning starts (inside and outside the person).
  • Show the second overhead entitled, Aboriginal Learning Styles.
  • Use the information presented in the tutor training manual about the different types of learners.
  • Put trainees in groups of 4. Each group (called A, B, C, D) will read about a specific learning style and write 3 questions about the assigned learning style. These should be written on an overhead transparency and given to the facilitator.
  • New groups (of 4) will be formed that have 1 member of A, 1 of B, 1 of C and 1 of D in them.
  • Group members will need to introduce their learning styles to the rest of the group. Have them discuss the characteristics associated with the learning style and some of the activities that generally work with that style.
  • Cut out the best two questions from each of the overhead transparencies and place them on the overhead. (You can put the questions on top of the second overhead entitled, Aboriginal Learning Styles to organize the questions.)
  • After the groups have finished presenting, have them look at the overhead and answer the questions in their group. Individuals should not be answering the questions they wrote but giving feedback to the other group members who are responding to their questions.
  • Review concepts and introduce additional points using the handout, The Learning Process.