Transcript ABED Mini Course

Designing Distance Education
Learning Materials to Cater for
Different Learning Styles
Dr. Mohamed Ally
Athabasca University
Canada
[email protected]
13º Congresso Internacional da ABED
September 2, 2007
Objective
By the end of this session you will
be able to identify your own
learning style and describe how to
design distance education
materials for different learning
styles.
Distance Education
• Separation of professor or teacher and student
by distance
Generations of Distance Education
First Generation
Print
Second Generation
Print with support
Third Generation
E-Learning
Next Generation
Mobile Learning (M-Learning)
Kolb Learning Style
Learning Style
• Learning style is defined as a combination
of cognitive, affective, and physiological
factors that serve as relatively stable
indicators of how a learner perceives,
interacts with, and responds to the learning
environment.
Style One Learners
Strength:
Innovation & ideas
Function By:
Value clarification
Goals:
To be involved in
important issues
and bring harmony.
Favorite Question:
Why?
Style Two Learners
Strength:
Creating concepts &
models
Function by:
Thinking things through
Goals:
Intellectual recognition
Favorite Question:
What?
Style Three Learners
Strength:
Practical application of
ideas
Function By:
Factual data from“hands
on” experience
Goals:
Align their view of present
with future security
Favorite Question:
How?
Style Four Learners
Strength:
Action, getting things done
Function By:
Acting and testing experience
Goals:
To bring action to ideas
Favorite Question:
What if?
LEARNING STYLE ONE
SUPPORTER
• LEAD BY
– the heart
– build community - seek harmony
– sense of noble purpose
• TEACH BY
– facilitation
– discussion
– group work
LEARNING STYLE TWO
THEORIST
• LEAD BY
– fitting information into current reality
– sequential thinking
– use facts to persuade
• TEACH BY
– transmit knowledge
– accurate information
– knowledge leads to comprehension
LEARNING STYLE THREE
ACHIEVER
• LEAD BY
– plans & timelines
– favor productivity
– shares knowledge of results
• TEACHES BY
– matching curriculum to economic usefulness
– demonstrates detailed hands-on processes
– uses tricks of the trade - shows short-cuts
LEARNING STYLE FOUR
INFLUENCER
• LEADS BY
– offering crisis and challenge
– looks for patterns and possibilities
– energizing
• TEACHES BY
– enabling
– sketches and illustrates concepts
– encouraging the use of alternatives, choices
Concrete Experience (CE)
• Students who score high in the CE dimension prefer
experience-based approach to learning that relies on
feelings-based judgment.
• Tend to be empathetic
• Find theoretical approaches to be unhelpful
• Prefer to treat each situation as a unique case
• Learn best from specific examples in which they can be
involved
• Related more to other students rather than the instructor
• Learn from specific experience
Implications for Distance Education
• Provide a variety of learning activities to meet the
needs of CE.
• Provide real life examples that students can relate
to.
• Provide opportunities to interact with other
students e.g. small group work using computer
conference or videoconferencing.
• Prefer instructor/tutor to be a coach.
Abstract Conceptualization (AC)
• Prefer an analytical, conceptual approach to learning that
relies heavily on logical thinking and rational evaluation
• More oriented towards things and symbols, and less
towards other people
• Learn best in instructor-directed, impersonal learning
situations that emphasize theory and systematic analysis
• Do not learn from unstructured "discovery learning"
approaches such as exercises and simulations
• Good at logical analysis of ideas
• Like to do systematic planning
Implications for Distance Education (AC)
• Layout a plan for the students to follow
• Use a linear sequence for the learning
• Like theoretical readings
Reflective Observation (RO)
• Prefer a tentative, impartial and reflective
approach to learning.
• Rely heavily on careful observation in making
judgment
• Prefer learning situations such as presentations
• Look for the meaning of things
• Tend to be introverts
Implications for Distance Education
(RO)
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Allow enough time to apply the information
Provide all the information to students
Provide opportunities to work alone
Prefer passive delivery
Prefer norm-reference evaluation
See the instructor/tutor as the expert
Active Experimentation (AE)
• Prefer an active "doing" orientation to learning
that relies heavily on experimentation.
• Prefer to do activities such as projects, homework,
or group discussions
• Do not like passive learning situations such as
presentations and readings
• Get things done
• Like to take risks
• Tend to be extroverts
Implications for Distance Education (AE)
• Use active learning strategies
• Like to do things
• Prefer to work in small groups to solve
problems
• Tend to be self-directed
Diverger
• Combination of concrete experience and
reflective observation
• Strengths lie in an imaginative ability
• Interested in people and emotional elements
• Have broad cultural interests
Diverger (Why) Skills
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Brainstorming
Listening
Speaking
Interacting
Knowing oneself
Appreciating others
Assimilator
• Combination of abstract conceptualization
and reflective observation
• Like to create theoretical models
• More concerned with abstract concepts
rather than with people.
