March General Meeting: Understanding Learning Styles

by Ted Edwins

In March's meeting, Jane Holbrook, whose role at the University of Waterloo is to help Science faculty members enhance their teaching with technology, presented us with some ideas to consider about learning styles when communicating with technology. In her presentation, Jane looked at different learning styles, how learning takes place in the brain, and some strategies for creating materials and activities that will help a range of learners. People were able to attend this meeting by webcast and in person via Modern Language Room 117 at the University of Waterloo.

Learning Style Models

In the first part of the presentation, Jane outlined two of the major models that explain different learning styles.

In Felder and Silverman's Sensing and Process model, people are divided into four pairs of sub-groups:

• active vs. reflective learners
• sensing vs. intuitive learners
• visual vs. verbal learners
• sequential vs. global learners

The Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator also divides people into four pairs of sub-groups based on personality and behaviour:

• Extraverts (E) vs. Intraverts (I)
• Sensors (S) vs. Intuitors (N)
• Thinkers vs. Feelers
• Judgers vs. Perceivers

To find out what your learning style is, go to http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html and take an online test of the Index of Learning Styles based on Felder and Silverman's model.

Learning Cycle in the Brain

Then Jane presented some interesting information about how the brain changes as we learn. The acquisition of knowledge forms synapses in the brain. Synapses grow stronger through repeated use. Learning is made easier when new knowledge is related to previously acquired information.

The act of learning incorporates major sections of the brain, as explained by Kolb's Learning Cycle:

• Concrete Experience — the sensory cortex receives direct input from the outside world
• Observation and Reflection — the back temporal integrative cortex is the location of memory, daydreaming, developing insights, and the mind's eye
• Generalization and Abstract Conceptualization — the front integrative cortex is the site of new mental arrangements, decisions, and developing plans
• Active Experimentation — the motor cortex transforms ideas to physical movements, such as writing, talking, and drawing.

Tips for Better Learning

Jane concluded that students will learn better when they:

• Use learning preferences in which they are successful.
• Expand their learning preferences.

To enable students to do this, Jane offered the following tips for creating successful communication products:

• Incorporate alternatives and options for interacting with information in a document or object that accommodate as many learning types as possible.
• Find ways to communicate and teach so that all parts of the brain are used in the learning cycle and there is ‘balance' between front brain and back brain activities.
• Create visual richness with audio and text back-up.
• Provide time for reflection and opportunities for action.
• Provide a hierarchy of information that global and sequential learners can access.
• Provide opportunities for social interactions.

Technical Challenges

The meeting was one of the chapter's most ambitious from a technical aspect. Not only did Jane use a computer to access the internet wirelessly to demonstrate how different learning styles are accommodated in online tutorials, but a video camera was used to stream the meeting live over the web to members who were unable to attend in person. Debbie Kerr, our president, would like to thank Scott Spidell of the university for making the technical arrangements for this event. She would also like to thank the co-op student who operated the camera and tried to resolve the technical problems.

Unfortunately, technical problems robbed the presentation of some of its impact. The demonstration of websites used for learning about anatomy was good because it showed navigation and delivery of information, but there was no sound so we could not hear the narration.

All-in-all the meeting went well, even though Debbie Kerr did not sing or dance.

Door Prize

The Peer Group donated this month's door prize, which I was lucky enough to win.

Online Resources

The following are links that were part of the presentation. The first link is the PowerPoint presentation that was given and the handout that was used for the presentation. The other links were the ones that were shown during the presentation to help demonstrate different ways that people might learn online.

http://www.stc-soc.org/calendar.php
Go to the March 6 date and download the presentation and handout in PDF form.

http://www.whatsasthma.org
What's Asthma All About? This site helps students understand how the body works and reacts to asthma symptoms.

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/2001/cellcycle.html
Control of the Cell Cycle. This is an interactive exercise that presents concepts about the cell through a game.

https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/frames.aspx
Intro Genetics Course in UW-ACE. This site is for an online course with access to course content, administrative materials, learning activities, and tools.

http://www.royalbank.com
Royal Bank website. This is an information-packed site designed to meet the needs of a large and varied client base.

About Ted Edwins

Ted Edwins is an independent consultant specializing in software documentation. He is a Past-President of the chapter. In his spare time he continues his futile quest to lower his golf handicap.