NESCent Postdoc Professional Development Series on Effective Teaching and Learning Session 1 – Learning Theories, Learning Styles February 24 th, 2006 NESCent - Durham, NC

What Makes A Good…

The Lesson… The traits that make someone a good scientist are not necessarily the same traits that make them a good teacher… …but they’re not mutually exclusive, either!

Learning Theories – Many Models

Bloom’s Taxonomy A classification of levels of intellectual behavior important in learning s

Bloom’s Taxonomy Remembering: Student can recall or remember information (define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce, state) Understanding: Student can explain ideas or concepts (classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase) Applying: Student can use the information in a new way (choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write) Analyzing: Student can distinguish between the different parts (appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test) Evaluating: Student can justify a stand or decision (appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate) Creating: Student can create new product or point of view (assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write)

Bloom’s Taxonomy – An Exercise How Would You Classify These According To Bloom’s Taxonomy? 1.Compare and contrast the prevailing theories of the origin of birds. 2.Where would the organism in Fig. 3 fit in a phylogenetic tree? 3.Define plesiomorphy. 4.Design an experimental procedure to enable classification of newly identified organisms. 5.Identify the database that would be most appropriate for the assigned analysis, and justify your selection. 6.Draw a cladogram which accurately depicts the lineage of the taxa we discussed in class.

Learning Styles – Many Models

Learning Styles Innovative Learners Common Sense Learners Dynamic Learners Analytical Learners

Should You Teach To Learning Styles?

Teaching To Learning Styles ACTIVE LEARNERS Discussion, Debate, Group Work REFLECTIVE LEARNERS Journals, Time for Reflection VISUAL LEARNERS Diagrams, Movies, Demonstrations VERBAL LEARNERS Writing Projects, Oral Reports SENSING LEARNERS Real-world Applications, Hands-on INTUITIVE LEARNERS Concept Maps, Connections SEQUENTIAL LEARNERS Outlines, Flow Charts GLOBAL LEARNERS Overviews, Connections to Other Material, “Big Picture”

How Students Learn, How Teachers Teach, and What Goes Wrong with the Process Fact of Life #1: What students learn < what we teach. Fact of Life #2: How much they learn is determined by: 1.Innate ability 2.Background 3.Match between their learning style and our teaching style Fact of Life #3: We can’t do much about their ability, background or learning style. Conclusion: To maximize student learning, all we have to work with is our teaching style. RM Felder and R Brent, Effective Teaching, NCSU, 2003

Some Good Resources… McKeachie - Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research and Theory for College and University Teachers Davis - Tools for Teaching Given – Learning Styles