Educational Technology Innovation and Impact/Why use Technology in Education/Auditory Learners

Auditory Learners...

The three main learning styles can be categorised as • visual • auditory • kinaesthetic The following passage focuses on auditory learners although it should be noted that no-one uses any one of these styles entirely, and there is usually considerable overlap in learning styles.

To understand the characteristics of the auditory learner we must begin by identifying and understanding a definition of auditory learning. Auditory learning is a learning style in which, as the name suggests, the learner predominantly prefers or engages most effectively with a stimulus that is spoken or that they can hear.

Auditory learners understand things when they hear them spoken, they may be able to follow verbal instructions very quickly and easily with a minimum of repetition. They may also prefer to learn by having music or background noise as a feature of the learning environment

Auditory learners relate most effectively to the spoken word. They will tend to listen to a lecture, and then take notes afterwards, or rely on printed notes. Often information written down will have little meaning until it has been heard - it may help auditory learners to read written information out loud. Auditory learners may be sophisticated speakers, and may specialise effectively in subjects like law or politics. Mind tools website 2006

Characteristics of the auditory learner Auditory learners learn best by hearing information. They can usually remember information more accurately when it has been explained to them orally. The following characteristics are typical of individuals with strong auditory processing skills. They can remember quite accurately details of information they hear during conversations or lectures. They have strong language skills and an appreciation for words which often lead to strong oral communication skills.

They can carry on interesting conversations and can articulate their ideas clearly. Auditory learners may find learning a foreign language to be relatively easy and may often have musical talents. They can hear tones, rhythms, and individual notes with their strong auditory skills. Pennsylvania state university website 2006

Auditory deficits It should be recognised that some learners may enjoy learning environments that offer verbal interaction, discussion, music and the type of stimuli that auditory learners respond best to. However these learners may well experience auditory deficits such as needing information to be repeated more frequently or more slowly, may not distinguish certain consonants or similarly sounding letters. They may not distinguish precisely where sounds are originating from and background noise may be confusing. (Sue Watson specialed.about.com website 2006)

References http://www.mindtools.com/mnemlsty.html(accessed 23/02/06) http://www2.yk.psu.edu/learncenter/acskills/auditory.html(accessed 23/02/06) http://specialed.about.com/cs/iep/a/auditorydeficit.html(accessed 23/02/06) http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Educational_Technology_Innovation_and_Impact/Why_use_Technology_in_Education/Auditory_Learners(accessed 23/02/06)