Complimentary Program from Dr. W. Terry Whisnant, President Horizon Seminars

Learning Styles and Teaching Strategies presented by Dr. W. Terry Whisnant President, Horizon Seminars

Concepts in Learning Let’s start with a overview of a few of the learning style categories.

What’s your learning style? personal learning style  We are constantly bombarded with information and must select a fraction of the total stimulation to admit to our “working memory.” The rest is effectively lost. The fraction of information we select is determined by our personal learning style...

What’s your learning style?

Are you a Sensory or Intuitive Learner? Sensory Learners Sensory Learners favor information through the five senses -- focusing on external stimuli. Intuitive Learners Intuitive Learners favor information that arises internally (memory, reflection, imagination). Their focus is on internal stimuli.

Are you a Visual or Verbal Learner? Are you a Visual or Verbal Learner? Visual Learners Visual Learners get more information from observation of procedures or visual images. Verbal Learners Verbal Learners get more information from written and spoken words or from stated formulas. Most people tend to be visual learners --- Most lectures are primarily verbal.

Are you an Inductive or Deductive Learner? Are you an Inductive or Deductive Learner? Inductive Learners Inductive Learners prefer learning specific cases then working up to governing principles and theories. Deductive Learners Deductive Learners prefer beginning with general principles then deducing consequences and applications.

Are you an Active or Reflective Learner? Are you an Active or Reflective Learner? Active Learners Active Learners learn by doing things. They work well in groups and enjoy interactive classrooms. Reflective Learners Reflective Learners learn by processing introspectively. They prefer working alone or at most, in pairs.

Are you a Sequential or Global Learner? Are you a Sequential or Global Learner? Sequential Learners Sequential Learners prefer information in measurable units and acquire understanding of material in small connected chunks. Global Learners Global Learners process information in seemingly unconnected fragments and achieve understanding in large holistic leaps.

The Good News is... Students can significantly improve their learning styles by developing a few additional learning strategies

Nine ways students can improve their Learning Styles

Sensory learners should... Connect abstract material to real world experienceConnect abstract material to real world experience Ask instructor for examples and practical applications of materialAsk instructor for examples and practical applications of material

Intuitive learners should... Read the entire section before making conclusions Take the time to proof read and check work Look for irony, innuendo, or unusual concepts

Visual learners should... Add diagrams and sketches to notes List key points -- box them in and color code into categories Use “mind mapping”

Verbal learners should... Write summaries in your own words Hook-up with a “study buddy” Explain the topic material to a listener (classmate, friend, family)

Active learners should... Study in groups Explain material to others Create very personalized note taking

Reflective learners should... Reorganize class notes ( summaries ) Create questions or applications for study material

Sequential learners should... Outline the lecture material Put information in logical order Relate new information to your current knowledge

Global learners should... Skim material before studying Study in large blocks rather than brief daily periods Use multiple sources to review material (Internet)

So, how does all this fit into teaching? Most teaching styles are best suited to the small percentage of students who are intuitive, verbal, reflective and sequential. Sensing, visual, active, and global learners are less likely to be addressed by traditional teaching styles.

There’s good news and bad news There’s good news and bad news

The bad news is that students are very dependent on learning styles that are not always addressed by traditional teaching approaches.

The Good News is -- Teachers do not have to start from scratch. Developing a few additional teaching methods will effectively address a much wider range of student learning styles.

Teaching Strategies

Method # 1: Present Problems First Avoid jumping directly into diagrams, statistics, or formulas. First describe the problems or applications associated with the subject material. For example, have students exert pressure on a door at different distances from the hinges before teaching the relations between torque, moments, and angular motion

Method #2: Balance Information Blend conceptual information with concrete information. (mix theories, models, or concepts with demonstrations or research experiments). Students embrace theoretical knowledge when they see how it makes sense in their world

Method #2: Balance Information For example, students can use the scientific method to explain the “Crossing-Over” of John Edwards...

Method #3: “Show Me” Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words! Words! Words, Words, Words! Words! Words! Words! Words! Words ! Make extensive use of sketches, plots, schematics, diagrams, graphics, and physical demonstrations. Use visuals to avoid the “blind date phenomena.”

Method #4 By The Numbers Break concepts and theories into manageable numerical listings. “While Freud has three (3) parts of the personality being developed over four (4) psychosexual stages, Erikson develops eight (8) psychosocial stages...”

Method #5 Illustrate, Illustrate, Illustrate Use analogies and demonstrations wherever possible. 100 microns -- that’s about the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Method #5 Illustrate, Illustrate, Illustrate The retina of the eye --- about the thickness of a postage stamp. One gram --- about the same as an Equal packet. News Flash!!!News Flash!!! New ointment brings blood!

Method #6 Allow for Self-Discovery groupsGive tasks in groups before presenting general principles and concepts. Place a teakettle on the stove and calculate heat inputs and time required to vaporize the contents -- then teach thermodynamics and math. ---

Method # 7 Cheat on Homework Mandate cooperation on homework. Students who participate in cooperative learning experiences (in and out of class) earn better grades, display more enthusiasm for the subject, and improve chances for graduation. Period.

Method # 8 The price of eggs in China? At every opportunity, demonstrate the logical flow of course topics. Point out connections of current material to other material in the course, in the same discipline, and in everyday life. ---

Method # 9 Your Turn Let everyone share the joy of teaching. What did I leave out ? How would you do it ? Allow students to devise teaching methods, section summaries, or index card tests. Example: the note swap.

Method # 10 “Let me think about it” Provide time in class for students to think about the material and for participation. Hit the pause button occasionally. one-minute papersAssign one-minute papers on index cards: most important point, unanswered questions, or logic “stumpers”...

Thank you see you at The Virginia Master Teacher Seminar July , 2005