Dec
15
Written by:
Different Voice
12/15/2008 7:00 AM
As compassionate Christians, we are challenged to be accepting of all persons, in our personal lives and in the ministries we plan and lead. I hope that you routinely evaluate and assess your ministries with regards to accessibility and openness to persons with special physical and/or emotional needs. Are your programs also inclusive of persons with different learning styles?
Last Monday’s blog discussed the theory of multiple intelligences. Even persons of the same age do not always learn best in the same way. Putting this knowledge into action can increase the effectiveness of a church’s ministries, including, but certainly not limited to, Sunday School, Bible study groups, confirmation and worship.
So how do we meet the needs of persons with different learning styles? Offering a variety of activities will increase the chances that each person will connect with the lesson in some way. This is not to suggest that every single lesson must include an activity specifically aimed at each of the nine intelligences. Rather, strive for a balance of ways of learning over time, and remember that many activities will meet the needs of more than one kind of learner. Remind teachers to be aware of a natural tendency to choose activities that reflect their personal learning style preferences.
Curriculum written for children generally does a better job of including multiple learning styles than that written for youth or adults. Yet there is no evidence that at a magical age all persons suddenly become verbal/linguistic and interpersonal learners! Utilizing a variety of experiences is appropriate at all age levels and will make programming welcoming for all types of learners.
~Sally Hoelscher