Transcript Answering Questions

Learning Styles
An Introduction to the Ways
People Learn
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Learning Styles: Topics
Background
Learning Style Models
Teaching to All Types
References
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Background
Students have different “learning styles”
Learning styles describe how students
prefer to and are best able to receive
and process information
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Background
Learning styles indicate preferences for:
Facts and data
 Theories and models
 Visual presentation – pictures and
diagrams
 Verbal presentation – written and spoken
 Active and interactive learning
 Introspective and individual learning

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Background
Teaching solely in a manner not well
suited to a student’s learning style may
cause enough discomfort to interfere
with learning
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Background
However…
Teaching only to the preferred modes
may result in students lacking the
mental agility to reach their potential
academically and professionally
In other words…they might not adapt
well
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Learning Style Models
Three common learning styles models
include:
Kolb’s Learning Style Model
Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
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Kolb’s Learning Style
Type 1 – Concrete, Reflective
Type 2 – Abstract, Reflective
Type 3 – Abstract, Active
Type 4 – Concrete, Active
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Kolb’s Learning Style
Type 1 – Concrete, Reflective
Typically asks “Why?”
 Responds well to explanations of how
course material relates to their experience,
their interests, and their future careers
 To be successful with Type 1, the instructor
should motivate

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Kolb’s Learning Style
Type 2 – Abstract, Reflective
Typically asks “What?”
 Responds well to information that is
presented in an organized, logical fashion
and benefits from reflection
 Instructor should function as an expert

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Kolb’s Learning Style
Type 3 – Abstract, Active
Typically asks “How?”
 Responds well to working actively on welldefined tasks and by trial-and-error in an
environment that allows them to fail safely
 Instructor should function as a coach by
providing guided practice and feedback.

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Kolb’s Learning Style
Type 4 – Concrete, Active
Typically asks “What if?”
 Prefers to apply course material in new
situations to solve real problems.
 Instructor should stay out of the way to let
students discover things on their own.

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Felder-Silverman
Sensing/Intuitive
Visual/Verbal
Inductive/Deductive
Active/Reflective
Sequential/Global
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Felder-Silverman
Sensing
Concrete, Practical
 Oriented toward facts and procedures

Intuitive
Conceptual, Innovative
 Oriented toward theories and meanings

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Felder-Silverman
Visual
Prefer visual representations of material
 Pictures, Diagrams, Flow charts

Verbal

Prefer written and spoken explanations
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Felder-Silverman
Inductive

Prefer presentations that proceed from the
specific to the general
Deductive

Prefer presentations that go from general
to the specific
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Felder-Silverman
Active
Learn by trying things out
 Prefer working with others

Reflective
Learn by thinking things through
 Prefer working alone

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Felder-Silverman
Sequential
Linear, Orderly
 Learn in small incremental steps

Global
Holistic, Systems thinkers
 Learn in large leaps

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Myers-Briggs
Extraverts/Introverts
Sensors/Intuitors
Thinkers/Feelers
Judgers/Perceivers
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Myers-Briggs
Extraverts
Like to try things out
 Focus on the outer world of people

Introverts
Think things through
 Focus on the inner world of ideas

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Myers-Briggs
Sensors
Practical
 Detail-oriented
 Focus on facts and procedures

Intuitors
Imaginative
 Concept-oriented
 Focus on meanings and possibilities

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Myers-Briggs
Thinkers
Skeptical
 Tend to make decisions based on logic and
rules

Feelers
Appreciative
 Tend to make decisions based on personal
and humanistic considerations

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Myers-Briggs
Judgers
Set and follow agendas
 Seek closure even with incomplete data

Perceivers
Adapt to changing circumstances
 Resist closure to obtain more data

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Teaching to All Types
Appealing to a wide array of learning
styles can be achieved, based on the
Felder-Silverman model, by:
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Teaching to All Types

Using plots, graphics, and demonstrations
along with oral and written explanations
(visual/verbal)

Balancing concrete information such as
experimental results with conceptual
information like theories and models
(sensing/intuitive)
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Teaching to All Types

Demonstrating the logical flow of material
but also making connections to other
classes, topics, and everyday experiences
(sequential/global)

Encouraging or requiring cooperative
learning (all learning styles)
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Teaching to All Types

Asking students to explain a general
principle given only experimental
observations (inductive)

Providing in class time for students to
consider the material presented as well as
for active participation (reflective/active)
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References
Matters of Style, Felder, Richard, ASEE
Prism, 6(4), 18-23, December 1996
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/
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