Designing Distance Education Learning Materials to Cater for

Different Learning Styles

Dr. Mohamed Ally

Athabasca University

Canadamohameda@athabascau.ca

13º Congresso Internacional da ABED

September 2, 2007

Objective

By the end of this session you will be able to identify your own learning style and describe how to design distance education materials for different learning styles.

Distance Education

• Separation of professor or teacher and student by distance

Generations of Distance Education

First Generation

Print

Second Generation

Print with support

Third Generation

E-Learning

Next Generation

Mobile Learning (M-Learning)

Kolb Learning Style

Learning Style

• Learning style is defined as a combination of cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment.

Style One Learners

Strength: Innovation & ideas

Function By: Value clarification

Goals: To be involved in important issues and bring harmony.

Favorite Question: Why?

Style Two Learners

What?

Strength: Creating concepts & models

Function by: Thinking things through

Goals: Intellectual recognition

Favorite Question:

Style Three Learners

Strength: Practical application of ideas

Function By: Factual data from“hands on” experience

Goals: Align their view of present with future security

Favorite Question: How?

Style Four Learners

Strength: Action, getting things done

Function By: Acting and testing experience

Goals: To bring action to ideas

Favorite Question: What if?

LEARNING STYLE ONESUPPORTER

• LEAD BY

– the heart

– build community - seek harmony

– sense of noble purpose

• TEACH BY

– facilitation

– discussion

– group work

LEARNING STYLE TWOTHEORIST

• LEAD BY

– fitting information into current reality

– sequential thinking

– use facts to persuade

• TEACH BY

– transmit knowledge

– accurate information

– knowledge leads to comprehension

LEARNING STYLE THREEACHIEVER

• LEAD BY

– plans & timelines

– favor productivity

– shares knowledge of results

• TEACHES BY

– matching curriculum to economic usefulness

– demonstrates detailed hands-on processes

– uses tricks of the trade - shows short-cuts

LEARNING STYLE FOURINFLUENCER

• LEADS BY

– offering crisis and challenge

– looks for patterns and possibilities

– energizing

• TEACHES BY

– enabling

– sketches and illustrates concepts

– encouraging the use of alternatives, choices

Concrete Experience (CE)

• Students who score high in the CE dimension prefer experience-based approach to learning that relies on feelings-based judgment.

• Tend to be empathetic• Find theoretical approaches to be unhelpful• Prefer to treat each situation as a unique case• Learn best from specific examples in which they can be

involved• Related more to other students rather than the instructor• Learn from specific experience

Implications for Distance Education

• Provide a variety of learning activities to meet the needs of CE.

• Provide real life examples that students can relate to.

• Provide opportunities to interact with other students e.g. small group work using computer conference or videoconferencing.

• Prefer instructor/tutor to be a coach.

Abstract Conceptualization (AC)

• Prefer an analytical, conceptual approach to learning that relies heavily on logical thinking and rational evaluation

• More oriented towards things and symbols, and less towards other people

• Learn best in instructor-directed, impersonal learning situations that emphasize theory and systematic analysis

• Do not learn from unstructured "discovery learning" approaches such as exercises and simulations

• Good at logical analysis of ideas

• Like to do systematic planning

Implications for Distance Education (AC)

• Layout a plan for the students to follow

• Use a linear sequence for the learning

• Like theoretical readings

Reflective Observation (RO)• Prefer a tentative, impartial and reflective

approach to learning. • Rely heavily on careful observation in making

judgment• Prefer learning situations such as presentations• Look for the meaning of things• Tend to be introverts

Implications for Distance Education (RO)

• Allow enough time to apply the information

• Provide all the information to students

• Provide opportunities to work alone

• Prefer passive delivery

• Prefer norm-reference evaluation

• See the instructor/tutor as the expert

Active Experimentation (AE)

• Prefer an active "doing" orientation to learning that relies heavily on experimentation.

• Prefer to do activities such as projects, homework, or group discussions

• Do not like passive learning situations such as presentations and readings

• Get things done• Like to take risks• Tend to be extroverts

Implications for Distance Education (AE)

• Use active learning strategies

• Like to do things

• Prefer to work in small groups to solve problems

• Tend to be self-directed

Diverger

• Combination of concrete experience and reflective observation

• Strengths lie in an imaginative ability

• Interested in people and emotional elements

• Have broad cultural interests

Diverger (Why) Skills

• Brainstorming

• Listening

• Speaking

• Interacting

• Knowing oneself

• Appreciating others

Assimilator

• Combination of abstract conceptualization and reflective observation

• Like to create theoretical models

• More concerned with abstract concepts rather than with people.

