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Measures of Learning Style in the Evaluation of Blogs as Reflective Learning Tools
Niall Watts
Educational Technology Officer
ELSIN, Billund, June 2013
Research Background
• Working as an Educational Technologist
– Open University student
– Hype about new technologies
– Reflection and Collaboration
– Quality of educational research
– Methods criticism – student evaluations
Aims of Research
• Investigate blogging as a tool for learning
– Cycle of Experiential Learning (Kolb)
• Active (doing) or Reflective (watching)
• Individual (thinking) or Collaborative (feeling)
– Blogs promote reflective learning?
Why Blog?
• Storytelling
• Improve writing & media skills
• Opportunity to engage and reflect
• Simple technology
Research Participants
“Unrestrained by class rules”
No assessment
Lecturer well-known blogger
What is Reflection (Reflective Learning)?
• Reflection describes the processes where learners explore their experiences to gain a better understanding and appreciation of their learning (Boud, 1985).
• Many students find reflective learning difficult and initially resist it… Properly implemented blogs can help bring about reflective learning (Bartlett-Bragg, 2003).
Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning
Kolb’s Learning Styles
• Preferred learning style
• Teaching to match style
• Not fixed Approach Emotional Response Active Experimentation
AE - Doing
Reflective Observation
RO - Watching
Concrete Experience
CE - Feeling
Accommodating (CE/AE) Diverging (CE/RO)
Abstract Conceptualisation AC - Thinking
Converging (AE/AC) Assimilating (RO/AC)
Kolb’s Learning Styles
• Based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory– Accommodating: intuition, people– Assimilating: logic, theory– Converging: practice, technology– Diverging: imaginative, group work
Which would you expect to:
Be reflective/collaborative ?
Use hypermedia?
Reflection
• Assimilating
• Diverging
Collaboration
• Accommodating
• Diverging
Kolb Cycle Modified for Blogging
• Dron– ‘Reflective Observations’ on ‘Concrete Experience ‘– Comments – Theorise to explain reflective observations– Test theory in ‘Active Experimentation’
Methodology – KLSI 3.1
• Quantitative - standardised
• Literature
• Reflection, Hypermedia, Blogging
• Benefits
• Free
• Short (12x4)
• Bias
Methods – Learning Style
• Student Consent
• Ranked themselves on 12 questions– Students calculated own Learning Style– Results plotted on graph– Discussion
• Reliability & validity• Critiques
Results – Learning Style
Converging Learning Style dominant among bloggers:– Four keenest bloggers – One non-blogger
N=10
Methods – Text Analysis
• Blog posts coded for reflection using heuristics (Hatton & Smith)
• Risk of subjectivity
• Writing categorised as reflective (or not):
– “In one class we were asked how much time do we spend actually away from technology. I for one know that I can spend 5 hours online and most of that the tv is also on (I like to multi task) and that doesn't even include college. I don't think I can remember a week where I haven't been online every day at some time or another. I am away to a hotel for weekend and I know my laptop will be with me, not to mention my mobile with wifi function”.
Results – Blog Analysis
• One third of posts reflective
• One third of comments reflective
• 1 comment for 3 posts suggests collaboration
BLOG POSTS COMMENTS MADE RECEIVED
Total
Total Refl. Total Refl. Total Refl.
6 92 33 31 12 69 14
Converging Learning Style
• 4 Bloggers with Converging LS – 75% of all posts– 81% of reflective posts– 100% reflective comments (made & received)
– All “Somewhat reflective”– 2 Mature– 2 Male. 2 Female.
Methods – Triangulation
• Kember’s Questionnaire on Reflection– Agree/disagree 16 questions on their learning- Most students highly or somewhat reflective- All bloggers highly or somewhat reflective
• Blogging habits questionnaire (10 questions)– Do you enjoy blogging?– Does it help you to learn?– Do you/read comment on your classmates blogs?
Conclusions
• Bloggers reflective & collaborative learners
• Unexpected Result – Converging Learning Style– Not associated with Reflection or Collaboration– Skills with Hypermedia (Kolb)– Practical, hands-on
• Privacy?
• Matched perceptions– Sample bias?– Students existing community– Teaching & learning practices– Lecturer well-known blogger