Not just another brick in the wall?

Another Brick in the Wall!

The students that we teach are all different, unlike the school children referred to in Pink Floyd's rock opera, The Wall "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II". Examine this image carefully. There is one whole brick and parts of four other bricks shown. Even though we cannot see five full bricks, we can see that every brick is different. If we could look at this wall from a distance, we would think that every brick was the same.

We can view our students in the same way. Stand back from them and we can believe that they are all the same; after all, they have joined our course! Look more closely however and we spot many differences. Each student learns in a different way—see the VARK learning preferences questionnaire. Each student has different motives for completing the course—such as a requirement for their job or simply a wish to better themselves. Each student will have barriers to learning - such as financial, work pressures or home circumstances. Barriers may change over the course. A student may be ill or feel under pressure as the course progresses. Being sensitive to these differences, within organisational resource constraints, may help us provide a learning environment helpful for all of our students.

We should also consider diversity, but that is for another lesson.