Mariaemma Willis

I read Part I, did the assessment in Part II with my daughter, and then skimmed over the pertinent sections in Part III, which has all of the suggestions to use with each learning style. I got a couple of new angles on information I already knew, but nothing totally new to me. I think the most valuable thing was doing the assessment itself with my daughter and seeing just how in tune she really is with her needs and preferences (and how confident she is in her abilities).

I disagree with the authors' take on talent (there's a fair amount of evidence that talent is created rather than being inborn. Read Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin). I also found some of their arguments unconvincing. For example, they state that in some classrooms that have implemented these techniques, teachers find that all of the students received A's on the assessments for knowledge on topics taught to their learning styles. The schools with these results discounted them because they don't follow a bell curve and therefore must be inaccurate. The argument the authors make is basically, well, it doesn't matter. I think a better argument is that if you plotted the results within the A range, they may well follow a bell curve. An A grade is a range, not a point. Perhaps one just needs to zoom in a little closer to see the variation.

I think that a little more intellectually rigorous style might have appealed to me more.… (meer)

This is an interesting book, which I found helpful particularly with my son, in understanding the best ways to teach him (since we homeschool). There is an extensive assessment which helps identify your preferred/best learning styles. I took the assessment, and also gave it to my son. I didn't read the entire text; I ended up just reading the sections at the end which applied to us. I think this book will be of interest to parents who are involved in their children's education, and also to teachers. Especially relevant in cases where children aren't doing well in a traditional classroom setting; these children might really benefit from an understanding that they learn differently from the ways most school systems usually provide.… (meer)