Transcript Learning Styles …

Learning Styles …
…and what they mean to a
training program
The Challenge …
You have just purchased a pre-fab office
desk from Office Place
It consists of:
– pre-cut pieces of wood, labeled “A”, “B”. “C”,
etc.
– little bags of screws, nuts and bolts, and some
odd-looking flat connectors.
– A pamphlet of instructions
The Goal …
You have to assemble this piece of
furniture in one hour
The Variables …
You can adjust your environment with
music, silence, food, drink as you wish
You can consult friends
You can talk to anyone you wish by phone
or F2F
You can remain in one place or you roam
around your work space
How do YOU engage this
challenge?
Divide off into groups of 3 and buzz about
this for 5 minutes.
Take notes – jot down a summary of the
steps YOU would use to put this desk
together
Try to find some commonalities within your
group
We will report back in 5 minutes
What ARE Learning Styles?
Strategies by means of which people are
best able to personalize and internalize
information to render it knowledge
What Buddha might suggest are “The
different paths that lead to the top of the
mountain”
Engaging in instructional judo –
embracing the strengths of your audience
and turning that energy to your own
advantage as a trainer
Overview
Many variations on labels for learning
styles
Focus on the fundamental descriptions
today
These terms are coarse grain labels
Remember that learners often adopt
hybrid learning styles, i.e. mixtures of
several styles
Broad Strokes: Learning Styles 1
Visual Learners
– Learn through seeing
– Information is best presented in
picture/graphical format
– Visual learners benefit from films, photos,
computer graphics, Flash objects, diagrams
– When studying, they associate a graphical
representation of the material in their minds
– They are frequently artistic themselves
Broad Strokes: Learning Styles 2
Auditory Learners
– Learn through hearing/listening
– Information best internalized through lectures,
dicussions, talking with others
– Written information may not have much
meaning until it is heard
– Auditory learners benefit from tape/digital
recording, having text read to them (MS
Reader, TextAloud)
Broad Strokes: Learning Styles 3
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners
– Learn through doing, touching, moving
– Tactile learners benefit from hands-on activity
– Actively engaged in the world around them
– Crave activity, touch, interpreting world
physically
– Excel at physical activity, crafts
Howard Gardner:
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner is Professor in Cognition
and Education at the Harvard Graduate
School of Education
Multiple Intelligences: Gardner’s
taxonomy of 7 ways individuals
demonstrate intellectual ability
Lead to a finer categorization of learning
styles
Multiple Intelligences: 7 Types
Visual/Spatial Intelligence
– Subsumes Visual Learner broad category
Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence
– Subsumes Auditory Learner broad category
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence
– Subsumes Tactile/Kinesthetic Learner broad
category
Multiple Intelligences: 7 Types
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
– Ability to use reason, logic, numbers
– Learners think conceptually between
numerical patterns, make connections
between pieces of information
Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence
– Learners think in sounds, rhythms, patterns
Multiple Intelligences: 7 Types
Interpersonal Intelligence
– Ability to relate to and understand others
– Learners interpret from dual perspective
– They intuit motives, intentions
– They facilitate
– Use both verbal (speaking) and non-verbal
(body language, touch) modes of
communication
Multiple Intelligences: 7 Types
Intrapersonal Intelligence
– Ability to be autoreflexive, be aware of one’s
own inner state
– These learners are aware of their own
strengths/weaknesses, how they relate to
others
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 1
LINGUISTIC LEARNER likes to read,
write, tell stories
Is good at memorizing facts
Learns best by saying, hearing, seeing
words
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 2
LOGICAL/MATHEMATICAL LEARNER
likes to do experiments, work with
numbers, explore patterns and
relationships
Is good at math, reasoning, problemsolving
Learns best by classifying, working with
abstract patterns or relationships
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 3
SPATIAL LEARNER likes to draw, build,
look at pictures, movies
Is good at imagining things, reading
maps/charts
Learns best by visualizing, working with
colour/pictures
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 4
MUSICAL LEARNER likes to listen and
respond to music
Is good at remembering melodies, being
aware of pitch and rhythm
Learns best by rhythm, music
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 5
BODILY/KINESTHETIC LEARNER likeS
to touch, talk, move around
Is good at physical activities such as sport
Learns best by touching, moving,
interacting with space around him/her
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 6
INTERPERSONAL LEARNER like to talk
to people, join groups
Is good at understanding, leading others,
mediating, facilitating
Learns best by sharing, comparing,
interviewing, relating
Finer Grain: Learning Styles 7
INTRAPERSONAL LEARNER likes to
work alone, autodidact
Is good at following instincts, focusing on
and understanding self, being original
Learns best by working alone, self-paced
instruction
A Sample Learning Inventory
Listen to the questions and try to decide
what learning style would best describe
each learner …
HINT: The learning styles focus only on
the three broad categories:
– Visual
– Auditory
– Tactile/Kinesthetic
How Do You Determine Which
Learning Style Is Appropriate to A
Group?
Best, but not always possible is to do a
needs assessment prior to training
This will give you a sense of the range of
learning styles you can expect to
encounter
You can then tailor your training program
to more closely fit the dominant learning
styles or combinations thereof
How Do You Determine Which
Learning Style Is Appropriate to A
Group?
You might circulate in the training group
before the session begins (pre-session
coffee) and chat with participants
“Tease out” learning styles with some
unobtrusive questions about why
participants are there: questions might hint
at things we asked in the inventory we just
did
And Applying My Knowledge of
Learning Styles?
You will find that there is never a single
dominant learning style, but rather
mutations and combinations of styles
Therefore, when you present, you must
endeavour whenever possible to present
your information in a triangulated
relationship
Huh? Triangulate??
i.e. present the same point of information
from a number of different perspectives
From a visual, from an auditory and from a
tactile if possible
Triangulation not only considers disparate
learning styles, it reinforces one learning
style with another
Triangulation Scenario
You might begin by explaining the general
concepts in overview verbally
You might then move into the details of the
concepts with charts, whiteboard, computer
presentation or animation
You might follow this up with a sample problem,
breaking into groups and moving them to parts
of the room where they buzz amongst
themselves about the solution using the
concepts just learned
SUMMARY
Broadly speaking, people learn by
SHOWING (visual)
TELLING (verbal)
DOING (tactile/kinesthetic)
OR combinations of these
Gardner added 4 finer subsets to these 3
SUMMARY
Be prepared for multiple learning styles in
any group
Include triangulated presentation of
information in your training
Be prepared to take risks and adapt your
presentation or training to the clientele at
hand.
CONCLUSION
Remember your clientele is composed of
human beings, who are complex and
unpredictable