Opinions of Primary School Teachers on Learning Modalities of First-Grade Students with Special Emphasis on the Importance of Auditory Attention

Abstract

Human senses represent an entry point for information, which is then processed in order to ultimately shape a behavior. Although all senses play an important role in learning, the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways of receiving information represent the three most common types of learning. In order for teachers to organize the teaching process in a dynamic and proactive way—aligned with the student’s optimal learning modality—it is important to recognize that modality and adapt the teaching process accordingly. It is also important to emphasize that a student’s ability to communicate their needs, ideas, and thoughts plays a crucial role in the acquisition of educational content. Therefore, the aim of this research was to examine the opinions of primary school teachers on the learning modalities of first-grade students, with a particular focus on listening and its connection to the teacher’s assessment of students’ communication skills. For the purpose of the research, a questionnaire was designed to assess the opinions of primary school teachers regarding learning modalities, especially in connection with the auditory modality. A total of 460 primary school teachers from 14 counties in Croatia completed the questionnaire. The results show that teachers believe that the longest attention span and the most successful acquisition of educational content among first-grade students are achieved through the visual modality, while the auditory modality is considered the least effective. On the other hand, teachers believe that students’ communication skills are linked to selective auditory attention, auditory memory, and the acquisition of educational content through auditory means. These findings indicate the need to develop programmatic activities in preschool and early primary education with the aim to increase those activities that foster the development of listening skills.