Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nanda Mitra-Itle
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
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Discussion Points
Think-Pair-Share
Brief learning styles inventory
Whats hot in education
Agree or Disagree
What are learning styles
Learning styles assessments
Levels of research
Valid or not valid
Debate
What should I do now
Questions
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Questions
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
How do you normally study for tests,
particularly in subjects that are difficult
for you (i.e. physiology, music theory, etc)?
Think back to a class (Elementary, MS HS
or undergrad) where you learned a lot.
Perhaps even changed your life in some
way. How was it conducted? What about
that class had such an impact on you?
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Act first, Think/reflect first,
think/reflect later then Act
Feel deprived when Regularly require an
cutoff from amount of "private
interaction with the time" to recharge
outside world batteries
Usually open to and Motivated internally,
motivated by outside mind is sometimes so
world of people and active it is "closed" to
things outside world
Enjoy wide variety and Prefer one-to-one
change in people communication and
relationships relationships
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Mentally live in the Now, Mentally live in the Future,
attending to present attending to future
opportunities possibilities
Using common sense and Using imagination and
creating practical solutions creating/inventing new
is automatic-instinctual possibilities is automatic-
Memory recall is rich in instinctual
detail of facts and past Memory recall emphasizes
events patterns, contexts, and
Best improvise from past connections
experience Best improvise from
Like clear and concrete theoretical understanding
information; dislike Comfortable with
guessing when facts are ambiguous, fuzzy data and
"fuzzy" with guessing its meaning
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Instinctively search for Instinctively employ
facts and logic in a decision personal feelings and
situation. impact on people in decision
Naturally notices tasks and situations
work to be accomplished. Naturally sensitive to
Easily able to provide an people needs and reactions.
objective and critical Naturally seek consensus
analysis. and popular opinions.
Accept conflict as a Unsettled by conflict; have
natural, normal part of almost a toxic reaction to
relationships with people disharmony.
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Plan many of the details in Comfortable moving into
advance before moving into action without a plan; plan
action. on-the-go.
Focus on task-related Like to multitask, have
action; complete meaningful variety, mix work and play.
segments before moving on. Naturally tolerant of time
Work best and avoid stress pressure; work best close
when keep ahead of to the deadlines.
deadlines. Instinctively avoid
Naturally use targets, commitments which
dates and standard interfere with flexibility,
routines to manage life. freedom and variety
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Do I have patterns to the type of
materials I enjoy?
Do I have a preference for a
particular study/learning style?
Teaching style?
What learning style would I be?
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Whats my learning style?
Think-pair-share
Students are not failing because of
the curriculum. Students can learn
almost any subject matter when they
are taught with methods and
approaches responsive to their
learning styles strengths (Dun; cited by Ellis, 2001).
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Whats hot in education now?
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Whats hot in education now
Differentiation
Learning Focused Schools
Grouping (I.e. ability, cooperative, interest,
etc)
IEP/GIEPs
Distance Learning
Specialized curriculum
Research based programs Tier I or II.
Increasing student achievement
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Whats hot in education now
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Learning Styles
Agree or Disagree:
Each us receives and processes information differently?
Teachers should make every attempt to know how students
learn best?
Intelligence and ability are equal but differentially distributed
among individuals?
Typical school assignments tend to discriminate in favor or
against certain learners?
Style based instruction increases learning?
Any given style is not superior to another?
Global (field dependent) intuitive learners tend to score lower
on tests of analytical abilities (considered basic to ones
intelligence as measured by IQ). Are they less intelligent than
analytical thinkers?
(Ellis, 2001)
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Learning Styles
Agree or Disagree:
It (learning style) has failed to distinguish among
personality, ability, environment and other
variables, leading to confusion over the very
meaning of the construct? (Sternberg; cited by Ellis, 2001)
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(Ellis, 2001)
What are Learning Styles?
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Learning Styles
Premise underlying popularity?
For all students to receive an equitable education does
not mean that they all receive the same education; it
means that they all are taught in ways that promote their
individual opportunities to learn (Alder, 2000).
This premise leads to conclusion that teachers must
match learning styles, change curriculum to make it fit,
adaptive skill levels for student, etc(Alder, 2000).
