Learning Styles
Summary
OCR A level Psychology - Education
Reading
Banks and Thompson, Educational Psychology, West 1995,
pp218 - 223.
Child, Psychology and the Teacher (3rd Ed), Holt 1981, pp228
- 230.
Merv Stapleton, Psychology in Practice – Education, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, 0-340-64329-3, pp79-83
Excellent web site for Learning styles and Education
Two main areas concerning learning styles are Cognitive and Affective. Cognitive concerns the perception and processing of information within the brain. Affective concerns the emotional side of learning.
Cognitive styles
Witkin - Field dependence / Field independence (See culture document )
Field dependence means being 'holistically oriented' - going from the the big picture to the detail (many native american children are field dependent).
Pask - Holists vs Serialists -similar to field dependent and independent
Holists - overview
Serialists - Works through the detail
Kagan - Impulsive vs
Reflective
If reflective, decision making is more analytic and fewer errors are made
How many different styles?
- Touch and see
- Co-operative
- One to one
- enjoy pressure or competition
- Independent
- Active or Passive
- etc
Dunn and Dunn, 1978
Environmental factors
- Sound
- Light
- Temperature
- Design
Emotional factors
- Motivation - dependent upon intrinsic / extrinsic rewards
- Persistence
- Responsibility - being able to get on with the job, with no one forcing them
- Structure
Sociology
- group work
- working alone
- working in pairs
- peers vs adults as working partners
Physical
- Perceptual - visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic
- Nutritional - eating and studying
- Time of day
- Mobility - sitting in one place or moving around
Psychological
- global-looking at the whole picture; similar to "holistic"
- analytic-attention to detail and logical thought
- hemisphericity-the work of psychologists such as Sperry led to the idea of people being left brain or right brain orientated. The left brain is generally associated with processing: names, spoken or written directions, especially if they are numbered sequentially; whereas the right brain generally is associated with processing: faces, directions that are demonstrated or illustrated, multi-tasking -meaning that the person likes to do several things at once and spatial ability.
- impulsive/reflective -acting on impulse without thinking too much or cautiously reflecting upon the implications of any proposed action.
Why and how learning styles matter
Entwistle
(1991) argues that teachers should: 1.
· take account of the range of learning
styles their students will inevitably exhibit 2.
· recognise that
their own learning style is likely to be reflected in their teaching 3.
acknowledge the dangers of allowing one particular
approach to teaching to exclude the voice of others. He is
uncompromising in his underscoring of this last point arguing that: The
decision to adopt an extreme teaching method, or to espouse a particular
philosophy of education to the exclusion of any other, could be seen as an
unjustifiable self-indulgence. That
style of teaching might well be personally satisfying to the teacher and to
like-minded students, but would impose on other students an alien way of
learning. (Entwistle 1991)
KOLB'S
LEARNING STYLE
CHARACTERISTICS
Diverger
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Auditory |
Visual |
Kinaesthetic |
|
Remember what they hear and say |
Writing things down or drawing pictures |
Remember what they do and experience |
|
Talk aloud to themselves |
Graphs and pictures |
Like physical rewards |
|
Not always good with written directions |
Difficulty in concentrating during verbal activities |
Like to touch people when talking to them |
|
Enjoy listening to others reading aloud |
Watch rather than talk or act |
Work through |
|
Whisper whilst Reading |
Often well organised |
Tap pencil/foot |
|
Like class discussion |
Remember what they see |
Find
ways to move |
|
Need to talk through new learning |
Put information in visual forms |
Often lose interest |
|
|
Like reading/good Speller |
Poor speller |
|
Hum/sing |
Often quiet in nature |
Outgoing in nature |
|
Noise is distracting |
Notice details |
Cannot sit still for long |
PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE
Homework
Diverger Assimilator
Open-ended Research
Lots
of 'Why?'