• They are good at planning
Assimilator (What) Skills
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Observing
Analyzing
Classifying
Seriating
Drawing conclusions
Theorizing
Seeing patterns and connections
Conceptualizing
Converger
• Combination of abstract conceptualization and
active experimentation.
• Like to apply ideas
• Tend to be unemotional
• Prefer to work with things rather than with people
• They have narrow technical interest
Converger (How) Skills
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Experimenting
Manipulating materials and ideas
Making things work
Testing reality
Tinkering
Trying and failing
Accommodator
• Combination of concrete experience and
active experimentation
• Like to do things and involve themselves in
new experiences
• Very adaptable to new situations
• Tend to solve problems intuitively
• Rely on others for information
• Like to work with people
Accommodator (If) Skills
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Modifying
Shifting
Adapting
Risking
Intuiting
Acting
Innovating
Creating
Learning Style Data (Montgomery)
• 67% of the students learn best actively, yet
instruction is passive
• 69% of the students are visual, yet
instruction is mostly verbal and textual
• 28% of the students are global, yet we
seldom focus on the ``big picture''
Presence in Distance Education
• Using mediated technology (virtual reality,
simulation, video conferencing, etc) to
provide an illusion that the mediated
experience is not mediated.
• The distance education experience should
create a strong sense of presence.
Sample Strategies for Distance Education
• Learners must construct a memory link between
the new information and some related information
already stored in long-term memory. On the web,
learners with diverse background and knowledge
can choose the most appropriate link to review
previous learning before new information is
presented.
• Active strategies can be built into distance
education materials to allow learners to process
the information.
• On-line testing can be done to check
learners’ achievement level and to provide
appropriate feedback.
• Use the browsing capabilities of the web to
encourage higher level learning.
• Network learning theory suggests that
information is stored as networks in LTM.
Hence, the hypermedia structure of the web
should facilitate storage and retrieval.
• Visuals can be integrated into the learning
materials.
• Promote interactivity by providing feedback,
adapting the instruction to the learner, and
suggesting activities for the learner to process at a
deep level.
• Allow collaboration using synchronous and
asynchronous communication.
• Use guest experts.
• Access on-line libraries.
• Use computer conferences for student-student and
instructor-student interaction.
• Ask students to keep an electronic journal.
• Link to appropriate learning materials on the web
Designing Distance Education Materials
• Give the Big Picture (Content map)
• Connect to the learner and gain interest
(Rationale)
• Set expectations for learning (Objectives)
• Include strategies to organize the learning
(Advance Organizer)
• Check for readiness (Prerequisites)
• Check for prior knowledge (Selfassessment)
Designing Distance Education Materials
Provide opportunities for learning
• Activities to Motivate the Learners
• Activities to Explore to Find the
Information
• Activities to Use the Materials to Improve
Performance
• Activities to Transfer the Knowledge and
Skills to New Situations
Designing Distance Education Materials
• Give learners the opportunity to practice
and provide feedback
• Bring Closure to the Learning Experience
• Check for Achievement of Objectives
• Provide Opportunities for Real Life
applications
Sample Materials
Group Exercise
• Form small groups
• Identify a lesson topic and prepare four
learning activities (for each type of learner
in the Kolb model) for distance education.
• Select a group leader to present back to the
large group (5 minutes).
Further Research
• Interaction pattern by learning style.
• Tutor and students learning style.
• Which learning style adapt better to distance
education?
• Level of support required by the different learning
styles.
• Learning style and success in distance education.
• Adapting instruction for different learning styles.
References
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Ally, M. & Fahy, P. (2005). Learning Style in Online Interaction in Distance Education.
Indian Journal of Open Learning, 14(1), p. 15-33.
Ally, M. (2005). Designing Instruction for Successful Online Learning. In C. Howard
(Ed.). Encyclopedia of Online Learning. Idea Group Inc. Hershey, PA.
Ally, M. (2005). Multimedia information design for mobile devices. In M. Pagani (Ed.).
Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking. Idea Group Inc. Hershey, PA.
Ally, M. (2004). Staff Training and Development in Open and Distance Learning. In
Weiyuan Zhang (Ed.) Global Perspectives: Philosophy and Practice in Distance
Education. China: China Central Radio and Television University Press, p. 277-297.
Ally, M. (2004). Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Distributed Learning. In Fahua Oscar
Lin (Ed.) Designing Distributed Learning Environments with Intelligent Software
Agents, Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, p. 162-183.
Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of education theory for online learning. In T. Anderson and
F. Elloumi (eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca: Athabasca
University Press, pp. 3-32, 2004. Available at: http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/.
Montgomery, S.M. Addressing Diverse Learning Styles Through the Use of Multimedia.
University of Michigan.