3. Using Technology to Address Different Student Learning Styles

Curt Bonk, Professor, Indiana University

President, CourseShare.com

cjbonk@indiana.edu

http://php.indiana.edu/~cjbonk

http://CourseShare.com

Some Technology Ideas• Bring in experts via video/computer

conferencing

• Teleconferencing talks to tchrs & experts

• Reflect on field & debate cases on the Web

• Make Web resources accessible

• Collab with Students in other places/countries

• Have students generate Web pages/pub work

• Represent knowledge with graphing tools

• Videoconference with colleagues

• Make Web link suggestions

More Technology Ideas• Take to lab for group collaboration.• Take to computer lab for Web search.• Take to an electronic conference.• Put syllabus on the Web.• Create a class computer conference.• Require students sign up for a listserv.• Use e-mail minute papers & e-mail admin.• Have students do technology demos.

Still More Technology Ideas

• Find Free Concept Clips on Internet.• Show Web site glossary--let explore & eval.• Student final project presentations with tech.• Scavenger Hunt (including items on Web).• Explore simulated businesses, hospitals,

schools, farms, planets, etc.• Videotape performances (speaking, teaching,

coaching, etc.)• Peer Mentoring sign up.

Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory

• Kolb found that "it is the combination of how people perceive and how people process that forms the uniqueness of 'learning style'-the most comfortable way to learn". By combining two dimensions of concrete experience and abstract conceptualization ("how we perceive") with two dimensions of active experimentation and reflective observation ("how we process"), Kolb established four categories of learning styles based on four learning modes (Kolb 1984).

Kolb (1984)

• According to Kolb, effective learning involves four phases: from getting involved (Concrete Experience) to listening/observing (Reflective Observation) to creating an idea (Abstract Conceptualization) to making decisions (Active Experimentation). A person may become better at some of these learning skills than others; as a result, a learning style develops.

4MAT System (Bernice McCarthy)

• Type 1: Innovative Learners are primarily interested in personal meaning.

• Type 2: Analytic Learners are primarily interested in acquiring facts to understand concepts and processes

• Type 3: Common Sense Learners are primarily interested in how things work

• Type 4: Dynamic Learners are primarily interested in self-directed discovery

More Learning Styles

1. Global/analytical (More 1984)

2. Impulsive/reflective (More 1976)

3. Field dependence/field independence (Witkin et al.1977)

4. Simultaneous/sequential processing (Kirby 1984)

Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

• Musical Intelligence - This intelligence is possessed by a person who thinks in musical terms and tends to learn best when music and/or musical-type patterns are used.

• Naturalistic Intelligence - A person with naturalistic intelligence has the ability to connect to the environment and categorize objects.

• Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence - A person with this intelligence enjoys working with words.

• Mathematical/Logical Intelligence - A person with this intelligence enjoys puzzles, logic problems, and sequences.

• Spacial Intelligence - This intelligence is evident in a person who can easily visualize objects and situations in his mind.

• Interpersonal Intelligence - A person who works well with others has strong interpersonal intelligence.

• Intrapersonal Intelligence – Knows self well• Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence - A person with this type of

intelligence uses her whole body to solve a problem and prefers projects which allow her to move and manipulate objects.

Visual, Auditory, or Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

• Visual learners prefer diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, pictures, films, and demonstrations.

Concept Mapping:Inspiration Example

Graphic Organizers (e.g., Digital Whiteboards)

Graphic Organizers (e.g., Map edit tool)

Visual, Auditory, or Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

• Auditory and verbal learners prefer words, spoken or written explanations.

Questioning(Morten Flate Pausen, 1995; morten@nki.no)

1.Shot Gun: Post many questions or articles to discuss and answer any—student choice.

2.Hot Seat: One student is selected to answer many questions from everyone in the class.

3.20 Questions: Someone has an answer and others can only ask questions that have “yes” or “no” responses until someone guesses answer.

Goal Driven

Jigsaw Technique: each student becomes an expert on a topic and teaches that to his/her group.

e.g., Assign chapters within groups

(member #1 reads chapters 1 & 2; #2 reads 3 & 4, etc.)

