Eckard College Presentation

1. Understanding Learning Styles
Connecting content with Learners

2. What is a learning style?

3. Understanding your learners
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theycallmeaaron/

4. Student Comments
Try taking him, whatever the class is. He makes you think
and brings meaning to everything.
I didn't care about the class at all, but heard it was an easy
A. The material is incredibly applicable to your own life.
Great course, well taught, excellent lectures, precise and
accurate testing
This was an AWESOME class! Dr. H made it so interesting
and interactive, lots of class discussion

5. Learners Like
To be challenged
To be respected
A variety of techniques
Real-life experiences
Receiving prompt feedback

6. Student comments
She is very intelligent and technologically savvy, but
sometimes doesn't make assignments clear to us lesser
humans.
she is so unorganized and has absolutely no clue what the
plan is most of the time (changes her mind after we have
already competed assignments).. soooo frustrating!
I had a hard time with the material because i did not find it
interesting and am not into his teaching style.

7. Learners Don’t Like
To be bored
To be talked down to
Inconsistency in
expectations, grading, or
treatment
Learning without context

8. Learning Styles …
Cognitive
Affective
Physiological

9. Culture
Other things besides
learning styles can
Class effect how your
Age
students learn
Gender

10. Why do we care?

11. Incorporating
learning styles
into teaching

12. Kolb Learning Style Inventory
My first opportunity to apply Kolb to the
classroom created such positive
results that I could never go back to
my original style of teaching
-Laura Border
University of Colorado at Boulder

13. Experiential Learning Method
Concrete Experience
Experiencing
Active Reflective
Experimentation Observation
Doing Reflecting
Thinking
Abstract Conceptualization

14. Concrete Experience
Learning by experiencing
“A man who carries a cat by the tail
learns something he can learn in no other
way”
~Mark Twain
See Page 4 of Kolb

15. Reflective Observation
Learning by Reflecting
“You can observe a lot by watching”
~Yogi Berra
See Page 4 of Kolb

16. Abstract Conceptualization
Learning by Thinking
“Learning without thought is labor lost;
thought without learning is perilous.”
~ Confucius
See Page 4 of Kolb

17. Active Experimentation
Learning by Doing
"What we have to learn to do, we learn by
doing."
~Aristotle
See Page 4 of Kolb

18. Combination = Learning Style
Concrete Experience
Accommodating Diverging
Active Reflective
Experimentation Observation
Assimilating
Converging
Abstract Conceptualization
See Kolb page 8

19. Diverging
Being imaginative
Understanding people
Recognizing problems
Brainstorming
Being open-minded
Broad interests
Information seeking

20. Assimilating
Planning
Creating theoretical
models
Defining problems
Developing theories
Being patient
Assimilates disparate
observations
Inductive reasoning

21. Converging
Solving problems
Making decisions
Reasoning deductively
Defining problems
Being logical
Practical application of
ideas

22. Accommodating
Getting things done
Leading
Taking risks
Initiating
Being adaptable and
practical
Puts ideas into action
Intuitive
Trial and error

23. Let’s do the Kolb!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8147452@N05/

24. FOUR questions
that are important to learning styles
What is the importance of the activity/content? (diverger)
What are the parameters or limits of the assignment- what
is the assignment useful for? (converger)
Which facts are needed to complete the assignment?
(assimilators)
What is the end product? What are the performance tasks
or procedures going to be? (accomodators)

25. Using Kolb to assess your teaching
Lecture:
Does the lecture contain rhetorical questions?
Does the lecture have a clear outline of
concepts
Time for student reflection (one minute papers)
Visual real life or aesthetic support in the form
of photos, colors, or references to student
experiences?

26. Incorporating Kolb into teaching
Using different Kolb LSI orders, look at
your scenario and try to apply all four
types of learning activities (axes) to appeal
to all four learning styles.

27. FOUR questions
that are important to learning styles
What is the importance of the activity/content? (diverger)
What are the parameters or limits of the assignment- what
is the assignment useful for? (converger)
Which facts are needed to complete the assignment?
(assimilators)
What is the end product? What are the performance tasks
or procedures going to be? (accomodators)

28. From Theory to Practice
how learning theory relates to learning styles
Accommodating Diverging
Constructivists Humanist
Humanist
Converging Assimilating
Cognitive Behaviorist
Constructivist Cognitive

29. Further Reading
Border, Laura. (2007) Understanding Learning Styles: The
Key to Unlocking Deep Learning and In-depth
Teaching. http://www2.nea.org/he/advo07/advo0407/front.html
Retrieved 7/29/07
Grassian, E. S., & Kaplowitz, J. R. (2001). Information
literacy instruction: Theory and practice. Information
literacy sourcebooks. New York: Neal-Schuman
Mark Morton (2006) RatemyHeuristic.com
http://www.educause.edu/blog/markmorton/RateMyHeuristicCom/1
65938 Retrieved 7/25/09