Learning Styles, Learning Styles, Part II: Different Part II: Different Ways of TeachingWays of Teaching

A KIT workshop A KIT workshop

AgendaAgenda What is your Learning Style? Description of different Learning Styles What is your Teaching Style? Discovering strategies to match the

learning styles of your students Summarizing comments Evaluation

IntroductionIntroduction Students prefer to absorb and process

information in different ways:

• seeing and hearing

• reflecting and acting

• reasoning logically and intuitively,

• analyzing and visualizing, • steadily and in fits and starts.

Different Teaching MethodsDifferent Teaching MethodsInstructors may: Lecture Demonstrate Lead Students to Self-discovery Focus on Principles and Focus on applications Some emphasize memory Some emphasize understanding

How can Learning & Teaching Styles help?

How can Learning & Teaching Styles help?

Mismatches between LS of the student &

the TS of the professor can result in

boredom, inattentiveness,

poor performance on tests,

discouragement,

changing majors,

even dropping the course for the student.

For ProfessorsFor Professors

Professors may be confronted by:

low test grades, unresponsive or hostile

classes, poor attendance and dropouts. Professors may become overly critical of

their students (making things even worse) Professors or begin to wonder if they are in

the right profession. Most seriously, society loses potentially

excellent professionals.

How to Accommodate?How to Accommodate? Does not mean to teach each student

according to his or her preferences Strive for a balance of instructional

methods Teach partly in preferred style (to increase

comfort level and willingness to learn) Teach partly in a less preferred style (to

provide practice and feedback in ways of thinking and solving problems)

Why Incorporate Learning Styles in our Teaching?

Why Incorporate Learning Styles in our Teaching?

In summary: Making Teaching and Learning a

dialogue Responding to a More Diverse Student

body Communicating Our Message Making Teaching More Rewarding. Ensuring the Future of Our Disciplines.

Models of Learning StylesModels of Learning Styles

Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorTM

Kolb/McCarthy Learning Cycle Felder-Silverman Learning Styles Model Grasha-Riechmann Learning Styles McCarthy Model

Multimodal Approach (VARK)

The VARK ApproachThe VARK Approach

Neil Fleming, Lincoln University, NZ

• V - Visual• A - Aural• R - Read/write• K - Kinesthetic, sensory modalities

For more information, visit http://www.vark-learn.com

Visual Learners like to . . .Visual Learners like to . . .

Use visual materials (e. g., pictures, maps, graphs)

Have a clear view of the instructor in order to see body language and facial expression

Use color to highlight important points in the text

Take notes or ask instructor to provide handouts

Visual Learners like to . . .

Illustrate ideas as a picture or brainstorming bubble

Write and illustrate a story Use multi-media (e.g., computers, videos) Study in a quiet place Read illustrated books Visualize information as a memorization

aid

Auditory Learners like to . . .Auditory Learners like to . . .

Attend lectures Participate in class discussions/debates Make speeches and presentations Use a tape recorder during lectures instead

of taking notes Read text aloud Create mnemonics and musical jingles to

aid memorization

Auditory Learners like to . . .

Discuss ideas with fellow students Dictate their thoughts to someone who

writes them down Use verbal analogies and story telling to

demonstrate course material

Reading/Writing Learners like to . . .Reading/Writing Learners like to . . . Use printed sources (e. g., texts, lecture

notes, lists, dictionaries, handouts) Use the library Attend classes of lecturers who are

articulate and who speak in full sentences Take detailed notes Write essays Use manuals (laboratory, computer)

Kinesthetic Learners like to . . .Kinesthetic Learners like to . . .

Attend laboratory sessions and field trips See examples of previous exams Take frequent study breaks Move around while learning new things

(e.g., read on an exercise bike) Assemble collections (shells, rocks, etc.) Attend classes of lecturers who give “real

world” examples

Kinesthetic Learners like to . . . Chew gum while studying “Dress up” their work space with posters Listen to music while studying Scan an assigned reading to get a “rough

idea” before reading in detail

SO ...SO ...

Traditional instruction focuses almost exclusively on the formal presentation of material (lecturing)

In order to reach all types of learners, a instructor must devise strategies that take different learning styles into account

General strategies for all styles

(Richard Felder)General strategies for all styles

(Richard Felder) Introduce theory followed by problems

related to the theory Balance conceptual information with

concrete information Use sketches, plots, schematics, vector

diagrams, computer graphics, and physical demonstrations (visual) in addition to oral and written explanations

General strategies for all styles

(Richard Felder)

Use analogies and demonstrations to help students relate to concepts

Present students with issues, case studies, experimental observations, and have them work in groups to arrive at their own inferences

Provide class time to think about the material being presented, and for active student participation

General strategies for all styles

(Richard Felder) Encourage or mandate cooperation on

homework Demonstrate the logical flow of individual

course topics Point out connections between the current

material and other relevant material in the same course, in other courses in the same discipline, in other disciplines, and in everyday experience

How can an instructor do all that and still get through the syllabus?

How can an instructor do all that and still get through the syllabus?

Put most of the material in handouts, and go through the handouts quickly in class

Talk to students about their learning styles,

either in class or in advising. (Many students have been coping with LS/TS mismatches since high school (or earlier) and have attributed their scholastic difficulties to their own inadequacies)