4A Learning Styles
PLS has developed a graphic organizer (The 4A Styles) in which each quadrant relates to a different reading/learning style:
- Adventurers (top quadrant)
- Attorneys (left middle quadrant)
- Associates (right middle quadrant)
- Accountants (bottom quadrant)
Let's start with the bottom or base of the triangle.
Those students in the bottom or base of the triangle are accountant readers. They want to know the facts and the details. They are also focused and drive to complete projects within the time frame allowed.
Next, in the middle on the left, are the attorney readers. They prefer to examine the evidence for facts and ask the "How?" and "Why?" questions. They also like to dig deeper and find relationships within the text. They connect the dots until they can put all the information together in a meaningful way.
On the right middle side of the triangle are the associate readers. They are typically team players who value partners and group work. Associate readers are emotional because making personal connections is important to them. Dependable and supportive are attitudes that they typically express to their groups or partners.
At the top of the triangle are adventurers. These artistic and creative readers can be impulsive and want their “What if?” questions answered. They have big ideas and are very confident in their thinking.
Not all students will fit neatly into one quadrant of the triangle. As a matter of fact, it's uncommon to find a student who is just an attorney or just an adventurer. You'll find that many of your students will have traits from each category, but have a preference for one or two over the others. Ensuring that all four quadrants are included in lesson planning is important since it offers a comfortable zone of learning while stretching to other areas in which to engage and activate learning.
Viewing students through the "4A Learning Styles" lens helps you see how your students are processing text. When observing your students as they work in small groups you will be able to note specific questions and comments that are made by individual students within each group. Comparing your notes with the 4A Learning Styles chart will help you categorize each student's preferred processing style.
When constructing lesson plans, offer students opportunities to use their preferred style, and place students in small groups where they will work with students whose preferences lie in other areas. Providing students with models outside their preferred reading style creates opportunities to expand their text-processing "tools."