MODULE 3 LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES PART 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: MAKE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION OF THE FOLLOWING TOPIC.

DEFINING “LEARNING STYLE”: According to MacKeracher (1996), learning styles may be thought of as the way in which people:

1.   ¾take in information
2.   ¾select certain information for further processing
3.   ¾use meanings, values, skills, strategies to solve problems, make decisions, and create new meanings
4.   ¾change any or all of the processes or structures described in this list

CATEGORISING LEARNING STYLES

There has been a growth of research into the subject of learning styles in the last decade or so. The result has been numerous ways of categorising learning styles. For the purposes of this course, these have been broadly grouped into four categories:

1.   ¾physical domain – visual, auditory and motor styles
2.   ¾cognitive domain – concrete, abstract, sequential, random styles
3.   ¾affective domain – internal and external psychological and physiological factors that affect how we feel
4.   ¾culture and learning

Most of us have a preferred learning domain and within that domain, a preferred learning style.

WHY LOOK AT LEARNING STYLE?

Firstly, we need to be aware of learning styles to avoid mismatches in style between instructors and learners. As the cartoon below nicely illustrates, when we teach using our own preferred style not all of our students will have the identical style. Inevitably learning will be diminished for some.

Secondly, we need to assist our students to identify their learning styles in order that they may build confidence and more effectively manage their own learning.

Thirdly, in that our own preferred learning style can influence our approach to planning, implementing and evaluating instruction, it is equally important for us to be conscious of our style. We need to become informed about alternate styles, and strengthen our ability to work in these styles in order to develop instruction for students with a broad range of styles.

Finally, although most of us have a preferred learning domain, this does not mean that we don’t use or cannot develop alternate domains. Similarly, within a domain we are likely to have a preferred learning style. Becoming aware of other styles and working to strengthen weaker ones can enhance learning by providing a variety of strategies for taking in and processing information.

INTRODUCTION

When we speak of learning styles in the physical domain, we are referring to people who feel most comfortable using their physical senses – sight,hearing, touch, smell and taste when learning. Although we use all or most our senses when learning, many of us have a strong preference for one modality over another for taking in and processing information. The predominant physical or sensory styles are described in the following paragraphs.

VISUAL STYLE

Learners with a visual style prefer to use their eyes to learn; that is, see something in writing, watch a demonstration or video, and so on. In order to learn most effectively, these learners need to “see” the information or material in one form or another, thus the use of visual aids such will enhance learning. For example, when learning to read, these learners are likely to prefer a whole word versus phonetic approach.

AUDITORY STYLE

Learners with an auditory style will prefer to use their hearing to learn; that is, listen to a lecture about a certain topic rather than read about it, talk about the material with others or through “self-talk” (talking to themselves “in their heads”). For example, contrary to visual learners these students are likely to learn to read best when a phonetic approach is used.

MOTOR STYLE

This style is also referred to as a kinaesthetic or physical style. Learners who prefer this style can be thought of as “hands on” learners. That is, they need to do an activity, practise a skill or manipulate material physically in order to learn most effectively. For example, when learning to spell these learners are likely to prefer writing out words since muscle movement assists in their learning process.

IDENTIFYING PHYSICAL LEARNING STYLE: Identifying learners’ preferred physical learning style can be approached in either a formal or informal way. Informally, learning sessions can be planned to incorporate approaches and learning aids appropriate for each style. The practitioner would then simply note what seems to work best with each learner. This will be easier to accomplish with small rather than large groups, and in individual tutoring situations.

With medium to larger groups, a more formal approach in which learners complete a questionnaire may be more advantageous. A “Physical Learning Styles Questionnaire” has been included at the end of this module and may be reproduced for use by programs.

ADDRESSING PHYSICAL STYLE IN INSTRUCTION: Of the different types of learning styles discussed in this course, physical style is perhaps the simplest and most straightforward to identify and incorporate into instruction. Once you have identified your learners’ preferred physical learning style, learning sessions can be easily structured to specifically address each or all of the styles. Listed below are some instructional techniques and learning aids for each style. Some techniques and aids can be used effectively for more than one style.

¾TECHNIQUES AND LEARNING AIDS FOR VISUAL STYLE - Maximum use of visual aids will greatly enhance learning for individuals with a visual style. Some examples of visual aids include: videos and films, written materials with lots of graphics (i.e., charts, tables, pictures/clip art, photographs, etc.), overhead projectors, computers, and so on. In general, any technique that allows these learners to use their eyes will be effective, so instruction should include activities that involve watching, reading and writing. For example, if a student is learning about pronouns (e.g., “I,” “he,” “they,” etc), reading through a story and highlighting all the pronouns together would be effective.

