Modes of Learning--An Introduction

During the last couple of days I have been researching the concept of ‘modes of learning’. I have noticed that their has been a great deal of research on learning styles and modes of learning. For example: The educational theorist Dunn and Dunn focused on how our environment, building, and surrounding areas influences student achievement and student learning. Howard Garder work on identifying students individual talents in his Multiple Intelligences theories. A theory that can be helpful for teachers by recognizing that students have different skills and in different subjects. Based on the works of Jung, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator theory focused on how people’s personalities affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other with the learning environment.
Each educational theorist has a different idea, and probably successful theory, on ‘how to better learn’. I agree that as educators we should recognize this new concepts and apply them in our teaching style when possible. But the real question is how does learning happen? And what is the most effective learning strategy ?
Thought my years of experience teaching high school I have come to the conclusion that students learn differently. Some students tend to focus on facts, data, and algorithms; others are more comfortable with theories and sciences. And some respond strongly to visual forms of information like pictures, photographs, and artwork. Some tend to like to work independently, others in groups, some like to write, others learn by drawing, and the list goes on and on. Even thought students learn differently I don’t think that students retain what was ‘learned’ effectively until that information was read, heard, seen, discussed, experienced, and given to someone else. Below is a table that shows how much information is retained by students if only one mode of learning was taught.


Modes of Learning

What we Read 10% --is remembered
What we Hear 20%
What we See 30%
What we both See and Hear 50%
What we Discuss with others 70%
What we Experience 80%
What we Teach someone else 95%


I think it’s interesting that not all of these modes are 100%. We need to apply them all when we teach.