designing learning experiences

Contextual LearningBY ROB MELTON

INTRODUCTIONIntegrating what we know about learning styles

and how the brain works with how we teach affords usthe best opportunity to begin addressing the needs ofall learners in our schools, including “at risk” stu-dents. Most instruction in today’s high school isaddressed to the analytic learner. Schools validate theway analytic learners learn, but about 70% of ourstudents are not Analytic Learners, according torecent research (Bernice McCarthy 1979, 1983, 1985,1987). Only the analytic learners get the kind ofteaching they need. The other three types are ex-pected to learn in the analytic mode.

The process of learning that best actualizesdevelopment, the kind of learning that best aids realgrowth, requires interaction that confronts andresolves. It requires movement from concrete toabstract, from reflective to active. Virtually all stu-dents can be successful if they have a chance to learnin their preferred learning style.

This article examines teaching to the learningcycle while addressing a person’s modality and braindominance.

Learning style researchers in fields ranging frompsychology to management training have devisedvarious ways to break down indidivual learningstyles, but it is generally agreed there are two majorcategories of how we learn (DePorter 1992): First, howwe perceive information most easily (modality), andsecond, how we organize and process that information(brain dominance). A person’s learning style is acombination of how a person perceives, then organizesand processes information.

ModalityA person’s modality can be visual, auditory or

kinesthetic (V-A-K). Even though people can learn inall three modalities to some degree, most prefer oneover the other two. About 73 percent are able to learneffectively enough visually, auditorily and kinestheti-cally that they don’t need any special attention(Grinder 1991). About 20 percent prefer one of themodalities over the other two so strongly that theystruggle to understand the instructions most of the

time, unless special care is taken to present it in theirpreferred mode. For these people, knowing their bestlearning modality can mean the difference betweensuccess and failure. The remaining 7 percent havedifficulty learning due to external causes.

Knowing there are differences between peoplebegins to explain things like why someone may haveproblems understanding and communicating withcertain people but not with others, and why certainpeople handle some situations more easily thanothers.

One simple way to discover a person’s preferredmodality is to listen for clues in their speech(DePorter 1992). If they make comments such as“That looks right to me,” or “I get the picture,” thenthey are probably a visual learner. If they say “Thatsounds right to me,” or “That rings a bell,” they aremost likely an auditory learner. If they say, “This istoo much of a hassle,” or “Hang in there,” they areprobably a kinesthetic learner. By noticing theseprocess words, a person can decipher the modalities ofothers and play to them most effectively. Matchingmodalities is a good way to create rapport and anatmosphere of understanding. Knowing the boss isvisual means a person is more likely to get their pointacross if they usual visual materials such as slidesand handouts in a presentation.

Brain DominanceA person’s brain dominance can be either Right-

Mode Dominant (Creative) or Lef-Mode Dominant(Logical).

The research of Sperry (1973) and others on right-and left-hemisphere brain functions reveal that thetwo halves of the brain process information differ-ently, and that both hemispheres are equally impor-tant.

The right hemisphere sees relationships andconnections. It functions in a simultaneous, nonverbalway. It takes in the whole and seeks patterns andspatial coherence. According to McCarthy (1987):

Right-mode activities emphasize process. As suchthey are open-ended: the result is created by thelearner. They require that the learner express her/

Lesson Plan Designfor all learning styles using both sides of the brain

Contextual LearningTEACHING TO THE LEARNING CYCLE

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himself. They generally involve modalities other thanwords and numbers (what we call abstract symbolic),including activities involving auditory, visual andkinesthetic techniques.

The left hemisphere names and classifies. Itfunctions in a linear, step-by-step fashion. It likesclear logic presented without the confusion of ambigu-ity or paradox. According to McCarthy (1987):

Left-mode activities have an emphasis on product.Generally that product is requested by the teacherthrough a teacher-directed assignment, with specificguidelines as to how the objectives will be reached.Schools heavily emphasize left-mode activities, andteachers are comfortable with them. Of course, theyare easy to evaluate. But when learners are limited toprimarily left-mode activities, a valuable part oflearning is inhibited, the kind of information processingwe refer to as right mode.

McCarthy’s 4MAT model stresses whole brainlearning, which she defines as separate right and leftmode activities for each type of learners. Those whohave developed other teaching models have proposedthe possibility of integrated brain activities for eachquadrant. For integrated activities to work, teachersmust first make sure that all learners are capable ofusing their right and left brain together. One way toassure that students are using both their brainstogether is to teach them a series of brain exercises.

Brain Gym®, developed by Paul and GailDennison, helps learners integrate right and lefthemispheres before working on integrated activitieseach day. Brain Gym is a series of quick and energiz-ing activities that effectively prepares any learner forspecific thinking and coordination skills.

The Dennsion’s Educational Kinesiology Founda-tion has done remarkable work with learning disabledand at-risk students using movement exercises thatreestablish the natural learning pattern.

