Introduction

As a teacher, focus each "lens" on yourself first to analyze your preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. Because we all tend to gravitate toward our preferences and stay away from our weaknesses, we must be sure that we teach, offer practice, debrief, and assess what has been learned in many different ways.

For example, if your strength is verbal-linguistic, you may be more comfortable with lectures and written exams. Another teacher whose strength is in the bodily/kinesthetic intelligence may tend to formulate "hands-on" activities for student learning.

While these learning styles and behaviors are connected, "viewing" your teaching practices and students' demonstration of understanding through one type of lens at a time will simplify the process. Try starting with the 4A Learning Styles for yourself and then guide your students through the same process. This process offers opportunities to discuss different aspects of reading.

If you haven't before, now is a good time to really analyze your more and less developed Intelligences and correlate them with your instructional and assessment strategies. Since we tend to teach to our own strengths, it takes additional effort to focus on and incorporate those strategies that address our less developed intelligences.

Do you know which Intelligent Behaviors you demonstrate in front of your students? Do you know which behaviors your students demonstrate? If you do, then you can offer solutions to problems as they arise so that your students (and yourself) are modeling positive behaviors in the classroom. You can also teach Intelligent Behaviors by incorporating them into your lesson plans, teaching practices, and assessments.

The learning styles and behaviors expressed by you and your students should overlap and are certainly unique. Deliberately using and applying learning styles and behaviors to your teaching practices should reveal how you can support your students during reading and learning. Document how you use the different lenses (learning styles and behaviors) within your lesson plans and assessments so that you have a way to adjust your planning as necessary.

Modules 3 through 5 will explore various strategies for Before, During, and After Reading. Throughout these modules are sections called "Focusing the Lens." These are small vignettes that tie together reading strategies and the learning preferences and behaviors discussed in Module 1. Please use these opportunities to reflect on and increase your awareness of learning styles and behaviors, and consider how both can tie into reading across the curriculum. You will not be graded on these sections.