¾TECHNIQUES AND LEARNING AIDS FOR AUDITORY STYLE - Providing maximum opportunities to “hear” the material to be learned will prove most useful for individuals with an auditory style. In general, any technique that involves listening and/or talking will be effective. Some examples include: group discussions, lectures, guest speakers, reading out loud, listening to cassettes/videos/films, and so on. Contrary to the approach used with the visual learner above when looking at pronouns, auditory learners need to hear the material. Thus, one approach might be to read a story and have the learner stop you whenever he/she hears a pronoun.

¾TECHNIQUES AND LEARNING AIDS FOR MOTOR STYLE - Individuals with a motor style need to be physically involved in their learning, thus the key to enhancing their learning is lots of “hands on” activities. Some effective approaches include: field trips, experiments, role playing, puzzles and games, three dimensional learning aids, or more generally, writing things out and reading out loud. In the case of learning about pronouns for example, one approach might be to break a story into four parts, post the parts around the room, and have the students go around to the “stations” and write out the pronouns at each.

ASSIGNMENT  2

The following are techniques or learning aids that are most effective with a particular physical style. Please check the appropriate column for each:

Visual Auditory Motor

a. Read out loud

c. Trace letters and numbers

d. Beat out syllables of words for student

e. Have learner beat out syllables

f. Show a video

g. Use different fonts or graphics

h. Give verbal directions

i. Give written directions

j. Learners use a computer

k. Learners read silently to themselves from a computer screen

l. Learners listen to tapes of themselves reading

 ASSIGNMENT 3:

Please complete the  ”PHYSICAL LEARNING STYLES QUESTIONNAIRE” and answer the following questions on a separate page.

1.  According to the questionnaire, what is your preferred physical learning style?
2. What are several ways that being aware of their preferred physical learning style might help your learners to manage their learning better?
3. If you think about your personal instructional approach, is your physical learning style reflected in how you plan and conduct learning sessions (e.g., if you are a visual learner, you may tend to use a lot of visual aids in your classes)? Explain.
4. You are going to teach a group of Stage 1 and 2 learners about contractions, (i.e., that is = that’s, I am = I’m, they are = they’re). Describe how you might teach contractions for each style.

PHYSICAL LEARNING STYLES QUESTIONNAIRE

Below are a number of incomplete sentences. Next to each sentence are three possible ways to end each sentence. For each sentence select ONE ending that best reflects how you normally do things. The column with the largest number of ticks indicates your preferred physical learning style.

		A	B	C (VAM)
1.	When you want to know	read the newspaper	listen to the radio or	watch TV and/or quickly
	the day’s news do you…	thoroughly?	TV?	scan the newspaper?
2.	When you read a novel	like descriptive scenes	enjoy reading dialogues	prefer action stories?
	do you …	and imagine them?	and “hear” the
			characters voices?
3.	When you need to spell	try to “see” the word in	sound it out and then	write the word a
	a difficult word do you…	your head first?	write it?	number of ways until it
				“feels” right?
4.	In your spare time would	watch TV, go to the	listen to music, attend a	do something physical
	you rather …	show, read?	concert or play an	(e.g., sports, crafts)?
			instrument?
5.	When you forget	forget names but not	forget faces but not	remember best what
	something do you …	faces?	names?	you did?
6.	When you have to do	prefer a face-to-face	prefer to discuss things	prefer to discuss things
	business with someone	meeting or writing	on the telephone?	while doing another
	do you …	letters?		activity (e.g. playing
				sports)?
7.	In terms of the arts do	Paintings?	music?	dance?
	you prefer…
8.	When you are talking do	talk sparingly, but	enjoy listening, but are	gesture a lot and are
	you…	dislike listening?	impatient to talk?	quite expressive?
9.	When you attend a	come prepared with	enjoy discussing issues	want to be somewhere
	meeting do you …	notes?	and hearing other	else and spend the time
			points of view?	doodling?
10.	People can best interpret	your facial expressions	by the tone of your	by your body language
	your emotions by…		voice
11.	When you visualise	see vivid, detailed	think in sounds?	see images that involve
	something do you …	pictures?		lots of movement?
12.	When concentrating are	Distracted by untidiness	distracted by sounds or	distracted by
	you …	or movement?	noise?	movement?
13.	When you are praised do	like written comments?	like oral comments?	like a physical action
	you …			such as a pat on the
				back or hug?
14.	When you try to interpret	Primarily look at their	listen to the tone of	watch their body
	someone’s mood do	facial expression?	their voice?	language?
	you …
15.	When you are inactive	look around, doodle,	talk to yourself or	doodle, draw, fiddle
	do you …	watch something?	others?	with something?
16.	When you are learning	like to see diagrams,	prefer verbal	prefer direct
	do you …	slides, or	instructions, lectures,	involvement such as
		demonstrations	group discussions?	role-playing?
	Total ticks in