Flexible,
oral/visual Worksheets
Related
to personal/other experience Independent
work
Reflective
questioning Analysing data
Reflection
time allowed but focused Specific task
No
worksheet Written
or diagrammatic
Interviews Give
something to be marked
Converger Accommodator
Relevant Flexible/open
Analytical Multi-skilled
Problem
solving Multi-tasked
Regular
homework Group
opportunities
Set
clear goals Partnerships
Practical Product
without process
Auditory Visual
Interviews Topic
web
Watching
TV programmes Extended
writing
Listening
to radio Completion
of maps/charts
Reporting
on tape Photos/models
Research
with a friend/teams Homework
sheets with
instructions
Research
to report back verbally Rewriting
notes
Answer
questions/do task on cassette Clear
deadlines
Kinaesthetic
Visits Read
pictorially
Project Drawing
activities
Making
things Collections/cuttings/evidence
Survey Act
out stories in books
Map
work Recording/tape
Relationship with the teacher
Diverger
o
'Friendly', close relationship
o
Role model, respect
o
Sensitivity
o
informal
o
Noise tolerant
o
Imaginative
o
Personal interest
o
Time to talk and listen
Converger
o
One-to-one
o
Organized teacher
o
Teacher encourage
o
Teacher as source of information
o
Business-like, down-to-earth teacher
o
Teacher who relates theory to practice
o
Specialist
Auditory
o
Verbal reassurance
o
Teacher as facilitator
o
Easy-going/informal
o
Adaptable/flexible
o
Emphasis on oral direction
o
High teacher input
o
Allowing time for talk/discussion
Kinaesthetic
o
Physical approach
o
Close relationship
o
Teacher involved in activities
o
Teacher offering tasks
o
Sympathetic approach
o
Positive appraisal
Assimilator
o
Teacher knowledgeable
o
Teacher well prepared
o
Slight distance
o
Formal, clear cut
o
Cerebral/thinking relationship
o
Expect teacher to challenge
o
Respect rather than closeness
Accommodator
o
One-to-one relationship
o
Trusting
o
Encouraging
o
'Personal', approachable
o
Supportive
o
Non-stereotyped teacher
o
Facilitator and resource for
o
pupils
Visual
o
Warmth, approachable
o
Clear/directive
o
Appearance
o
Flexible
o
Keep attention
o
Repeat/reinforce
o
Patient/security
Criticisms
Should
we label?
Learning
styles are not fixed
Different
learning strategies would be used depending upon the task at hand. It is important for the student to learn a
range of learning strategies as well as make use of their dominant learning style.
Kolb
Perception
Concrete
· learning from specific experiences, relating to people, and sensitivity to feelings and people
Abstract
· Logical analysis of ideas, systematic planning, acting on intellectual understanding of a situation
Processing
Reflective
· careful observation before making a judgement, viewing things from different perspectives, and looking for the meaning of things
· You like to look at things from many points of view. You would rather watch rather than take action. You like to gather information and create many categories for things. You like using your imagination in problem solving. You are very sensitive to feelings when learning.
· You are concise and logical. Abstract ideas and concepts are more important to you than people issues. Practicality is less important to you than a good logical explanation.
Active
· ability to get things done, risk taking, influence people and events through action
· You are primarily a "hands-on" learner. You tend to rely on intuition rather than logic. You like to rely on other people's analysis rather than your own. You enjoy applying your learning in real life situations.
· You like solving problems and finding practical solutions and uses for your learning. You shy away from social and interpersonal issues and prefer technical tasks.
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Perception |
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Concrete |
Abstract |
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Ordering |
Random |
1.Why? listening speaking interacting brainstorming |
4.If? |
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Sequential |
3.How? Experimenting Manipulating Improving Tinkering |
2.What? Observing analyzing classifying theorizing |
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McCarthy (1987) describes the four learning styles that a student needs to go through in order to learn a topic. Known as the 4Mat Curriculum Development Model |
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Perception |
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Concrete |
Abstract |
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Processing |
Reflective |
1.Why? Discussion method. The teacher motivates the student |
2.What? Teacher provides information |
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Active |
4.If? Teacher evaluates and remediates as the student discovers his or her self |
3.How? Teacher coaches and facilitates |
Grasha’s six learning styles
|
Learning Style |
Description |
|
Independent |
Independent, self-paced study; likes
to work alone |
|
Dependent |
Likes to be told what to do by the
teacher |
|
Competitive |
Motivated to do better than other
students and likes recognition for academic achievement. |
|
Collaborative |
Co-operates with teacher and fellow
students and prefers group work |
|
Avoidant |
Unenthusiastic about learning,
overwhelmed by class activities and often absent |
|
Participant |
Interested in class activities and
eager to work; wants to meet teacher’s expectations. |
Learning style and teaching style
Joyce & Hudson (1968) found when the learning style of medical students matched the teaching style of his or her instructor better examination results were achieved. However there has been little evidence elsewhere to support this view that compatible learning and teaching styles enhance learning. Bennett (1976) has reported that the "insecure and less stable child" works harder and more successfully in a formal class setting.
Which styles are generally better for most people?
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Barkman (1991) |
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Method |
Percentage recalled |
|
|
10 |
|
Hearing |
20 |
|
Seeing and Hearing |
50 |
|
Student talking |
70 |
|
Student talking and doing |
90 |
Gagné and Rohwer (1985)
- Pictorial over verbal
- Concrete over abstract
- Grammatical structure over non-structured presentation
|
Barkman (1991) |
||
|
Methods of Instruction |
Recall after 3 hours |
Recall after 3 days |
|
Telling |
70% |
10% |
|
Showing |
72% |
20% |
|
Telling and Showing |
85% |
65% |
Mackenzie and White (1982)
- Active -90%
- Passive -58%
The American Psychological association (1992) recommend:
- Students should be responsible for their own learning
- Interaction between peers and teachers
- Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic presentation
- Learning strategies should be varied (eg problem solving, debates, discussions)
A learning-styles school
|
What needs to be done |
How this can be achieved |
|
Students profiled on entry to determine their learning style |
Using inventories |
|
Give students choice over learning environment |
Provide a range of different settings, such as individual study rooms, soft carpets, group working rooms, etc |
|
Give choice over when to learn |
Rotate time of day and week when lessons are taught |
|
Give control over assessment |
Take assessments when ready, not according to a set exam timetable |
|
Involve students in organisation of school |
Effective student councils |
|
Should be equal emphasis on creativity and problem-solving as well as exam results |
Reward creativity and problem-solving |
Curry’s Onion Model
(1983)
Outer layer refers to instructional preference. Of course the student has little control at this level.
