1. © Dr. Carol Evans Styles Handout not lecture... Dr Carol Evans © Dr. Carol Evans

2.  In groups, consider how you would take account of one or two of the ideas covered in the lecture in order to deliver a particular idea / concept to children. Share with other groups.  The questions included here are prompts to help you decide on what you wish to focus on. You do not need to answer them all.  It would be useful to look at the key recommended readings. For more information on key concepts such as Personal Learning Styles Pedagogy – look at Evans and Waring (2009); Sharp et al., (2008) and Yates (2000).  For information on cognitive load and dual coding – there is a summary (pages 76-79 in Ardac, 2008).  If you have unanswered questions on styles you can email me in your groups at: c.a.evans@exeter.ac.uk Your task?

3. Learning Style Learning Strategy Cognitive Styles Learning Styles to Including Learning Strategies / orientations Strategies A Personal Learning Style © Dr. Carol Evans Plus affect.............

4.  What do the terms cognitive and learning styles mean to you?  Are you aware of any styles models? If so, which ones? Are they credible? The meaning of styles?

5.  Can you describe your own styles of learning?  Which aspects of your learning styles have been relatively stable and which more variable across contexts? Your styles?

6.  high degrees of structure / low degrees of structure;  cognitive simplicity / cognitive complexity;  conformity / non-conformity;  authority / autonomy;  group work / individual work. (Zhang & Sternberg, 2005) How would you describe your styles in relation to the following:

7.  How we ‘see’ things  Ability to see bigger picture and detail  Speed of processing  How we organise  How we deal with volume  How we scan /navigate  Number of channels we use to access info  Tangential v sequential thinking  How we make decisions and act on them Relevance of styles?

8.  To what extent do you emphasize the detail v theoverview or vice versa?  Do you start with the detail or the overview?  How can you help students to take a step back and see the bigger picture?  How can you help students structure and organise their work?  How do you employ summaries and overviews?  Do you consider the size of images? Big picture v detail

9.  Do you give students enough wait time to think through a response?  Do you give students sufficient time to analyse information you present to them?  How do you accommodate rapid and accurate processors in your classes? More of the same?  How do you help those that take a long time to access information & to make decisions?  Do assessment tasks develop both these areas? Reflection v Impulsivity?

10. Working memory Cognitive style Long-term memory New information to be learned Working Memory Capacity WMC = where information is temporarily stored while we work out the meaning of what we see and hear. Analysed info stored for future use © Dr. Carol Evans The senses

11. W M C LTM Cognitive Style Working Memory Capacity © Dr. Carol Evans Why is this important?

12.  What things reduce your working memory capacity?  What strategies enable you to enhance your WMC?  What can you do as a teacher to support learners to develop their working memory capacity? Working Memory Capacity

13.  What are the key concepts you wish to focus on – LESS IS MORE?  What can students do for themselves?  What can they be given in advance so that they can arrive warmed up?  How do you assess prior learning in order to build on what the learner knows?  How do you reduce the stress of a learning situation?  How do you make information more accessible? Volume?

14.  To what extent are you promoting a certain way of thinking in your design of lessons?  Do you always organise lessons in the same way?  Do you consider alternative approaches / solutions to problems?  Do you try to develop integrative pedagogies?  Are there opportunities to explore different perspectives? Thinking outside of the box.  What is the balance of open to closed questions? Sequential v Tangential?

15.  To what extent are your lessons over busy?  Do different streams/sources of information confuse the learner?  Are you using the most appropriate medium to present information?  Do you make assumptions about the number of channels that individuals can use to process info?  Can your learners present information in a different medium to the one that you delivered it in? Channels of information?

16. A PLSP is not about promoting the accommodation of each learner’s predominant styles in each situation. It is about adopting a central philosophy that has at its core an understanding of individual difference. (Evans & Waring, 2009) A Personal Learning Styles Pedagogy (PLSP)

17.  Importance of choice for learners  The centrality of the learner in the process  Recognition of the unique starting points of learners  Importance of explicit guidance  The need for concrete / appropriate exemplars to contextualise learning events. PLSP principles

18.  Need for reinforcement and transference of ideas to next contexts (Klein,2003 / Ardac, 2008/ Lally, 2009)  Opportunities to observe different ways of seeing and doing. PLSP principles 2

19. A. Exploration of teacher beliefs / modelling and support B. Careful selection/ application of models to suit learners within contexts C. Creating optimal conditions for learning D. Student Voice E. Design of learning environments: Use of instruction that is sensitive to the needs of the learner, aimed at developing and broadening styles and strategies PLSP dimensions

20.  Variety in teaching methods  Informed and responsible use of groupings to encourage diversity;  Using technology in ways that are sensitive to individual differences;  Use and practice of a variety of approaches;  Developing learners’ meta-cognitive skills;  Is developing style flexibility important? (Evans & Sadler-Smith, 2006)  AL SO: Consider cognitive load / dual coding / transmediation perspectives (look at Lally, Ardac, Klein, Yates) Things to think about.....

21.  Discuss the elements of a PLSP as principles to inform your teaching.  Do you agree with the principles? What issues do they raise?  Would you add anything to these?  Do styles mattter................................................... A PLSP?

22. Do styles matter....? “...there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice.” (Pashler et al., 2009) “Styles do matter! Styles make a difference in behavior and performance in diverse domains of our life, ranging from ways of learning and of solving problems to affective..., cognitive..., career..., and identity development” (Zhang & Sternberg, 2009, 292)

23. Useful articles: Ardac, D. (2008) Does the amount of on-screen text influence student learning from a multimedia-based instructional unit. Instructional Science, 36, (1), 75-88. (Pages 76 – 79 give a useful summary of cognitive load and dual coding). Evans, C. and Waring, M. (2009) The Place of Cognitive Style in Pedagogy: Realising Potential in Practice In: L. F. Zhang and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.) Perspectives on Intellectual Styles. New York: Springer, 169-208. Klein, P.D. (2003) Rethinking the multiplicity of cognitive resources and curricular representations: alternatives to ‘learning styles’ and ‘ multiple intelligences.’ Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35 (1), 45-81.(looks at transmediation / dual coding). Lally, J. P. And Gentile, J. R. (2009) Adapting Instruction to Individuals :Based on the Evidence, What should it mean? International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20, (3), 462-475. Sharp, J. G., Bower, R. & Byrne, J. (2008) VAK or VAK-uous? Towards the trivialisation of learning and the death of scholarship. Research Papers in Education, 23 (3), 293-314. Yates, G. C. R. (2000) Applying Learning Style Research in the Classroom: Some Cautions and the Way Ahead, 347-364. In R. J. Riding and S. G. Rayner (Eds.), International Perspectives on Individual Differences, Volume 1 Cognitive Styles. Stamford: Ablex.