There are 25 specific movements that can becombined in different ways to focus on specific goals:Reading Skills, Writing and Math Skills, IndependentLearning Skills, Personal Ecology Skills and SelfAwareness Skills. Dennison (1989) reports that:

When learning is acquired under stress, thelateralized brain recalls only the one-sided (low-gear)aspects of that learning [Logical or Creative]. Whenthis situation is repeated and reinforced, the learning isanchored to stress and the “teachable moment” forintegration is lost. Brain Gym movements restablish thenatural learning pattern and return automatic, inte-grated movement to a “high gear” state.

…If we rely too much on one side alone, instead

of two sides together, we place unnecessary andstressful demands upon our whole system. We call thisthe “switched off” state.

…One of the most common reasons that childrenswitch off is excessive involvement in two-dimensionalactivities (those that involve a flat surface such as TV,video games and reading). If these activities occurbefore the child has developed the visual skillsnecessary to shift back to the three-dimensional visionof everyday living, or if they lull him into ignoring hisdepth perception skills, chronic stress may result. Evenunder such stress, learning continues. Once thisswitched-off pattern is learned, it becomes difficult to“unlearn.” The child becomes stuck in a one-sidedresponse.

Physical or emotional trauma, lack of water ornourishing foods and excessive exposure to environ-mental pollutants are among other causes of switchingoff. Excessive sitting, which interferes with the naturaluse of back and lef muscles, is another modern

TECHNIQUES THAT FAVOR THE RIGHT MODE

E PatterningE MetaphorsE Mind mappingE VisualizationE ImageryE All Forms of PoetryE All Fine ArtsE Modalities: Auditory, Visual, KinestheticE Mixed ModalitiesE AnalogiesE The Use of ParadoxE Connections of All KindsE Most Forms of DoingE BuildingE Role-playingE Creative DramaticsE Creative WritingE ClusteringE MovementE DanceE All SynthesisE Geometry (probably all mathematical concep-

tualizingE Spatial Relationships of All KindsE DemonstrationsE ExperimentsE ConfigurationsE All Activities in Which Intuition Is Honored

—McCarthy, 1987


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challenge to integration. Both activity and relaxationare natural states for muscles. When we cannot accesseither activity or relaxation, stress results.

The Four Learner StylesIn examining the learning styles research of Anita

Simon and Claudia Byram (1977), Anthony Gregorc(1979), David Merrill and Roger Reid (1981), MortonHunt (1982), Gordon Lawrence (1982), David A. Kolb(1984), McCarthy, and others, four styles of learnersconsistently emerge.

Gregorc was the first to develop a model based onhis studies that identify two possibilities of braindominance: concrete and abstract perception, andsequential (linear) and random (nonlinear) orderingabilities. These can be combined into four combina-tions of clustered behaviors that form a person’sthinking style. Gregorc called these styles concretesequential, abstract sequential, concrete random andabstract random.

Kolb, who developed experiential learning theory,found that it is the combination of how we perceiveand how we process that forms our most comfortableway to learn. Kolb calls the four learning stylesgroups Convergers, Divergers, Assimilators andAccomodators.

Kolb’s experiential learning theory provides aframework for beginning to address the needs of alllearners. He defines learning as “the process wherebyknowledge is created through the transformation ofexperience.” The implications of this experientialperspective clearly advocate a process as opposed tocontent, that knowledge is a process rather than anabsolute, that there is a transformation of experience(the person’s reality), and that the learner and knowl-edge are interconnected.

McCarthy collectively refers to them as Imagina-tive Learners, Analytic Learners, Common SenseLearners, and Dynamic Learners .

The problem with traditional instruction, accord-ing to McCarthy, is that it fails to take into accountthe cyclical nature of learning:

Learning is a continuous process grounded inexperience. Knowledge is continuously interacting withexperience. Equal emphasis is placed on the cycle andthe stages of development. Educators have focused onPiaget’s age-related stages (The Ladder) and neglectedthe process (The Cycle). Educators have accorded thereflective and the abstract processes higher honorsthan the concrete and the active. [Analytic Learners]are not at higher stages of development because theyprefer the separate knowing of theory over theconnected knowing of experience. We have misunder-stood the meaning of concrete. Many have taken

Piaget’s concrete step (the pre-abstract), which is astage in cognition where one begins to cognitively seeand manipulate the physical world, and confused itwith the real, felt gusto and earnestness of wholeknowing, affective, gestalt and individually unique.We have misapplied a definition of a cognitive step(albeit a most necessary one) to a process of knowingthat is the very lens of personhood itself. Somehow theconcrete and active dimensions of knowing have beenneglected. Yet without the concrete, without the real,what is there to abstract about?

Within each of the four learning style quadrants,students engage in both right-brain and left-brainactivities. All students, whatever their learning styles,get a chance to “shine” 25% of the time. Because eachstudent perceives and processes information indifferent ways, only one of the four learning styles willbe most comfortable for that student, where successcomes easily.

In teaching to the learning cycle, the teacher’s rolechanges from Motivator to Informer to Coach toEvaluator/Remediator. All four types of learners areallowed to use their most comfortable learning style atsome point during a lesson, and benefit from develop-ing other learning skills as they proceed through theother three learning style quadrants.

In 1991, I was teaching a sophomore English classthat was not learning well. Traditional solutionsfailed me. Fortunately, I had the opportunity toparticipate in an in-service training program to learnhow to teach contextual learning.

