Learning StylesImpacts on Teaching

Learning Styles Learning styles correspond to sensory modalities:o Visual – learn by seeing• Sometimes divided into visual and read/write

o Auditoryo Kinesthetic

Learning Styles“Good” learners pick up and

remember new material quickly – most likely, you are a good learner!

Which do you think is your learning style?o Write your name under your predication.

Learning Styles Test your learning style:o http://www.vark-learn.com/english/pa

ge.asp?p=questionnaire Did your result match your

prediction?o Write your name under your test

result.

Learning Styles What did you think about the

assessment tool?

Learning Styles Potential Issues:o Wanting to select multiple optionso Not feeling that any options fito Situational – a test that leans toward

reading will produce a different style than one that leans toward calculation

o Real-life scenarios don’t necessarily correspond well to academic situations

Learning Styles Problems with Learning Styles Assessment Tools:

o Low reliability (~0.6)• Expect to get the same results each time you

administer it, but this happens just over half the time

• Why? Test may not be a reliable measure Learning styles change based on interpretation

of question, age, and experience

Learning StylesWhat cognitive research tells us: Help students more by presenting them with multiple modalities

o bolsters weaker areaso draws on multiple memory pathways

“Preferred learning modality” changes based on the type of material.

Material is typically stored independently of any modality. Memories stored in terms of meaning, not if you saw, heard, or interacted with information.

Attempts to match material to learning style may benefit some students, but will actually harm others.

Learning StylesCase Study: Lesson – Molecular Structure Class #1 – build ball & stick models Class #2 - read text and look at picturesHow would kinesthetic learners and visual/verbal learners

score on a later test in each class? What is your prediction?

Learning StylesCase Study: Results:

o Class #1:• Kinesthetic – 95% (enjoyed lesson more)• Visual/verbal – 80%

Learning StylesCase Study: Results:

o Class #1:• Kinesthetic – 95% (enjoyed lesson more)• Visual/verbal – 80%

o Class #2:• Kinesthetic – 70%• Visual/verbal – 70% (enjoyed lesson more)

Learning StylesInterpretation of Results:For a given lesson, one instructional technique turns out to be optimal for all students – the one that best fits the content!

Learning StylesFitting Modality to ContentExample: Understand dynamics of carbon cycleI’ve tried: Static images and talking through Static images with students reading and asking questions Images that students have to connect with arrows Narrated animation Walk through cycle with each student being a “carbon atom”,

then diagram their pathway & compare with those of classmates

Learning Styles

Learning StylesVexing Topic to Present: suggestions?How could this topic be presented: Visually? Read/Write? Auditory? Kinesthetic?