• They are good at planning

Assimilator (What) Skills• Observing• Analyzing• Classifying• Seriating• Drawing conclusions• Theorizing• Seeing patterns and connections• Conceptualizing

Converger

• Combination of abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.

• Like to apply ideas• Tend to be unemotional• Prefer to work with things rather than with people• They have narrow technical interest

Converger (How) Skills

• Experimenting

• Manipulating materials and ideas

• Making things work

• Testing reality

• Tinkering

• Trying and failing

Accommodator

• Combination of concrete experience and active experimentation

• Like to do things and involve themselves in new experiences

• Very adaptable to new situations

• Tend to solve problems intuitively

• Rely on others for information

• Like to work with people

Accommodator (If) Skills

• Modifying

• Shifting

• Adapting

• Risking

• Intuiting

• Acting

• Innovating

• Creating

Learning Style Data (Montgomery)

• 67% of the students learn best actively, yet instruction is passive

• 69% of the students are visual, yet instruction is mostly verbal and textual

• 28% of the students are global, yet we seldom focus on the ``big picture''

Presence in Distance Education

• Using mediated technology (virtual reality, simulation, video conferencing, etc) to provide an illusion that the mediated experience is not mediated.

• The distance education experience should create a strong sense of presence.

Sample Strategies for Distance Education

• Learners must construct a memory link between the new information and some related information already stored in long-term memory. On the web, learners with diverse background and knowledge can choose the most appropriate link to review previous learning before new information is presented.

• Active strategies can be built into distance education materials to allow learners to process the information.

• On-line testing can be done to check learners’ achievement level and to provide appropriate feedback.

• Use the browsing capabilities of the web to encourage higher level learning.

• Network learning theory suggests that information is stored as networks in LTM. Hence, the hypermedia structure of the web should facilitate storage and retrieval.

• Visuals can be integrated into the learning materials.

• Promote interactivity by providing feedback, adapting the instruction to the learner, and suggesting activities for the learner to process at a deep level.

• Allow collaboration using synchronous and asynchronous communication.

• Use guest experts.• Access on-line libraries.• Use computer conferences for student-student and

instructor-student interaction.• Ask students to keep an electronic journal.• Link to appropriate learning materials on the web

Designing Distance Education Materials

• Give the Big Picture (Content map)• Connect to the learner and gain interest

(Rationale)• Set expectations for learning (Objectives)• Include strategies to organize the learning

(Advance Organizer)• Check for readiness (Prerequisites)• Check for prior knowledge (Self-

assessment)

Designing Distance Education Materials

Provide opportunities for learning• Activities to Motivate the Learners• Activities to Explore to Find the

Information• Activities to Use the Materials to Improve

Performance• Activities to Transfer the Knowledge and

Skills to New Situations

Designing Distance Education Materials

• Give learners the opportunity to practice and provide feedback

• Bring Closure to the Learning Experience

• Check for Achievement of Objectives

• Provide Opportunities for Real Life applications

Sample Materials

Group Exercise

• Form small groups

• Identify a lesson topic and prepare four learning activities (for each type of learner in the Kolb model) for distance education.

• Select a group leader to present back to the large group (5 minutes).

Further Research

• Interaction pattern by learning style.• Tutor and students learning style.• Which learning style adapt better to distance

education?• Level of support required by the different learning

styles.• Learning style and success in distance education.• Adapting instruction for different learning styles.

References• Ally, M. & Fahy, P. (2005). Learning Style in Online Interaction in Distance Education.

Indian Journal of Open Learning, 14(1), p. 15-33.

• Ally, M. (2005). Designing Instruction for Successful Online Learning. In C. Howard (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Online Learning. Idea Group Inc. Hershey, PA.

• Ally, M. (2005). Multimedia information design for mobile devices. In M. Pagani (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking. Idea Group Inc. Hershey, PA.

• Ally, M. (2004). Staff Training and Development in Open and Distance Learning. In Weiyuan Zhang (Ed.) Global Perspectives: Philosophy and Practice in Distance Education. China: China Central Radio and Television University Press, p. 277-297.

• Ally, M. (2004). Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Distributed Learning. In Fahua Oscar Lin (Ed.) Designing Distributed Learning Environments with Intelligent Software Agents, Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, p. 162-183.

• Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of education theory for online learning. In T. Anderson and F. Elloumi (eds.), Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca: Athabasca University Press, pp. 3-32, 2004. Available at: http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/.

• Montgomery, S.M. Addressing Diverse Learning Styles Through the Use of Multimedia. University of Michigan.