Learning StylesBarbuta Otilia,

XIIth form“Prometeu-Prim” lyceum

The David A. Kolb styles model

• Converger; • Diverger; • Assimilator; • Accommoda

tor;

Fleming's VAK/VARK model(The Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic learning styles model )

• visual learners;

• auditory learners;

• kinesthetic learners or tactile learners.

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence

theories model

intelligence type Linguistic

Logical-Mathematical Musical

Bodily-Kinesthetic Spatial-VisualInterpersonalIntrapersonal

capability and perceptionwords and languagelogic and numbersmusic, sound, rhythmbody movement controlimages and spaceother people's feelingsself-awareness

the Felder-Silverman Learning and Teaching Style Model

1. The Four Learning Style Dimensions – Sensing/Intuitive – Visual/Verbal – Active/Reflective – Sequential/Global

2. The Five Questions that Define Learning Style

3. The Five Questions that Define Teaching Style

4. The Felder-Solomon Index of Learning Styles

The Four Learning Style Dimensions

The Five Questions that Define Learning Style and Teaching Style

1. sensory (external) – sights, sounds, physical sensations, or intuitively (internal) – possibilities, insights, hunches?

2. visual – pictures, diagrams, graphs, demonstrations, or auditory – through words or sounds?

3. inductive – where facts and observations are given, and underlying principles are inferred, or deductive – where principles are given, and consequences and applications are deduced?

4. physical activity or discussion, or reflectively – through introspection?

5. understanding: sequentially – in continual steps, or globally – in large jumps, holistically?

1. concrete – factual, or abstract –theoretical?

2. visual – pictures, diagrams, films, demonstrations, or verbal – lectures, readings, and discussions?

3. inductively – phenomena leading to principles, or deductively – principles leading to phenomena?

4. active – students talk, move, reflect, or passive – students watch and listen?

5. sequential – step-by-step progression (the trees), or, global – context and relevance (the forest)?

The Felder-Solomon Index of Learning Styles

determines an individual’s preferred dimensions of the learning style model

by asking 11 forced-choice items for each of the four dimensions (for a total of 44 questions).

Ex:32. When writing a paper, I

am more likely to  (a) work on (think about or write) the beginning of the paper and progress forward.  (b) work on (think about or write) different parts of the paper and then order them.

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html

Learning Styles Results

ACT X REF 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11

<-- --> SEN X INT 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11

<-- --> VIS X VRB 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11

<-- --> SEQ X GLO 11 9 7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7 9 11

<-- -->

Some unexpected results of a learning styles intervention?

after Pat Bricheno and Mike Younger

University of Cambridge

“It has been estimated that up to 37% of the

population are kinesthetic

learners .... and learn from, the moving

world better than the written one.” (QCA)

Pupils' reasons for dislike of lessons (figures as percentage of

total pupils in the control groups) January 2004 June 2004

Control group Control group

poor class control 21 39

teaching methods no variety

18 18

teaching methods general 21 18

teaching methods too much writing/copying

11 7

all comments about lack of variety and critical of teaching methods

50 43

The interview reveals…

June: She just talks and talks and sometimes when we want to get on with the work she just keeps on talking and talking.

Hannah: …and you sit there and listen for ages.

Asha: Copy from the book, all the time…

Rajiv: When you do the experiment you get to do a little bit of work and you also get to have a little bit of fun, fun and working together…

What sorts of things happen in a lesson

when you really learn well by group ?

• Kinaesthetic activities 32%

• Visual activities 46%

• Auditory activities 25% • fun 14%

• individual help 0%

Conclusions…• “Thus for girls pedagogy

may play an important role in their attitude to learning, whereas for boys teacher personality may be more important - they like 'laid-back' cool teachers who they can 'have a laugh with'.”

• “As a result of the project, they had adapted their teaching to include more kinesthetic activities into their lessons.”

• “Many classroom-based activities involve different modalities.”

Combination is the KEY!

Thank you !