Message #51 - HOW STUDENTS LEARN, HOW TEACHERS TEACH, AND WHAT GOES WRONG WITH THE PROCESSFolks: At the recent NSF sponsored, New Century Scholars Workshop, held on August 2-7, 1998 at Stanford University, Richard M. Felder , professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University presented the results of some of the very interesting work he and his colleague, Rebecca Brent have been doing on student learning styles. Here is my summary of his remarks (based in part on his handouts and on the reference at the end of this message.) Further information can be found at Felder's web site at [http://www2.ncsu.edu/effective_teaching/]. Richard Reis reis@stanford.edu UP NEXT - Negotiating Up-Front for the Right Start-up Package ----------------------- 655 words ----------------------- HOW STUDENTS LEARN, HOW TEACHERS TEACH, AND WHAT GOES WRONG WITH THE PROCESS Richard M. Felder * Different students learn in different ways, that is, they have different learning styles. * Different faculty also teach in different ways, that is, they have different teaching styles. * Learning styles can be defined in large part by the answers to five questions: (1) What type of information does the student preferentially perceive: sensory (external) - sights, sounds, physical sensations, or intuitive (internal) - possibilities, insights, hunches? (2) Through which sensory channel is external information most effectively perceived: visual - pictures, diagrams, graphs, demonstrations, or auditory - words, sounds?* (3) With which organization of information is the student most comfortable: inductive - facts and observations are given, underlying principles are inferred, or deductive - principles are given, consequences and applications are deduced? (4) How does the student prefer to process information: actively - through engagement in physical activity or discussion, or reflectively - through introspection? (5) How does the student progress toward understanding: sequentially - in continual steps, or globally - in large jumps, holistically? * Teaching styles may also be defined in terms of the answers to five questions: (1) What type of information is emphasized by the instructor: concrete - factual, or abstract - conceptual, theoretical? (2) What mode of presentation is stressed: visual - pictures, diagrams, films, demonstrations, or verbal - lectures, readings, discussions? (3) How is the presentation organized: inductively - phenomena leading to principles, or deductively - principles leading to phenomena? (4) What mode of student participation is facilitated by the presentation: active - students talk, move, reflect, or passive - students watch and listen? (5) What type of perspective is provided on the information presented: sequential - step-by-step progression (the trees), or global - context and relevance (the forest)? [6] * Problems occur because there are often significant mismatches between the learning styles of most college students and the teaching styles of most college professors. * The key to dealing with the above reality is "BALANCE." The goal is NOT to match each students preferred learning style with a corresponding teaching style, rather it is to present a variety of teaching styles to all learners. * Professionals need to function as sensors (practical, methodical) and intuitors (interpretive, imaginative), visual and verbal learners, etc. * Students taught only in their less preferred modes can't learn effectively. * Students taught only in their preferred modes won't develop balanced strength. * Solution: Teach to both sides of each dimension. Felder offers the following recommendations to address various learning types: * Establish relevance and provide applications for all course material. Before presenting theoretical material, provide graphic examples of phenomena that the theory describes or predicts. (sensing, inductive, global) * Balance concrete information (facts, observations, data) (sensing) and abstract information (principles, theories, models) (intuitive) in all courses. * Make extensive use of pictures, schematics, graphs, and simple sketches before, during, and after presenting verbal material. (sensing, visual) * Use multimedia presentations. (sensing, visual) Provide demonstrations (sensing, visual), hands-on if possible. * Use some numbers in illustrative examples, not just algebraic variables. (sensing) * Give students time to think about what they have been told. Assign "one-minute papers" (Write the main point of this lecture and the muddiest point) or learning logs. (reflective) * Give small-group exercises in class. (active, reflective) * Use computer-assisted instruction (if you have software that allows for experimentation and provides feedback). (sensing, active) * Assign some drill exercises in homework (sensing, active) but don't overdo it (intuitive, reflective). * Assign some open-ended problems and exercises that call for creative thinking and critical judgment. (all styles) * Have students cooperate on homework. (all styles) * Limit new material, surprises, twists, etc., on timed tests and minimize speed as a critical factor. (sensing) * Encourage creative solutions, even wrong ones. (all styles) * Tell students about their learning styles or let them assess their own style. See the Index of Learning Styles at above web site. * Try a few of these suggestions at a time. Adopt the ones that work. Then try a few more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ R.M. Felder & R. Brent, National Effective Teaching Institute, 1998 R. M. Felder and L.K. Silverman, "Learning and teachings styles in engineering education," Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 77, no. 2, April, 1988 |
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