After learning how to preparing a contextuallearning unit, I tried using the system to teach JuliusCaesar to my sophomore English class. I had eachstudent identify their major learning style and ex-plained that some of them would have to wait untilthe very end of the lesson to learn in their preferredlearning style. Every day, I reminded them where wewere in the cycle so they would know we were oncourse. The results were amazing: Everyone wasparticipating, paying attention, and waiting for theirturn to shine.

After we went through the entire cycle, I askedthem to prepare written responses evaluating thestrengths and weaknesses of the experiences they hadusing the four different learning styles. Two responsestypify the success of the strategy.

One student, Julie Lairson (an Assimilator), saidshe loved the part of the lesson where I lectured aboutthe basic concepts and explained the structure andhistorical background of Julius Caesar. “But I reallydidn’t like the part where we had to act out a scenefrom the play. That seemed pretty silly,” she said.


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Another student, Paul Case (an Accomodator),had a different opinion. He said: “You know, Mr.Melton, I hated it when you were lecturing to theclass about Julius Caesar, but I learned so muchacting in the play. I really didn’t understand anythingthat was going on until a week before we had to doour scene before the class. All of a sudden I realized Ihad to be prepared, and I started wondering ‘Whatkind of costume would Julius Caesar wear? Howwould he talk? What was his life like? Who were hisfriends and enemies? How do you stage a death?’” Hewent on to say he really learned a lot in that week.

I couldn’t believe it. Every student had a qualitylearning experience and felt good about themselves! Iwas particulary pleased because a good number ofthese students fit Henry Levin’s definition of “at-risk”students.

KEY GOAL/VISIONAll students will develop confidence as lifelong

learners, but particularly at-risk students, as a resultof teaching to their learning styles with right- andleft-mode techniques.

When someone is teaching us in our most comfort-able style, we learn. But more importantly, we feelgood about ourselves. Each of the four differentlearning styles, and the two halves of the brain, willbe taught in rotation. In each of the four quadrants,there will be right-brain and left-brain activities.Schools do not value the sensing/feeling approach(except with very small children); therefore, it isneglected and sometimes downright discouraged.Learning is not all cognitive. It is not all theoretical.There is more to growing up than increasing rational-ity.

Teaching to all learners is a cyclical process. Asyou complete one cycle, the cycle begins again, withnew, richer experiences in ever-widening spirals.

Teaching to the learning cycle requires majorattitudinal shifts in the way we think and feel aboutteaching. These attitudinal shifts are necessary inorder to produce:

• classrooms that give all students an equal chanceto learn;

• classrooms where student motivation is consid-ered the primary task of the teacher;

• classrooms where important concepts form thecurricula base;

• classrooms where the skills that are taught arerelated to concepts and have immediate useful-ness

• classrooms where students are led to the delightof self-discovery

• classrooms where alertness is fostered by teachingto all four learning styles using right and leftmode techniques.

• classrooms that not only honor, but also celebratethe diversities of our students.

GUIDING PRINCIPLESMajor Premises (McCarthy 1987)

1. Human beings perceive and process informationin different ways. The combinations formed by ourown perceiving and processing techniques formour unique learning styles.

2. There are four major identifiable learning styles.They are all equally valuable. Students need to becomfortable about their own unique learning style.Type One Learners are primarily interested inpersonal meaning. Teachers need to Create aReason. Type Two Learners are primarily inter-ested in the facts as they lead to conceptualunderstanding. Teachers need to Give Them theFacts that deepen understanding. Type ThreeLearners are primarily interested in how thingswork. Teachers need to Let Them Try It. Type FourLearners are primarily interested in self discovery.Teachers need to Let Them Teach It to Themselvesand to Others.

3. All students need to be taught in all four ways, inorder to be comfortable and successful part of thetime while being stretched to develop otherlearning abilities. All students will “shine” atdifferent places in the learning cycle, so they willlearn from each other.

4. The teacher moves through the learning cycle insequence, teaching in all four modes and incorpo-rating the four combinations of characteristics. Thesequence is a natural learning progression.

5. Each of the four learning styles needs to be taughtwith both right- and left-mode processing tech-niques. The right-mode dominant students will becomfortable half of the time and will learn toadapt to the other half of the time. The left-modedominant students will be comfortable half of thetime and will learn to adapt the other half of thetime.

6. The development and integration of all four stylesof learning and the development and integrationof both right- and left-mode processing skillsshould be a major goal of education.

7. Students will come to accept their strengths andlearn to capitalize on them, while developing ahealthy respect for the uniqueness of others, andfurthering their ability to learn in alternative modeswithout the pressure of “being wrong.”

8. The more comfortable they are about who theyare, the more freely they learn from others.


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The nature of humanness is to adapt: adaptationoccurs between the learner and the learning, betweenthe self and the group, between actual developmentand potential development. Of such processes, mean-ing is made. It is the interaction between the learnerand the learning that is important. People both createthemselves and are created by their experiencethrough the choices they make and the resultingpatterns created by those choices.

