1. Learning Styles

2. Competing ideas about learning Range of theories Some theories derive from research into brain functioning. – specific neural activity related to learning can be identified in different areas of the brain. Other influential ideas derive from established psychological theories. – personality traits, intellectual abilities and fixed traits which are said to form learning styles.

3. Different theorists make different claims for the degree of stability of styles. Some argue around “flexibly stable” – previous learning experiences and other environmental factors create preferences, approaches or strategies rather than styles, – or that styles may vary from context to context or even from task to task.

4. Others argue that it is not about individual traits but that it is more productive to look at the context-specific and situated nature of learning and the idea of learning biographies rather than styles or approaches.

5. Many differing perpectives Learning is biological/physi ological process Learner Teacher Facilitator Learners need to adapt to/adopt a range of styles Learning styles are static Learning is behavioural process Teaching styles need to adapt and/or individualise Learning styles change over time/with context

6. Curry’s model revisited. Cognitive Personality Style Information Processing style Instructional preferences Significant Stable/difficult to modify More easily modified Less significant Seen as much more important for “deep learning”

7. Continuum of learning theories Different “families” of learning styles Learning styles and preferences are largely Inherent and fixed. Learning styles reflect deep-seated features of the cognitive structure, Learning styles are one component of a relatively stable personality type. Learning styles are flexibly stable learning preferences learning approaches strategies, orientations and conceptions of learning About genetics and cognition Work with styles don’t try to change Dynamic interplay between self and experience. Not about style about range of personal factors Consequences for design/pedagogy?

8. Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning A systematic and critical review The Learning and Skills Research Centre, 2004

9. Example theories

10. Kolb Four stage model Concrete Experience Active Experimentation Abstract Conceptualization Reflective Observation

11. Multiple Intelligences Gardner

12. V-A-K-T learning styles Think about when someone gets a gadget for Christmas that needs setting up

13. Do any of these considerations impact on your choice of approach? How? How do you think e-learning may help to address some of the other issues raised?

14. Assessment of learning? What are the learning outcomes? How will they be measured? Who will measure them? How will this be influenced by considerations around learning styles?