Assessing Student Learning Styles with The Kaleidoscope Profile

Research shows that in every classroom there is likely to be a mixture of preferences—students who are kinesthetic learners, tactual learners, auditory learners, and visual learners (Haggart, 2003; Walling, 2006).

Research shows that teachers who are aware of and incorporate students’ sensory learning styles into their lessons are able to anticipate conflicts before they disrupt class (Haggart, 2003).

Research shows that by considering students’ learning styles, teachers can help meet individual student needs and nurture diversity and inclusiveness in the classroom (Reed, 2001).

"A teacher’s ability to relate to students and to make positive, caring connections with them plays a significant role in cultivating a positive learning environment and promoting student achievement." –James H. Stronge, Qualities of Effective Teachers

Current educational research encourages us to get to know each of our students in order to enhance their classroom performance, motivation, and desire to learn. Most of us create activities and implement strategies that we hope will engage our learners in the content and promote a lifelong love of learning.

We ask our students to participate in ongoing getting-to-know-you activities and we structure team-building opportunities to create an environment conducive to learning. We understand the importance of knowing and caring about each student and his or her learning needs. Finally, we understand that all students learn differently, and that our lessons should address the diverse learning styles in our classroom.

With the curriculum that we have to cover, what is the most accurate and time-efficient way to discover our students’ learning styles? There are dozens of generic assessments and tests on the market. Some are too difficult for younger students. Others lack a research base and provide skewed or inaccurate results. Many just take too long and aren’t worth the time. Oftentimes students find what they perceive as “just another test” to be tedious or boring, and won’t put forth the effort to produce accurate results.

Performance Learning Systems offers a research-based assessment tool called The Kaleidoscope Profile. The Kaleidoscope Profile is easy to give, fun for your students to take, and quick for them to score. You can even make it part of a team-building activity—another opportunity for you to get to know your students better and for them to get to know one another on a deeper level.

Assessing Student Learning Styles with The Kaleidoscope Profile

The Kaleidoscope Profile is an all-inclusive assessment of learning styles, revealing each student’s sensory preferences, perceptual styles, organizational styles, and temperament styles.

Discovering student learning styles benefits you as well as your students. It’s not “just another test” that they will take and soon forget. The information is fun, interesting, and provides an accurate profile of how each student learns best.

By taking The Kaleidoscope Profile, your students will:

• Discover how they learn best.
• Perform at their best.
• Amp up their confidence as students.
• Create an environment that supports how they learn.
• Understand how learning can be fun.
• Achieve self-respect, a feeling of being special.
• Gain a better understanding and tolerance for others.

There are two versions of The Kaleidoscope Profile for Students: one for grades 3-6 and another for grades 7-12. Each version comes with colorful stickers that are printed with well-researched phrases addressing specific learning styles. Students simply respond to four questions by peeling off stickers containing phrases that hold meaning for them personally. The stickers are easily applied to a personal folder.

The language is appropriate to the grade levels of the students who are taking it. Students enjoy choosing the easy-to-understand phrases printed on the colorful stickers.

Stickers are color coded, so tallying results is a snap. Students can do it on their own, so you won’t need to invest time doing it for them. You immediately know each student’s styles. The results are saved within attractive profile folders and can be kept or passed from grade to grade.

Haggart, W. (2003). Discipline and learning styles: An educator’s guide. Nevada City, CA: Performance Learning Systems.

Reed, S. E. (2001). Learning styles of American Indian students in Northeastern Oklahoma. Tahlequah, OK: Oklahoma Institute for Learning Styles, Northeastern State University.

Walling, D. R. (2006). Teaching writing to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Source: The above tips are based on information about The Kaleidoscope Profile.

Performance Learning PLUS is a monthly e-newsletter by Performance Learning Systems (PLS), a comprehensive educational services company that has provided a full spectrum of programs, products, and consulting services to educators and business professionals since 1971.