Teaching to the learning cycle teaches students tolearn in all four ways: from experience to reflection toconceptualization to experimentation and back toexperience. Because students approach learning fromdifferent centers of focus, we must teach to all ofthem. The learning cycle process is more importantthan any one segment of the lesson. The movementaround the circle includes all learners, engaging themand stretching them, while leading them to expertisein multiple ways of learning. The movement is aconstant balancing from subject to object and backagain. By valuing all the different kinds of learners,they will begin to develop the skills that do not cometo them naturally, without guilt or defensiveness.They will become the best of who they are. We need togo “around the circle” in a spiral form of increasingcomplexity, granting each the opportunity to refineher/his best style while experiencing and developingalternative styles. In the process of going around thecircle, students will be exposed to a variety of teachingstrategies, including cooperative learning, conceptdevelopment strategies, QARs, and many others.

The learning cycle is an inclusive model. This isits strength. It does not require that you give upanything. It begins in the classroom, but you can addschool-wide reforms and it still works. You couldoverlay William Glasser’s Quality School (1992), forexample, or Ted Sizer’s Essential Schools. It ad-dresses the major concerns of Barbara Means, et al.(1991) in addressing the needs of “at risk” students.

Many of the studies used by McCarthy to developher theoretical model of instruction have been used byothers successfully. Bobbi Porter (1992) used the samelearning styles research to develop her highly success-ful SuperCamp program for at-risk students in 1981.Her book Quantum Learning details much of thisinformation in a user-friendly way.

CONCEPT OF THE STUDENTVirtually all students can be successful. All

students will develop confidence as lifelong learnersas a result of teaching to their learning styles withright- and left-mode techniques. All students will

“shine” at different places in the learning cycle, sothey will learn from each other.

ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNANCE1. Teachers the must be trained to use the learning

cycle in their teaching.2. Planned Course Statements should be reviewed to

identify the key concepts of each course and thelearner outcomes, a necessary first step in usingthe learning cycle. This is one of the most difficultproblems teachers face in trying to develop learn-ing cycle lessons.

3. Teachers who are attempting to implementlearning cycle lessons need to meet regularly overa prolonged period of time (one year or more) tohelp each other work out the lessons. A regularweekly time should be set aside for teachers tocollaboratively work with each other to developtheir lesson plans. The first quadrant, integratingexperience with self, is one of the most difficult tocreate. Teachers need to discuss their ideas withothers. The teacher’s role changes from Motivator/Witness to Teacher to Coach to Evaluator/Remediator throughout the cycle. Teachers needthe support and encouragement to take risks, andto share with others their own successes andfailures. Progress is measured in small steps.

4. Planning team members should be available to actas peer coaches throughout the year for teacherswho are interested in developing their skill andability in delivering a learning cycle lesson.Release time would be made available to teacherswilling to serve as peer coaches.

5. Students are not separated into groups by learn-ing style because all learners benefit from partici-pating in all the different learning styles. Themodel presupposes an organic sequence of learn-ing from experience to reflection toconceptualization to experimentation. In thisway, all students, whatever their learning styles,get a chance to shine 25% of the time. WritesMcCarthy:

If we divide our students into four groups, andteach them only their way, they will be very good intheir own quadrants … but they will not develop otherlearning skills.

If the Imaginative Learners learn only how to refinetheir natural gifts of experiencing and reflecting … theywill lack the necessary ability to analyze and try outwhat they figure out.

If the Analytic Learners learn only how to refinetheir natural gifts of conceptualizing and reflecting …


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they will lack the common sense that comes from doingand experiencing.

If the Common Sense Learners learn only how torefine their natural gifts of conceptualizing andexperimenting … they will lack the ability to experi-ence life and reflect on what they have learned.

If the Dynamic Learners learn only how to refinetheir natural gifts of experiencing and experimenting… they will lack the organizational skills that comewith analysis and reflection.

It seems paradoxical, but when we feel goodabout the way we learn, when we succeed in what wetry, we start paying attention to how other peoplelearn. Be begin reaching into other styles.

6. Through simple tests such as those in Porter’sQuantum Learning, students should becomefamiliar with their preferred learning style as wellas the basic structure of a learning cycle lesson.Students must know their turn will come in apredictable fashion.

SUPPORTING RESEARCHThis theory is based on the best available research

on learning styles and brain hemisphericity research.Ongoing, professional development for teachers isrequired, both in the use of learning cycle lessons andin the content areas. A cohesive long-range staffdevelopment program is needed that appeals to thedeepest personal values of professional advancement,deepens understanding of the issues involved inpresenting content at conceptual levels, has immedi-ate classroom usefulness, engages a sense of delight,and has the flexibility to be adapted to different schooldistricts, different faculties, different disciplines anddifferent students.

Research Background. Piaget (1969) studiedhow thinking is developed. He approached his studyas a biologist. Every living organism contains its ownbiological structure. This living structure stands inactive relationship to its environment and has knowl-edge of that environment. Piaget’s use of the term“knowledge” is broader than mere intellectual knowl-edge and includes certain internal principles whichmanifest themselves behaviorally. These regulate howan organism functions with its environment. In otherwords, the internal structure and the external func-tion are two sides of the same coin.

Piaget identified three levels of internal principleswhich regulate how an organism functions with itsenvironment. All three levels are part of all humanknowledge. There are no neat separations, since theyoverlap in many instances.

