A series of reflections and tools by teachers and creative partners documenting work undertaken in 10 London East schools as part of a two year action research programme. You can download the full Learning about Learning document here or the individual articles below.
Preferred learning styles and career pathways
Jim Morris, head of music at Bow School in Tower Hamlets, writes about how his school engaged with the programme over a two year period. He describes the work undertaken with year 9 students on assessing their learning styles and how the work expanded in the second year with year 0 students using their knowledge of their learning style to choose work experience placements.
Incorporating preferred learning styles into lesson plans
Paul Howard, preferred learning styles consultant introduces outlines and observations of science, maths and history lesson plans produced by teachers at Bow School in Tower Hamlets who volunteered to pilot systematic use of preferred learning styles theory within their planning following a whole school Inset.
Beyond categorisation
Eelyn Lee, filmmaker, describes how filmmaking can provide a range of entry points appealing to different learning styles and demonstrates this by reflecting on a year 8 history project at Bow School in Tower Hamlets.
Sculpture at Daniel House
Alistair Lambert, sculptor, and Annie Cornbleet, headteacher at Daniel House Pupil Referral Unit in Hackney (until summer 2006), talk to Derek Brown, preferred learning styles consultant. Alistair reflects on how he approached working with students and staff at the school and Annie discusses how a preferred learning styles framework has affected her students.
Sharing the language of preferred learning styles
Nathalie Allexant, advanced skills teacher at Gallions Primary School in Newham, writes about how she introduced the language of preferred learning styles and visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities to staff, and how this work is being embedded at the school.
A child-centred approach at key stage 1
Nick Cannon, deputy headteacher at Jubilee Primary School in Hackney, describes how the school developed its own method of assessing the preferred learning styles of the infant classes.
Digging up a Story
Peter Sanders, deputy headteacher at Lauriston Primary School in Hackney, writes about how involvement in the programme has helped the school develop its long term aims of improving pupils' spoken and written work through providing original and unusual stimuli.
When the eyes meet the ears and hands
Janice McLaren, projects organiser at The Photographers’ Gallery, writes about the experience of visual artist Helen Marshall in the Digging up a Story project at Lauriston Primary School in Hackney, describing how a deeper understanding of learning styles caused her to examine her own practice as an educator and her choice of tools and media.
Developing one school’s vision
Kevin McDonnell, headteacher at Stormont House, a special school in Hackney, talks about how his involvement in the programme helped him to develop his vision for the school.
A personal journey through preferred learning styles
Hannah Joyce, animateur, talks about the challenges of working in a preferred learning styles framework at Stormont House School in Hackney, and how the programme has enabled her development as a practitioner.
Creative interventions in the English faculty
Annie Bicknell, education and events manager at Bow Arts Trust, reflects on the experiences of the practitioners who worked at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Tower Hamlets, who deliberately grouped students with differing learning styles and recorded significant increases in pupils’ confidence, self-esteem and engagement with English as a result.
Institutional change
Kevin McDonnell, headteacher at Stormont House School in Hackney and Mary Huane, advanced skills teacher at Islington Arts and Media School (until summer 2005) write about whole school change initiatives they led, describing what worked and what they learnt from the experience.
Connecting preferred learning styles and multiple intelligences theory
In a conversation with Paul Howard and Derek Brown, Nick Cannon of Jubilee Primary School in Hackney, and Natalie Allexant of Gallions Primary School in Newham, reflect on their 2004 visit to Project Zero, exploring the impact that knowledge of preferred learning styles and multiple intelligences has had on their own practice, the children they teach and the wider school community.
Preferred learning styles assessment tool
Development and evaluation of preferred learning styles assessment within the action research programme, including Guidance notes for the assessment and How to use the assessment data.
