"sloyd" "learning styles" and other ways of teaching practical skills.

[robin wood]

Some folk will never have come across the odd word sloyd and most of those that have will probably associate it with the Swedish tradition of carving with axes and knives. It is much broader than that though, it is an educational theory which deserves to be better known. I use aspects of the theory in teaching hand skills and find it works very well for me and my students.

Today the theory of "learning styles" has been mass marketed and we are all categorised as visual, auditory or most likely here as "kinesthetic learners" that is we learn by doing rather than watching or listening. This is the current fad making a lot of money for marketers but has little back up in sound educational theory and is largely discredited in educational theory. There is no empirical evidence that it helps learners to better outcomes and a lot of evidence showing it doesn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/jul/25/furthereducation.educationguardian

http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/p/468917/6534505.aspx

Sloyd formed the backbone of craft teaching theory in Europe and the US from the 1870's through most of the 20th century though today it is largely forgotten. I think it is time for a resurgence, so if you like to think about how you teach practical skills I would suggest moving on from "teaching styles" and having a look at sloyd.

I did a blog post giving the basic background and links to free online books and more info here http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-sloyd.html

 

[Zingmo]

I remember seeing a documentary about dentistry in which they stressed that it didn't matter how many A grades someone has got, they will never make a good dentist unless they are "good with their hands". This means that for would-be dentists the most important interview question is "What are your hobbies?".

Good article. Thanks.

Z

 

[Kerne]

Today the theory of "learning styles" has been mass marketed and we are all categorised as visual, auditory or most likely here as "kinesthetic learners" that is we learn by doing rather than watching or listening. This is the current fad making a lot of money for marketers but has little back up in sound educational theory and is largely discredited in educational theory. http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-sloyd.html

I've been a teacher for many years (too many?) and am happy to say that this differentiated learning styles approach is now a thing of the past. While we acknowledge that certain people learn better in certain ways, it is now felt that one of the roles of education is to train students to use all the styles since "real life" requires a variety of skills. That is - holistic, as you say. That said, the theory did encourage new ways of presenting information and teaching skills so it wasn't all bad. I've come across the sloyd approach before and I like it. It has applications in lots of areas.

 

[Fluxus]

Robin,
Great to see someone tackling the tripe puported as 'learning styles'. Just google Forest School and see how widespread the application of this non theory in the outdoor learning / bushcraft for kids world.
/breathes.
Now off for a bit of spoon Sloyd with my trusty little frosts sloyd.