The middle layer is the informational processing style. This concerns the various strategies the student uses to process information. The student has more control here.
The inner layer is the cognitive personality style. This is the underlying approach to thinking that the student uses. Approaches include being divergent or convergent in your thinking. Being extrovert/introvert, intuitive/sensing, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving are other examples; these are derived from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicators.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicators
|
Learning style dimension |
Main features |
|
Extrovert or Introvert |
Extroverts are active and like to try things out focusing on the outer world of people. Introverts are passive; they try to think things through and focus on the inner world of ideas. |
|
Sensors or Intuitors |
Sensors are practical and pay attention to details; they focus on facts and procedures. Intuitors are imaginative and are more interested in concepts focusing on meanings and possibilities. |
|
Thinkers or Feelers |
Thinkers are sceptical and their decisions are based on logic and rules. Feelers are appreciative and their decisions are made on personal and humanistic considerations. |
|
Judgers or Perceivers |
Judges set and follow agendas and draw conclusions even without complete data. Perceivers are adaptable and require the complete data before drawing conclusions. |
These learning styles can be combined to give 16 different learning styles.
Teaching and Learning styles Key Studies
Hispanic-American
students and learning style
Griggs and Dunn (1996)
Aim: To review the research on the learning styles of Hispanic-American
students.
Sample and Method: In this study, Griggs and Dunn do
not do any actual research themselves but review a number of other studies.
Results:
. Mexican-Americans
preferred cool
temperatures and formal
classroom design.
. Mexican-Americans
prefer a higher degree of structure
in lessons to other students.
. African-American students showed the most preference for group work, followed by Mexican-Americans, and finally by white students.
. Puerto-Rican students did not like working in the early morning. . White students prefer to eat snacks and to move around while learning compared to the other groups.
. Hispanic females tended to make
more internal attributions
than other students, whereas Hispanic
males tended to make more external attributions.
Conclusions: Griggs and Dunn suggest that ethnic differences in
learning styles are entirely the result of cultural differences between ethnic
groups. Although they point to the danger of assuming that all members of a particular ethnic group are
identical, they suggest that teachers need to take into account these differences in educational preferences
in order not to disadvantage students from ethnic minorities.
Evaluation Point 1 – Ethical point –
danger that teachers will stereotype students.
Evaluation Point 2 – Reductionist – Too
simple. People are complex,
culture is not the main determinant of learning styles. Individual differences,
age, gender, socio-economic background, etc.
Evaluation point 3 – Review study gives an
indication of cultural learning differences, but specific experiments need to
be designed in light of these findings to truly establish cause and effect and
the effect of other variables. So the
results are not specific enough for any one situation.
Reclaiming school mathematics: the girls fight back Boaler (1997)
Aim: To investigate the underachievement of girls in mathematics.
Sample: This is a case study of two secondary schools located within mainly white, working class
areas. The schools were very similar' in terms of their students, but
had very different
approaches to the teaching of mathematics.
Method: The study took place over three years and data
consisted of test results
in mathematics, lesson observations, structured and unstructured interviews
with teachers and students and student questionnaires.
Results: Students did not enjoy mathematics at Amber Hill, but this
disaffection seemed to affect
girls much more than boys; their results were significantly poorer than those of
the boys. One year 11 boy
interviewed at Amber Hill
said: 'I don't mind
working out of textbooks, because you can get ahead of everyone else',
whereas for the girls,
understanding the work was much more important
(the deep approach) than getting a lot of work done. At
Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to find significant gender based
differences in learning style. The traditional, expository teaching based, authoritarian,
highly structured and competitive approach seems to suit boys much more
than it does girls, at
least in mathematics.
Evaluation Point 1 – Ecological Validity –
Real schools rather than laboratory set up, so results are valid at least for
the two schools studied.
Evaluation Point 2 – Only 2
schools which may not be representative of other schools. So poor generalisability.
Evaluation Point 3 – Longitudinal study so the
results are more reliable and valid as opposed to when a snapshot study is
conducted, which can give a false impression.
Evaluation Point 4 – Usefulness – results
would not be useful to many schools as their approach might be eclectic
(mixture of traditional and humanistic techniques).
Evaluation Point 5 – Qualitative data –
learn something important which cannot be captured so easily by quantitative
techniques and the point about boys liking competition could have been
overlooked by the experiments without the interview technique. Suggests future research.