Blog 10: Listen to learn?
“there is a lot of merit to the concept of children learning the most when they are most engaged and stimulated”
What do you remember about your time at school? And I’m not talking about the playground! A wise person once said that children will learn their most important lessons during break times. For many this will ring true. Though taking a closer look at this idea, there is a lot of merit to the concept of children learning the most when they are most engaged and stimulated. It seems difficult for a classroom activity to compete with the intense nature of a group of friends at break time.
Many teachers bridge this gap by incorporating a variety of activities which address the different types of learners that can be found in every classroom. Traditionally, students who prefer reading have an advantage over their peers and are considered “the strongest students”, or “most likely to succeed”. Visual learners may also find that their ability to follow the visual nature of traditional classroom teaching (blackboard and teacher presentation), helps them succeed in retaining information. Kinesthetic learners may find themselves longing for more tactile activities, eagerly awaiting the next outing or PE class.
It may seem like an auditory learner would thrive in an environment where a teacher is relaying information to them with their voice. But all too often students with this learning preference find themselves disengaged during class. Being sensitive to sound, and learning primarily through listening, puts a huge amount of focus on not only “what” is being said but “how” it’s being said. It’s far too easy for that crucial voice to become a droning and repetitive noise for a young learner who begins to disengage from the learning process.
“the activity synchronises all the learners”
Listening exercises have long been a teacher’s “go to” activity when it comes to changing the atmosphere in a classroom. They are a great way to focus the entire class on the same exercise, as the audio portion of the activity synchronises all the learners. This is quite rare in teaching, as students tend to move through an activity at their own pace. Listening to a story while completing a gap-fill sheet can only be achieved in time with the storyteller’s voice. Everyone works individually, but at the same pace, and finishes at the exact same time.
Why not try building a listening activity around one of our stories from our Youtube Channel.
You can also listen to all our work through Spotify.
Have an idea for an audio story? Contact us on our Commision Us page to find out more. It can be a very quick process and we would love to hear from you!
