Yolanda U. Trapp
Modality refers to one of the main avenues of sensation such as vision and hearing. I am writing about modality-based reading styles because these are both the best researched and the most heavily promoted. The National Reading Styles Institute (NRSI) also "claims that it has worked with over 150,000 teachers", and its advertisement seem to be everywhere. Furthermore, the notions of "visual" and "auditory" learners, or "global" and "analytic" learners have been around for a long time and have found their way into a number of different programs, not just the NRSI programs.
There are others ways of looking at learning styles. People have proposed that children vary not only in perceptual styles, but on a host of different dimensions. To name a few, people have suggested that children are either two-dimensional/three-dimensional, simultaneous/sequential, connecting/compartmentalizing, inventing/reproducing, reflective/impulsive, field dependent/field independent, and so on.
Some of these are learning preferences, or how an individual chooses to work. This might include whether a person prefers to work in silence or with music playing, in bright light or dim light, with a partner or alone, in a warm room, or a cool room, etc.
Some of these are cognitive skills, such as whether a person tends to reflect before making a choice or makes it impulsively, or whether, a person tends to focus on details or sees the big picture.
Some of these are personality types, such as whether a person is introverted or extroverted.
Some of these are aptitudes, like many of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Gardner suggests that people vary along at least seven different dimensions-linguistic or the ability to use language, logic-mathematical or the ability to use reasoning specially in mathematics, spatial or the ability to use images or pictures, bodily-kinesthetic or the ability to control movement, musical, people who are skilled or dance, interpersonal or the ability to work with people, and intrapersonal, or the thinking done inside oneself. The last two are more like personality types, rather than aptitudes or even learning styles. The others are Gardner's attempt to expand the notion of what we think is intelligent behavior to people who are talented in music or dance, or even in interpersonal relations. In contrast to the traditional vision of learning styles as either/or categories (either a person is visual or he or she is auditory), Multiple Intelligences are put forth by Gardner as separate abilities. A child may be strong in a few of these areas, or none of these areas.
Gardner also says that children are different, they come to us with different personalities, preferences, ways of doing things. However, the research so far shows that has little to do with how successful they will be as readers and writers. Children also come to us with different amounts of exposure to written text, with different skills and abilities, with different exposure to oral language. The research shows that these differences are important. We have to find different methods appropriate for children at different stages in their development.
