Learning Styles Dr Sinead Eccles LSS1003

Why learn about learning? Your capacity to learn can be improved by: • being motivated • having a clear purpose • analysing how you do things • being willing to try new things • recognising what works best for you. If you take some time to think through how you as an individual learn effectively, you’ll find that: • studying will be more enjoyable • it will be easier to understand course material • you’ll tend to remember course themes, concepts or techniques, which will help when you come to write assignments or prepare for exams. Finding out about how you learn can help you to develop study techniques that suit your needs and the task at hand

Successful learning Activity 1 Write down, something you think you are good at........... Write down a few words about how you became good at this.................

Successful learning Did you write? Practice Trial and error Repetition Having a go Experimenting Most people “learn by doing"

Did you know? Students retain: 10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they see and hear 70% of what they say 90% of what they say and do (Foot and Hook 1996, p. 180)

Learning: Behaviourists Learning through stimulus, response & reward Pavlov (1927) Skinner (1965) Conditioning Input.......output

Learning: Cognitive Perception, memory & concept formation Demonstrate understanding by applying knowledge to solving a problem Kolb(1984) Experiential learning

Learning in College •Autonomy •Accountability •Time Management •Interactive •Asking, not just listening!

What are Learning Styles https:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUTL DG-fHFE

VAKS learning styles The theory of learning styles assumes that each individual has a specific way of learning, when used can improve performance

Visual: seeing and reading

Auditory: listening and speaking

Kinaesthetic: touching and doing

What is your learning style? Visual: use of seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films, flip-chart Auditory: involves the transfer of information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and noises Kinaesthetic: involves physical experience - touching, feeling, holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences

Your learning style Are you surprised by the result? Does your style accurately reflect your own opinion What are the learning styles of the class?

What now? You can use your learning style to tailor your study and learning methods You can describe your learning style in your portfolio

Further reading Gardiner, H. (1992) Multiple Intelligences. http://www.accelerated-learning- online.com/research/default.asp Honey, P & Mumford, A (2000) The learning styles helper guides.