Instructor Generated Virtual Debate (or student generated)1. Select controversial topic (with input from

class)

2. Divide class into subtopic pairs: one critic and one defender.

3. Assign each pair a perspective or subtopic

4. Critics and defenders post initial position stmts

5. Rebut person in one’s pair

6. Reply to 2+ positions with comments or q’s

7. Formulate and post personal positions.

Brainstorming• Come up with interesting or

topic or problem to solve

• Anonymously brainstorm ideas in a chat discussion

• Encourage spin off ideas

• Post list of ideas generated

• Rank or rate ideas and submit to instructor

• Calculate average ratings and distribute to group

Synchronous Testing & Assessment(Giving Exams in the Chat Room!, Janet Marta, NW Missouri

State Univ, Syllabus, January 2002)

1. Post times when will be available for 30 minute slots, first come, first serve.

2. Give 10-12 big theoretical questions to study for.

3. Tell can skip one.

4. Assessment will be a dialogue.

5. Get them there 1-2 minutes early.

6. Have hit enter every 2-3 sentences.

7. Ask q’s, redirect, push for clarity, etc.

8. Covers about 3 questions in 30 minutes.

XanEdu Coursepacks

Annotations and Animations: MetaText (eBooks)

Discussion: Multiple Topics

• Generate multiple discussion prompts and ask students to participate in 2 out of 3

• Provide different discussion “tracks” (much like conference tracks) for students with different interests to choose among

• List possible topics and have students vote (students sign up for lead diff weeks)

• Have students list and vote.

Web Resource Reviews

Visual, Auditory, or Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

• Tactile/kinesthetic senses can be engaged in the learning process are role play, dramatization, cooperative games, simulations, creative movement and dance, multi-sensory activities, manipulatives and hands-on projects.

Feedback When Videoconferencing

Human Graph: • Have students line up on a scale

(e.g., 1 is low and 5 is high) on camera according to how they feel about something (e.g., topic, the book, class).

• Debrief

Interactive Videoconferencing

Stand and Share• Have students think about a topic or

idea and stand when they have selected an answer or topic.

• Call on students across sites and sit when speak.

• Also, sit when you hear your answer or your ideas are all mentioned by someone else.

Final Presentations via Videoconferencing

• Assign a task for students to present on.

• Have them create PowerPoint slides, bring videotapes or other media, and items for document camera.

• Consider have peer and instructor evaluation forms for each group and/or individual.

Authentic Data Analysis

Jeanne Sept, IU, Archaeology of Human Origins; Components: From CD to Web

• A set of methodologies and add’l background info (TimeWeb tool to help students visualize and explore space/time dimensions)

Students work collaboratively to integrate multidisciplinary data & interpret age of site

Interpret evidence for site’s ancient environmentsAnalyze info on artifacts and fossils from the site

Wireless and Wearable Computing

Online Co-Laborative Psych Experiments

http://psychexps.olemiss.edu/PsychExperiments

(University of Mississippi)

Contains 30 free psych experiments

Run experiments over large number of subjects

Ken McGraw, Syllabus, November, 2001

SimuLearn’s Virtual Leader

eDrama (Front Desk Hiring)

Perspective Taking: Foreign Languages

Katy Fraser, Germanic Studies at IU and Jennifer Liu, East Asian Languages and Cultures at IU:

1. Have students receive e-newsletters from a foreign magazine as well as respond to related questions.

2. Students assume roles of those in literature from that culture and participate in real-time chats using assumed identity.

Perspective Taking: Oral Histories and Interviews

Have learners relate the course material to a real-life experience.

Example: In a course on Technology & Culture, students freely shared experiences of visiting grandparents on rural farms.

E-Portfolios (Format: CD, Web, videotape,

combination, etc.)• Digital pictures of

student activities• Handouts from

coursework• Philosophy

statements• Videotapes of

teaching• Audio recordings• Lesson plans

• Letters of rec• Letters to parents• Sample writing• Newspaper clippings

of their activities• Work from students• Student evaluations• Self-evaluations

Six Hats (from De Bono, `985; adopted for online learning by Karen

Belfer, 2001, Ed Media)

• White Hat: Data, facts, figures, info (neutral)

• Red Hat: Feelings, emotions, intuition, rage…

• Yellow Hat: Positive, sunshine, optimistic

• Black Hat: Logical, negative, judgmental, gloomy

• Green Hat: New ideas, creativity, growth

• Blue Hat: Controls thinking process & organization

Note: technique used in a business info systems class where discussion got too predictable!

Role Play

Role Play Personalities• List possible roles or personalities (e.g.,

coach, optimist, devil’s advocate, etc.)• Sign up for different role every week (or 5-6

key roles)• Reassign roles if someone drops class• Perform within roles—refer to different

personalities

Alternative: Assume Persona of Scholar

Role 3: Conqueror or Debater/Arguer/Bloodletter

• Takes ideas into action, debates with others, persists in arguments and never surrenders or compromises nomatter what the casualties are when addressing any problem or issue.

Role 12: Slacker/Slough/Slug/Surfer Dude • In this role, the student does little or

nothing to help him/herself or his/her peers learn. Here, one can only sit back quietly and listen, make others do all the work for you, and generally have a laid back attitude (i.e., go to the beach) when addressing this problem.

Pick an Idea

• Definitely Will Use: ___________________________

• May Try to Use: ___________________________

• No Way: ___________________________