In 1971, Dr. David Kolb introduced his experien-

tial learning theory, which is conceived as a four-stagecycle: 1) immediate concrete experience is the basisfor 2) observation and reflection; 3) these observationsare assimilated into a “theory” from which newimplications for action can be deduced; 4) theseimplications or hypotheses then serve as guides inacting to create new experiences. In other words, theeffective learner relies on four different learningmodes — Concrete Experience , Reflective Observation,Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimenta-tion. That is, learners must be able to involve them-selves fully, openly and without bias in new experi-ences, they must be able to reflect on and observethese experiences from many perspectives, they mustbe able to create concepts that integrate their observa-tions into logically sound theories, and they must beable to use these theories to make decisions and solveproblems. It is unlikely that a person’s learning stylewill be described accurately by just one of the preced-ing terms. This is because each person’s learning styleis a combination of the four basic learning modes. Thefollowing summary of the four basic learning styletypes is based on both on Kolb’s research and clinicalobservation of these patterns of Learning StyleInventory scores:

Converger. The Converger’s dominant learningabilities are Abstract Conceptualization and ActiveExperimentation. This person’s greatest strength lies inthe practical application of ideas. A person with thisstyle seems to do best in those situations like conven-tional intelligence tests where there is a single correctanswer or solution to a question or problem. Thisperson’s knowledge is organized in such a way thatthrough hypothetical-deductive reasoning, this personcan focus in on specific problems. Research on thisstyle of learning shows that Convergers are relativelyunemotional, prefering to deal with things rather thanpeople. They tend to have narrow technical interets,and choose to specialize in the physical sicences. Thislearning style is characteristic of many engineers.

Diverger. The Diverger has the opposite learningstrengths of the converger. This person is best atConcrete Experience and Reflective Observation. Thisperson’s greatest strength lies in imaginative ability.This person excels in the ability to view concretesituations from many perspectives. We have labelledthis style “diverger” because a person with this styleperforms better in situations that call for generation ofideas such as a “brainstorming” idea session. Re-search shows that Divergers are interested in peopleand tend to be imaginative and emotional. They havebroad cultural interests and tend to specialize in thearts. This style is characteristic of individuals fromhumanities and liberal arts backgrounds. Counselors,organization development specialists and personnel


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managers tend to be characterized by this learningstyle.

Assimilator. The Assimilator’s dominant learningabilities are Abstract Conceptualization and ReflectiveObservation. This person’s greatest strength lies in theability to create theoretical models. This person excelsin inductive reasoning and in assimilating disparateobservations into an integrated explanation. Thisperson, like the converger, is less interested in peopleand more concerned with abstract concepts, but is lessconcerned with the practical use of theories. For thisperson it is more important that the theory be logicallysound and precise; in a situation where a theory orplan does not fit the “facts,” the Assimilator would belikely to disregard or re-examine the facts. As a result,this learning style is more characteristic of the basicsciences and mathematics rather than the appliedsciences. In organizations this learning style is foundmost often in the research and planning departments.

Accomodator. The Accomodator has theopposite learning strengths of the Assimilator. Thisperson is best at Concrete Experience and ActiveExperimentation. This person’s greatest strength lies indoing things — in carrying out plans and experiments— and involving oneself in new experiences. Thisperson tends to be more of a risk-taker than peoplewith the other three learning styles. We have labelledthis person Accomodator because this person tends toexcel in those situations where one must adapt oneselfto specific immediate circumstances. In situationswhere a theory or plan does not fit the “facts,” thisperson will most likely discard the plan or theory. Thisperson tends to solve problems in an intuitive trial anderror manner, relying heavily on other people forinformation rather than on one’s own analytic ability.The Accomodator is at ease with people but issometimes seen as impatient and pushy. This person’seducational background is often in technical orpractical fields such as business. In organizations,people with this learning style are found in “action-oriented” jobs, often in marketing or sales.

And so Kolb found that it is the combination ofhow we perceive and how we process that forms theuniqueness of our own learning style, our mostcomfortable way to learn. Kolb’s research representeda breakthrough because it formulated learning stylefindings into model form. But Kolb’s contribution didnot end with the model. He went on to analyze thedifferent types of learners. He notes that our domi-nant learning abilities are the “result of our heredi-tary equipment, our particular past life experiences,and the demands of our present environment.”

The findings of learning style researchers arestrikingly similar. In fields ranging from psychologyto management training, researchers have madenearly the same discoveries. Though they workedseparately, with different techniques, in different

areas, they cam up with almost perfectly parallellearning schemas:

• In his book Psychological Types, Carl Jung ex-plored the differences in the way people perceiveand process information. He defined four catego-ries: Feelers, Thinkers, Sensors, and Intuitors.

• Based on the work of Isabel Myers, Lawrencedescribes 16 different types of learners formed bythe four dimensions of Carl Jung: Extrovert toIntrovert, a person’s natural interests; Thinkingto Feeling, a person’s values and commitments;Sensation to Intuition, a person’s preference forthe concrete or the abstract and Judgment toPerception, a person’s work habits.

• Simon and Byram also adapted Jung’s work andformed the following descriptions of four studenttypes: The Feeler Student, The Thinker Student,The Sensor Student, and the Intuitor Student.

