A best practice tied to communication in instruction:

Through communication in instruction the practitioner should balance the power arrangements in the classroom and access each learner’s individual learning style.

Approach: Power resides with the practitioner any time a new block of students is introduced or a new individual joins the class. Because the sharing of power is vital to the transmission of control of learning to the learner, every verbal contact with the learner affects that power relationship. If that is understood by the practitioner communication will be used to further that transmission through recognition of learning style, through appropriate praise and censure.

b. Communication in learning: LBS practitioners’ focus groups tended to look at communication between learners quite differently than did the learners’ focus groups. Practitioners, while they didn’t tie it directly to learning style (probably because of a lack of opportunity in the focus group) discussed the value of different physical space arrangements to allow for small group discussions, pair interaction and other learner communication opportunities. The learner focus groups did speak of learning style when talking of the need to have communication opportunities with their fellow learners. Michael Priza, in Getting into Groups speaks of the need to encourage learners to share information in group settings. In fact, he finds a positive correlation between group activity and learner retention.

A best practice around communication in learning:

LBS facilitators should maximize learning through learner-tolearner communication appropriate to each learner’s style of learning.

Approach: Once the different learning styles of the class are identified, learner-tolearner communication can be facilitated through reordering the classroom set-up an encouraging social-emotional learners to interact with one another as an approach to learning.