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Learning Styles. An Introduction to the Ways People Learn. Learning Styles: Topics. Background Learning Style Models Teaching to All Types References. Background. Students have different “learning styles”
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Learning Styles An Introduction to the Ways People Learn Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Learning Styles: Topics • Background • Learning Style Models • Teaching to All Types • References Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Background • Students have different “learning styles” • Learning styles describe how students prefer to and are best able to receive and process information Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Background • Learning styles indicate preferences for: • Facts and data • Theories and models • Visual presentation – pictures and diagrams • Verbal presentation – written and spoken • Active and interactive learning • Introspective and individual learning Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Background • Teaching solely in a manner not well suited to a student’s learning style may cause enough discomfort to interfere with learning Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Background However… • Teaching only to the preferred modes may result in students lacking the mental agility to reach their potential academically and professionally • In other words…they might not adapt well Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Learning Style Models Three common learning styles models include: • Kolb’s Learning Style Model • Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Kolb’s Learning Style • Type 1 – Concrete, Reflective • Type 2 – Abstract, Reflective • Type 3 – Abstract, Active • Type 4 – Concrete, Active Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Kolb’s Learning Style • Type 1 – Concrete, Reflective • Typically asks “Why?” • Responds well to explanations of how course material relates to their experience, their interests, and their future careers • To be successful with Type 1, the instructor should motivate Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Kolb’s Learning Style • Type 2 – Abstract, Reflective • Typically asks “What?” • Responds well to information that is presented in an organized, logical fashion and benefits from reflection • Instructor should function as an expert Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Kolb’s Learning Style • Type 3 – Abstract, Active • Typically asks “How?” • Responds well to working actively on well-defined tasks and by trial-and-error in an environment that allows them to fail safely • Instructor should function as a coach by providing guided practice and feedback. Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Kolb’s Learning Style • Type 4 – Concrete, Active • Typically asks “What if?” • Prefers to apply course material in new situations to solve real problems. • Instructor should stay out of the way to let students discover things on their own. Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Sensing/Intuitive • Visual/Verbal • Inductive/Deductive • Active/Reflective • Sequential/Global Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Sensing • Concrete, Practical • Oriented toward facts and procedures • Intuitive • Conceptual, Innovative • Oriented toward theories and meanings Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Visual • Prefer visual representations of material • Pictures, Diagrams, Flow charts • Verbal • Prefer written and spoken explanations Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Inductive • Prefer presentations that proceed from the specific to the general • Deductive • Prefer presentations that go from general to the specific Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Active • Learn by trying things out • Prefer working with others • Reflective • Learn by thinking things through • Prefer working alone Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Felder-Silverman • Sequential • Linear, Orderly • Learn in small incremental steps • Global • Holistic, Systems thinkers • Learn in large leaps Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Myers-Briggs • Extraverts/Introverts • Sensors/Intuitors • Thinkers/Feelers • Judgers/Perceivers Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Myers-Briggs • Extraverts • Like to try things out • Focus on the outer world of people • Introverts • Think things through • Focus on the inner world of ideas Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Myers-Briggs • Sensors • Practical • Detail-oriented • Focus on facts and procedures • Intuitors • Imaginative • Concept-oriented • Focus on meanings and possibilities Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Myers-Briggs • Thinkers • Skeptical • Tend to make decisions based on logic and rules • Feelers • Appreciative • Tend to make decisions based on personal and humanistic considerations Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Myers-Briggs • Judgers • Set and follow agendas • Seek closure even with incomplete data • Perceivers • Adapt to changing circumstances • Resist closure to obtain more data Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Teaching to All Types Appealing to a wide array of learning styles can be achieved, based on the Felder-Silverman model, by: Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Teaching to All Types • Using plots, graphics, and demonstrations along with oral and written explanations (visual/verbal) • Balancing concrete information such as experimental results with conceptual information like theories and models (sensing/intuitive) Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Teaching to All Types • Demonstrating the logical flow of material but also making connections to other classes, topics, and everyday experiences (sequential/global) • Encouraging or requiring cooperative learning (all learning styles) Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Teaching to All Types • Asking students to explain a general principle given only experimental observations (inductive) • Providing in class time for students to consider the material presented as well as for active participation (reflective/active) Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
References • Matters of Style, Felder, Richard, ASEE Prism, 6(4), 18-23, December 1996 • http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ Gateway Engineering Education Coalition