• Anthony Gregorc, professor of curriculum andinstruction at the University of Connecticut, hasconducted research into learning styles for manyyears. His investigative studies support two setsof dualities: concrete and abstract perception, andsequential (linear) and random (non-linear)ordering abilities. The combinations of these twosets manifest themselves in clustered behaviorslabeled Abstract Random and Abstract Sequen-tial, and Concrete Sequential and ConcreteRandom.

• David Merrill of Personnel Predictions, a Denver-based firm, is in the field of management training.His work on classifying “social styles” is of greatvalue to educators. Dr. Merrill’s descriptions haveevolved over 20 years of study. Merrill has aconstruct for “social effects of behavior patterns”that covers a spectrum of possible responses.From this construct he has evolved these fourdescriptions: Amiable, Analytical, Driver, Expres-sive.

• Valerie Hunt is an author, educator and founderof The Creative Movement Laboratory at UCLA in1967. Hunt’s identification of four “body tension”patterns is striking in its relationship to learningstyle research: Assister (absorbs reality), Posturer(forms reality), Resistor (Edits reality),Percerverator (Enriches reality).

• Bernice McCarthy’s work grew out of a six-yearexperiment at a suburban Chicago high school.The learning styles she classified are strikingly


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similar to the finds of the other researchers: TypeOne Learner (Imaginative Learners), Type TwoLearner (Analytic Learners), Type Three Learner(Common Sense Learners), and Type FourLearner (Dynamic Learners). All four styles oflearning are equally valuable. Each has its ownstrengths and weaknesses. If you’re Type One,Two, Three or Four, that is the most comfortableplace for you to be. That is your best learningstyle.

It is evident that researchers from diverse fieldsare identifying similar strands. Running through thedifferent descriptions of perceiving and processing aremany of the same conceptual insights.

Kolb’s model is important not only because he hasgiven us parameters for classifying different learningstyles, but also because the model presupposes anorganic sequence of learning from experience toreflection to conceptualization to experimentation.

Research on right and left brain functions beganwith Dr. Roger Sperry during the 1950s. Dr. Sperryconducted a series of animal studies in which thecorpus callosum, a thick nerve cable composed ofnerve fibers that cross-connect the two cerebralhemishperes, was severed. The results were amazing.There was no great change in behavior. Their habits,gaits, and coordination remained unchanged followingthe surgery, but when the animals were trained to dospecific tasks, they were found to have two indepen-dent minds, each with its own recognition, memoryand decision system. In the 1960s, similar operationswere performed on a limited number of humanpatients by two neurosurgeons. A series of subtle andingenious tests were then devised by Sperry and hisassociates to find out what was now going on in thetwo separated hemispheres. As with the animals, twoseparate minds could be demonstrated. the majorfindings were (Sperry 1973):

1. The two halves of the brain, right and left hemispheres,process information differently.

2. In the split-brain patient, there seem to be two differentpeople up there, each with his/her favorite ways ofprocessing information, each with a different mode ofthinking

3. Both hemispheres are equally important.

IMPLEMENTATIONStaff development is the facilitation of growth.

The primary way to help teachers enlarge theirinstructional techniques is peer coaching, according toMcCarthy. Peer coaching seems to work best whenteachers choose their own learning partners and when

they are given in-school time for that process. Teach-ers are enormously interested in their profession.When teachers talk to other teachers about teaching,significant leaps in professionalism occur. McCarthyet al. (1987) found the research showing that princi-pals are the key to school excellence and school self-renewal to be absolutely true.

Hall, Loucks and their coolleagues at the TexasR&D Center formulated CBAM from Frances Fuller’swork that examined the changing concerns of under-graduate teachers as they moved through teacherpreparation. Hall and Loucks expanded these con-cerns to seven stages that describe “certain percep-tions and satisfactions about innovations and thechange process. Implicit in the CBAM Model are:

1. Change is a process that takes time and is achieved instages.

2. The individual must be the primary target.3. Change is highly personal.4. Stages of change involve both perceptions and feelings

of individuals concerning innovation, as well as theirskill in its use.

5. Staff developers need to diagnose their clients’ locationin the change process and assess the state of changeas they adapt strategies along the way.

The stages of concern about innovation are:Awareness, Information, Personal, Management,Consequence, Collaboration, and Refocusing. For thepurpose of staff training, staff would move throughthe learning cycle, with each stage now labeled forteachers as Understanding, Internalizing,Operationalizing, and Evaluating.

WHAT’S NOT ADDRESSEDWhile this theory addresses much of the “at-risk”

population by beginning to teach to alternativelearning styles using right and left mode techniques,it may not directly address the needs of “at-risk”students who speak English as a second language, orhave certain learning disabilities, or students whowould benefit from a more affective, individualisticmodel such as Glasser’s noncoercive school. It shouldbe pointed out, however, that Glasser’s QualitySchool, or Sizer’s Coalition of Essential Schools, orany other school improvement plan, would work wellwith the learning cycle lesson plan design. Teachingto the learning cycle lesson plan design allows teach-ers to use a wide variety of teaching strategies regu-larly throughout the cycle.


