Advice on how to meet the needs of different learning styles in one classroom
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Percy L. Abram explains how educators can meet the learning needs of different types of learners through a growth mindset
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One of the ways we meet the needs of different learning styles is to frame from the very beginning of the school year what it means to be a learner. We have the work of Carol Dweck at Stanford University who talks about the different mindsets of learning.
And there is the fixed mindset, in which students believe there are discrete skills that can be learned. And you are either able to apply yourself initially and learn them, or you are not. Then there is what we call the growth mindset, which helps students understand that there are a broader range of skills that are necessary to be successful in school, skills from numeracy and literacy that are tested on high stakes testing, skills like spatial relationships, skills like gross and fine motor skills, skills like the ability to work and interact with others in a group. And all of those are necessary to be successful within the confines of a classroom. And if you are able to demonstrate success within one area and improvement then you can demonstrate improvement in other areas as well.
So throughout a child's development, there are going to be times when he is successful in school academically. But we have an understanding that he or she will be able to work to improve in different areas if he believes that in the growth mindset that allows him to grow and expand his body of skills.
Percy L. Abram explains how educators can meet the learning needs of different types of learners through a growth mindset
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Percy L. Abram, PhDHead of School
Percy Abram is the Head of Gateway School. Gateway School is a Kindergarten – 8th grade independent school in Santa Cruz, CA. Prior to joining Gateway School, Dr. Abram was the Upper Division Director at Brentwood School in Los Angeles. An LA native, Dr. Abram received his B.A. (Economics) and M.A. (Education) degrees from UCLA, and his M.A. (Sociology) and Ph.D. (Education) from Stanford University. Dr. Abram and his wife are the parents of a 10-year old daughter and 7-year old son, and despite running a school and being responsible for 260 students each day, he still finds parenting his most challenging job.
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