Meaningful Engaged Learning and Learning Styles

In the article written by Mike Muir, "What engages underachieving middle school students in learning?" students success is determined by a teachers engaging their specific learning styles in the classroom. By examining the four different categories of the Meaningful Engaged Learning Model,  environment, experience, motivation, and meaning, students are more likely recognize and identify with what they are learning. Also, if teachers use this model properly, students will retain knowledge easier because it is more applicable and relatable to their own lives. Contradicting Muir’s theory was Richard Felder, who believes that student's multiple intelligences, such as sensing vs. intuition can be successful in multiple environments. Felder essentially believes that there is no precedent for learning styles in the classroom, however, no research supports his argument.

Personally, when I took a VAK, I got the results of a visual learner. Many of the suggestions for making the most with my learning style included drawing pictures, using different colors pens and markers when studying key concepts, and that visual learners tend to think upward when listening. I agree with most of what the survey said except that I tend to look forward, or at the speaker when I am listening. However, everything else stated was spot on about being a visual learner. Their strategies for teaching other visuals learner includes handing out charts, and outlines that students can fill in. I have to agree with this because as a visual learner myself, I found it easier to learn content if my teachers allowed white spaces to fill in with my own ways of remembering specific ideas.