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McCarthy, Bernice. Learning Styles: Identificationand Matching Teaching Formats. Unpublisheddoctoral dissertation, Northwestern University,1979.

McCarthy, Bernice. 4MAT in Action. Barrington, IL:Excel, Inc., 1983.

McCarthy, Bernice. 4MAT and Science: TowardsWholeness in Science Education. Barrington, IL:Excel, Inc., 1985.

McCarthy, Bernice. The 4MAT System: Teaching toLearning Styles with Right/Left Mode Techniques.Barrington, IL: Excel, Inc., 1987.

McCarthy, Bernice, Susan Leflar and Mary ColganMcNamara. The 4MAT Workbook: Guided Prac-tice in 4MAT Lesson and Unit Planning.Barrington, IL: Excel, Inc., 1987.

Means, Barbara, Carol Chelemer, and Michael S.Knapp. Teaching Advanced Skills to At-RiskStudents: Views from Research and Practice. SanFrancisco, California: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publish-ers, 1991.

Merrill, David W., and Roger H. Reid. Personal Stylesand Effective Performance. Radnor, Pennsylvania:Chilton Book Company, 1981.

Piaget, Jean and B. Inhelder. The Psychology of theChild. New York: Basic Books, 1969.

Simon, Anita and Claudia Byram. You’ve Got toReach ‘Em to Teach ‘Em. Dallas, Texas: T. A.Press, 1977.

Sperry, Roger W. “Lateral Specialization of CerebralFunction in the Surgically Separated Hemi-spheres.” The Psychophysiology of Thinking. Ed.F. J. McGuigan and R. A. Schoonover. New York:Academic Press, 1973.

Von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head.New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1990.

WORKS CITEDDe Bono, Edward. Lateral Thinking. New York:

Harper and Row, 1970.

Dennison, Paul E. and Gail Dennison. Brain Gym®Handbook. Glendale, Calif.: Educational Kinesiol-ogy Foundation, 1989.

Dennison, Paul E. and Gail Dennison. Simple Activi-ties for Whole Brain Learning. Glendale, Calif.:Educational Kinesiology Foundation, 1986.

DePorter, Bobbi. Quantum Learning: Unleashing TheGenius In You. New York: Dell Publishing, 1992.

Edwards, Betty. Drawing on the Right Side of theBrain. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/PerigeeBooks, 1989.

Glasser, William. The Quality School. 2nd, expandeded. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.

Gregorc, Anthony F. “Learning/Teaching Styles: TheirNature and Effects.” Student Learning Styles:Diagnosing and Prescribing Programs. Virginia:National Association of Secondary School Princi-pals, 1979.

Grinder, Michael. Righting the Educational ConveyerBelt. Portland, Ore.: Metamorphous Press, 1991.

Hunt, Morton. The Universe Within. New York:Simon and Shuster, 1982.

Kolb, David A. Experiential Learning: Experience asthe Source of Learning and Development.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1984.

Lawrence, Gordon. People Types and Tiger Stripes: APractical Guide to Learning Styles . 2nd ed.Gainesville, Florida: Center for Applications ofPsychological Types, Inc., 1982


PAGE 10

MotivateGROUP EXPERIENCE: Brainstorm,hands on, simulations. Hook studentsinto the content

GROUP ANALYSIS OFEXPERIENCE: Discussion regardingthe experience

WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

• Give them a reason to get engaged• Anticipatory set• Discussion based on personal experiences

Lesson Plan Designfor all learning styles using both sides of the brain

THE PROCESS QUESTIONS LEARNERS ASK

IntegrateDESIGN FINAL PROJECT:Planning, contracting. Must bepersonal in nature.

SHARE PROJECT: Present report,play, demonstration. Sharing todemonstrate personal integration.

HOW COULD WE APPLY THIS INFORMATION TOOUR OWN LIVES? WHAT WOULD DO WITH IT?

• Let them personalize information• Provide a variety of options to choose from• Concrete applications with personal connections

CoachREVIEW CONCEPTS: Worksheets,writing to reinforce new concepts.

STUDENTS USE INFORMATION:Stories, drawings, skits, mess around.Add creativity to practice.

HOW DO WE USE THIS INFORMATION?• Coach them — provide opportunities to use the information• Guided/independent practice• Useful activities to translate facts into models, designs, practical

application

InformFURTHER EXPLORATION OFCONTENT: Group experiences, mediato provide images; teacher helpsprovide

TEACHING SPECIFIC CONCEPTS:Lecture, reading, textbook, teacherdirected.

WHAT IS IT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LEARN?WHAT DOES THIS INFORMATION MEAN?

• Give them information, goals, concepts to be applied• Present as the authority• Reflection to digest facts


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InformFURTHER EXPLORATION OFCONTENT: Group experiences, mediato provide images; teacher helpsprovide

TEACHING SPECIFIC CONCEPTS:Lecture, reading, textbook, teacherdirected.

BEGIN HERE WITH STEP TWO• First, define the concept/goal/objective. (It must be of significant

value.) What skills/knowledge are you teaching and why? What otherareas of life and learning is it related to?