Each person has a combination of modality strengths
formed by the interaction between individual and
environmental characteristics. These modalities lead to
styles of how we think, learn and communicate (Ellis,2001)
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Learning Styles
How defined?
characteristic cognitive, affective and
psychological behaviors that serve as
relatively stable indicators of how
learners perceive, interact with, and
respond to the learning environment (Keefe
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Learning Styles
How defined cont:
cognitive style that a person manifests when
confronted with a learning task, and specifically
as a predisposition to use a particular learning
strategy irrespective of learning task
differences (Schmeck, 1983; cited by Frisby, 1993)
stable attitudes, preferences, or habitual
strategies determining a persons typical modes
of perceiving, remembering, thinking and
problem solving (Messick, 1976; cited by Frisby, 1993)
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Learning Styles
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Learning Styles
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Learning Styles
Areas:
Cognition-perceiving, finding out, getting
information.
Personality (Conceptualization)-thinking,
forming ideas, processing memory.
Activity
Teaching
Affective-feelings emotional responses,
values, judgments
(Ellis, 2001)
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Learning styles assessments?
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Question
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Learning Styles (Learning Styles Resources Cite;
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/ls/Gardener.htm)
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Kolbs learning styles
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Learning Styles (Learning Styles Resources Cite;
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/ls/Gardener.htm)
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Learning Styles (Felder & Spurlin, 2005)
Measurement Instruments:
Abiator/Modalities:
The Abiator site is one of many that incorporates three
learning style dimensions/modalities: Visual, Auditory, and
Tactile/Kinesthetic. There is no apparent evidence of
reliability or validity. Because these instruments address
sensory perceptions, however, it makes intuitive sense and
therefore has some face validity.
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Learning Styles (Learning Styles Resources Cite;
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/ls/Gardener.htm)
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Elliss Levels of Research?
Level I?
Brain-mind research
Psychological research on individual differences
Problems?
Close association of assessment instruments with
intelligence measures.
Weak link b/w theoretical work, assessment and
practice.
Validity and reliability of assessment measures
(Ellis, 2001)
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Elliss Levels of Research?
Level II?
Dun and Dun meta-analysis
Oakland study with temperament based learning
style and gifted/nongifted students.
Other studies, etc
Problems?
10 studies eluded to were, with exception of 2
or3, in journals with little reputation for
publishing.
35 unpublished studies were dissertations.
24 of cited dissertation studies done under Dun et
al direction.
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(Ellis, 2001)
Elliss Levels of Research?
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Questions
Level III?
None
Ellis mentions the lack of level III
research evaluating learning styles. Is
anyone aware of any studies published
since? I assume there isnt much
more research to report, as Ellis
dropped the topic from the new
editionthoughts? (Sandra)
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Questions
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To be or not to be valid, that
is the question?
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Valid?
1993)
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Valid?
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Valid?
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Debate
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Questions
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So what do I do now?
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So what do I do now?
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So what do I do now?
Is this good teaching anyway?
Questions at a variety of levels of thinking
Providing an overview of material before
proceeding
Allowing sufficient time for info processing
Setting clear purposes
Spaced practice
Multisensory means to convey ideas
Using a variety of teaching and learning
approaches?
Allowing students choices in methods of
demonstrating learning
If research does not support learning styles then
why differentiate instruction in these ways?
(Ellis, 2001)
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Questions
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So what do I do now?
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So what do I do now?
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Questions
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More Questions
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Questions
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Questions
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References
Alder.N. (2000). PartIII: creating multicultural classrooms.
Multlicultural Perspectives, 2(2), 28-31.
Anderson, K.M. (2007). Differentiating instruction to include all students.
Preventing School Failure, 51(3), 49-54.
Burke, K., & Dunn, R. (2007). Learning style-based teaching to raise
minority student test scores. Clearninghouse 76(2) 103-107.
Burns, D.E., Johnson, S.E., & Gable, R.K. (1998). Can we generalize
about the learning style characteristics. Roeper Review 20(4),
276-282.
Caldwell, G.P., & Ginther, D.W. (1996). Differences in learning styles of low
socioeconomic status for low and high achievers. Education
117(1), 141-148.
Ellis, A.K. (2001). Research on educational innovations third edition.
Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Farkas, R.D. (2003). Effects of traditional versus learning-styles
instructional methods on middle school students. Journal of Educational Research,
9, 42051.
Felder, R.M., & Spurlin, J. (2005). Application, reliability and validity of
the index of learning styles. International Journal of England
Education 21(1), 103-112.
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References
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