Learning Styles Travis09

Understanding Learning StylesConnecting content with Learners

What is a learning style?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theycallmeaaron/

Understanding your learners

Student Comments

Try taking him, whatever the class is. He makes you think

and brings meaning to everything.

I didn't care about the class at all, but heard it was an easy

A. The material is incredibly applicable to your own life.

Great course, well taught, excellent lectures, precise and

accurate testing

This was an AWESOME class! Dr. H made it so interesting

and interactive, lots of class discussion

Learners Like

To be challenged

To be respected

A variety of techniques

Real-life experiences

Receiving prompt feedback

Student comments

She is very intelligent and technologically savvy, but

sometimes doesn't make assignments clear to us lesser

humans.

she is so unorganized and has absolutely no clue what the

plan is most of the time (changes her mind after we have

already competed assignments).. soooo frustrating!

I had a hard time with the material because i did not find it

interesting and am not into his teaching style.

Learners Don’t Like

To be bored

To be talked down to

Inconsistency in

expectations, grading, or

treatment

Learning without context

Learning Styles …

Cognitive

Affective

Physiological

Other things besides

learning styles can

effect how your

students learn

Gender

Culture

Class Age

Why do we care?

Incorporating

learning styles

into teaching

Kolb Learning Style Inventory

My first opportunity to apply Kolb to the

classroom created such positive

results that I could never go back to

my original style of teaching

-Laura BorderUniversity of Colorado at Boulder

Experiential Learning MethodConcrete Experience

Abstract Conceptualization

Active

ExperimentationReflective

Observation

Experiencing

ReflectingDoing

Thinking

Concrete Experience

Learning by experiencing

See Page 4 of Kolb

“A man who carries a cat by the tail

learns something he can learn in no other

way”

~Mark Twain

Reflective Observation

Learning by Reflecting

See Page 4 of Kolb

“You can observe a lot by watching”

~Yogi Berra

Abstract Conceptualization

Learning by Thinking

“Learning without thought is labor lost;

thought without learning is perilous.”

~ Confucius

See Page 4 of Kolb

Active Experimentation

Learning by Doing

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by

doing."

~Aristotle

See Page 4 of Kolb

Combination = Learning Style

Concrete Experience

Abstract Conceptualization

Active

ExperimentationReflective

Observation

Diverging

AssimilatingConverging

Accommodating

See Kolb page 8

Being imaginative

Understanding people

Recognizing problems

Brainstorming

Being open-minded

Broad interests

Information seeking

Diverging

Planning

Creating theoretical

models

Defining problems

Developing theories

Being patient

Assimilates disparate

observations

Inductive reasoning

Assimilating

Converging

Solving problems

Making decisions

Reasoning deductively

Defining problems

Being logical

Practical application of

ideas

Accommodating

Getting things done

Leading

Taking risks

Initiating

Being adaptable and

practical

Puts ideas into action

Intuitive

Trial and error

Let’s do the Kolb!

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FOUR questions that are important to learning styles

What is the importance of the activity/content? (diverger)

What are the parameters or limits of the assignment- what

is the assignment useful for? (converger)

Which facts are needed to complete the assignment?

(assimilators)

What is the end product? What are the performance tasks

or procedures going to be? (accomodators)

Using Kolb to assess your teaching

Lecture:

Does the lecture contain rhetorical questions?

Does the lecture have a clear outline of

concepts

Time for student reflection (one minute papers)

Visual real life or aesthetic support in the form

of photos, colors, or references to student

experiences?

Incorporating Kolb into teaching

Using different Kolb LSI orders, look at

your scenario and try to apply all four

types of learning activities (axes) to appeal

to all four learning styles.

FOUR questions that are important to learning styles

What is the importance of the activity/content? (diverger)

What are the parameters or limits of the assignment- what

is the assignment useful for? (converger)

Which facts are needed to complete the assignment?

(assimilators)

What is the end product? What are the performance tasks

or procedures going to be? (accomodators)

From Theory to Practicehow learning theory relates to learning styles

Accommodating

Constructivists

Humanist

Diverging

Humanist

Converging

Cognitive

Constructivist

Assimilating

Behaviorist

Cognitive

Further Reading

Border, Laura. (2007) Understanding Learning Styles: The

Key to Unlocking Deep Learning and In-depth

Teaching. http://www2.nea.org/he/advo07/advo0407/front.html

Retrieved 7/29/07

Grassian, E. S., & Kaplowitz, J. R. (2001). Information

literacy instruction: Theory and practice. Information

literacy sourcebooks. New York: Neal-Schuman

Mark Morton (2006) RatemyHeuristic.comhttp://www.educause.edu/blog/markmorton/RateMyHeuristicCom/1

65938 Retrieved 7/25/09