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Teacher ____________________________________________ Grade _____________________Unit _________________________________________ Subject/Skill _____________________Goal/Performance objective __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LESSON DESIGN WORKSHEET

MotivateGROUP EXPERIENCE: Brainstorm,hands on, simulations. Hook studentsinto the content

GROUP ANALYSIS OFEXPERIENCE: Discussion regardingthe experience

NEXT, GO BACK TO STEP ONE• Second, state the immediate personal value that is inherent in the

concept for ALL students now. What interesting issues are involved?How could they use the knowledge in their life?

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CoachREVIEW CONCEPTS: Worksheets,writing to reinforce new concepts.

STUDENTS USE INFORMATION:Stories, drawings, skits, mess around.Add creativity to practice.

THEN GO ON TO STEP THREE• What skills will be taught/improved?

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__________________________________________________________________• And transferable to what other areas of learning?

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FINALLY, FINISH WITH STEP FOUR• Leading to what unque, personal student adaptations?

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__________________________________________________________________• And raising questions about?

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IntegrateDESIGN FINAL PROJECT:Planning, contracting. Must bepersonal in nature.

SHARE PROJECT: Present report,play, demonstration. Sharing todemonstrate personal integration.

Teacher ____________________________________________ Grade _____________________Unit _________________________________________ Subject/Skill _____________________Goal/Performance objective __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


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GROUP ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCE:Discussion regarding the experience

FURTHER EXPLORATION OFCONTENT: Group experiences, media toprovide images; teacher helps provide

DESIGN FINAL PROJECT: Planning, contracting.Must be personal in nature.

STUDENTS USE INFORMATION: Stories,drawings, skits, mess around. Add creativity topractice.

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Teacher _______________________________Grade _________________________________Unit ____________________________________Subject/Skill__________________________

Goal/performance objective ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MotivateGROUP EXPERIENCE: Brainstorm, hands on, simulations. Hook students into the content

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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GROUP ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCE: Discussion regarding the experience

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STUDENT-CENTERED


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InformFURTHER EXPLORATION OF CONTENT: Group experiences, media to provide images

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TEACHING SPECIFIC CONCEPTS: Lecture, reading, textbook

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TEACHER-DIRECTED


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CoachREVIEW CONCEPTS: Worksheets, writing to reinforce new concepts.

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STUDENTS USE INFORMATION: Stories, drawings, skits, mess around. Add creativity to practice.

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TEACHER-DIRECTED


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IntegrateDESIGN FINAL PROJECT: Planning, contracting. Must be personal in nature.

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SHARE PROJECT: Present report, play, demonstration. Sharing to demonstrate personal integration.

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STUDENT-CENTERED


PAGE 18

Here’s what you saidafter last week’s session

on Learning Styles/Accelerated Schools/Multiple Intelligences“All students can learn.”

“Getting kids ‘caught up’ by sixth grade in theaccelerated schools is great! It’s too hard to penetrateall the negatives at the high school level — as myexperience shows. Also, it is good to build on thestrengths all kids have rather than emphasizing theirdeficits.”

“Each classroom has a mixed bag of studentlearning styles.”

“Teachers need to structure the activities so that avariety of learning strategies are used.”

“Learning styles and multiple intelligencesprovide a way for all students to be learners and learnfrom one another.”

“As teachers we need to be aware of student needswhether they are referred to as learning styles or theseven intelligences.”

“The importance of teaching towards all learningstyles. A variety of methods is important.”

“The teacher is a motivator.”

“In the learning styles model, can students learnin more than one style? Similarly, in the MultipleIntelligences model, can students be dominant inmore than one domain?”

“Advocates seem to be saying that techniques forteaching TAG should be the same used for at-riskstudents.”

“TAG activities equally appropriate for at-riskstudents – possibly more so.”

“Field trips should be repetitive and purposeful(Project O – Multiple Intelligences).”

“Integrated - thematic curriculum as means ofdoing away the current repetitive break-up pattern.”

“Curriculum needs to be learner-centered.”

“Active, hands-on collaborative learning is es-poused by all models.”

“The classroom would look like this: interactive,student learning. Project focus. Context is important.Individual interests. Relevance to the community.Assessment (Intelligence Fair).”

“Students need to be part of the teaching/learningcurriculum instruction equation. (We can start byasking them what they think.)

“Students need to be out of their desks interactingwith people and their environment to become com-plete learners.”

“Teachers need to move beyond the teacher’sguide and text to meet the needs of learners.”

“Schools need to open up and interact with thecommunity to develop more opportunities for every-one.”

“Key learnings (actually affirmations of what Ibelieve): Be clear on your purpose/goal — design andimplement approaches to learning that are in align-ment with your purpose/goal. There is power invariety — use different methods as you can.”

“Long range staff development is the key tochange.”

“In order to develop new methods and implementthem, teachers need training in those methods. Thismeans ‘Mo Money.’”

“I would like to read Howard Gardner’s bookFrames of Mind.”

“I feel frustrated by the inability to incorporatesome of these ideas due to large class size, lack oftime, etc.”


PAGE 19

Compare these models

Founder

Key Goal

GuidingPrinciples

Conceptof the student

Organization& Governance

Curriculum& Instruction

designing learning experiences

Documents