How People Learn

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How People Learn

• Study Skills for Computing Students

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Overview

• How do you learn?
• Learning Styles
• Activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists
• Auditory, visual and kinesthetic
• Finding your own style of learning
• Self study
• Tutorial

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How do you learn?

• Lectures
• Practice
• Trial and error
• Discussion with others
• Reading
• Getting appropriate feedback
• Role play
• Experiment
• Being taught
• Watching others
• Learning from mistakes
• Interest in the subject

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How do you learn?

• All of us learn in different ways or respond
  differently to different learning situations
• When the circumstances are right for you, then
  learning is more effective
• Learning is effective when
• it is important to you
• it is carried out when you are ready
• it uses a method that suits you
• it builds on knowledge you already have

(Marshall and Rowland,1983)
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Learning Styles

• People are different!
• Some methods of learning suit them better than
  others
• Research has shown that there are several ways of
  classifying learning styles
• Activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists
• Auditory, visual and kinesthetic many more
  including

Constructivism Behaviorism Piaget's
Developmental Theory Neuroscience Brain-Based
Learning Multiple Intelligences
Right Brain/Left Brain Thinking Communities of
Practice Control Theory Observational Learning
Vygotsky and Social Cognition
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Kolb learning styles (1984)

• Learning styles model based on two lines of axis
  
• our approach to a task - preferring to do/watch
• emotional response - preferring to think/feel

Approach to task
Emotional response
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Kolb learning styles

• The theory sets out four preferences, which are
  also possible different learning methods
• doing (active experimentation)
• watching (reflective observation)
• feeling (concrete experience)
• thinking (abstract conceptualisation)

feeling
doing
watching
thinking
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Kolb learning styles

• The combination of where our preference lies on
  each axis gives four possible learning style
  types
• activist (doing feeling, concrete-active)
• reflector (watching doing, concrete-reflective)
  
• theorist (watching thinking, abstract-reflective
  )
• pragmatist (thinking doing, abstract-active)

feeling
As with any other model, this is a guide, not an
absolute set of rules!
activist
reflector
doing
watching
theorist
pragmatist
thinking
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How would you learn new software?

• Some learn to use new software easily and rapidly
  while others find it confusing and stressful
• Read the manual/books from cover to cover
• Understand key concepts before using the software
• Watch a demonstration of it being used
• Live or video tutorial
• Listen to someone explain how to use it
• Possibly whilst using the s/w at the same time
• Have a go and see what happens
• Experimentation
• Tutorial

theorist
reflector
pragmatist
activist
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Honey Mumford

• Activists
• these love novelty, and will 'try anything once'.
• give them a task, and they will throw themselves
  wholeheartedly into it
• they like to get on with things, so they are not
  interested in planning what they are about to do
• they live very much in the present
• they get bored with repetition and what they see
  as raking over the dead embers of the past
• they are exciting, vital, open-minded and
  gregarious

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Honey Mumford

• Reflectors
• these like to 'look before they leap'
• they like to collect information and sift it
• they are cautious, thorough people
• they prefer to observe rather than take the lead
• they are slow to make up their minds, but when
  they do, their decisions are very soundly based -
  not only on their own knowledge and opinions, but
  also on what they have learned from watching and
  listening to others
• though they are often quiet in groups, this stems
  from their 'Olympian detachment' rather than from
  nervousness

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Honey Mumford

• Pragmatists
• these are also keen on ideas, but want to try
  them out to see if they work
• they are much less interested in actually
  developing the ideas - in fact, they will
  cheerfully beg, borrow or steal those they think
  will help them take action more effectively
• they enjoy experimentation, but are not
  interested in the long dissection of the results
  that would appeal to the reflector
• they take the view that if something works,
  that's fine, but if it doesn't, there is no point
  in wasting much time wondering why
• they love solving problems

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Honey Mumford

• Theorists
• these live in a world of ideas
• they have tidy, organised minds
• they are not happy until they have got to the
  bottom of things and explained their observations
  in terms of basic principles
• they want to know the logic of actions and
  observations
• they dislike subjectivity, ambiguity, and those
  who take action that is not underpinned by a
  theoretical framework
• when a lecturer uses figures in support of an
  argument, it is the theorists who will ask
  questions about their validity

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Auditory, visual kinesthetic

• Research by neuro-linguistic programming experts
  Bandler, Grinder and Grinder has identified three
  distinct communications and learning styles
• Visual learning through seeing. Like to see
  pictures or diagrams, demonstrations, reading or
  watching video
• Auditory learning through hearing. Like to
  listen to audiotapes, lectures, debates,
  discussions and verbal instructions
• Kinesthetic learning through physical activities
  and through direct involvement. Like to be
  hands-on, moving, touching, experiencing

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Audio Learning Tips

• The key thing is to make use of sound
• Talk things through as you learn them, with a
  friend or tutorial group
• Get a friend to read aloud to you
• When you have to learn facts, try reciting them
  to yourself, or even singing them aloud.
• Find out if you study best in silence, or with
  music playing in the background
• Realise that some people aren't as good as you at
  remembering what they are told

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Visual Learning Tips

• Write things down to help you learn them
• Draw pictures, charts and maps to help you
  understand things
• Use mind-mapping
• Use planners, organisers or goal-setting charts
• Highlight important points with colour
• Try visualising ideas and facts in your mind
• Try changing places in the room while you're
  studying, to get a different perspective
• When you need to revise, read over and recopy
  your notes

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Kinesthetic Learning Tips

• Move around as you learn and revise
• Work through problems physically
• Mentally review what you've been studying while
  you're swimming or jogging
• Use PC when you can
• Take plenty of breaks while you're studying

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Auditory, visual kinesthetic

• How do you think about a telephone number?
• Think about it and see it in your head
• Go to the phone and dial the number without
  looking at the pad
• Hear the number as if someone recited it

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Auditory, visual kinesthetic

• All of us utilise all three types of learning
• most display a preference for one over the others
• in early life the split amongst population is
  even
• by adulthood the visual side has become dominant
• Grinder states
• 70 of learners will be able to cope whatever
• 10 will be unable to learn
• 20 will only learn in a visual, auditory or
  kinesthetic way

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Finding your learning style

• Normally through the use of a questionnaire
• Yes/No answers
• 1 to 5 grading system
• Number of questions varies from 12 to 80!

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Case Study (Cottrell, 2003)

• On the handout place a tick on any of questions
  that you agree with
• Scoring
• add the number ticks for each range of questions
  and place answer in appropriate box
• Questions 1, 6,11,14, 16, 21
• Questions 5, 9, 15, 17, 19, 24
• Questions 2, 3, 10, 12, 20, 22
• Questions 4, 7, 8, 13, 18, 23
• i.e. 4 scores required!

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Case study scoring

• Plot your scores
• Connect points together and shade
• The sample above indicates a string preference
  for group 1

4
1
3
2
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Group 1 Diver (Activist)

• Strengths
• dont waste time worrying
• start tasks early
• motivated
• good in a crisis and at problem solving
• Issues
• unlikely to plan anything
• lacks creativity
• often doesnt consider alternative views
• working with others

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Group 2 Dreamer (Reflector)

• Strengths
• reflect and evaluate well
• creative with lots of ideas
• listen well and sensitive to others
• understanding of the problem
• Issues
• timekeeping organisation
• need to take more responsibility
• participate
• make decisions
• be more assertive

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Group 3 Thinker (Theorist)

• Strengths
• Analytical and critical thinking abilities
• Organised
• Problem solving
• Questioning
• Issues
• need to be more creative
• not sensitive to others
• reflection
• working with others

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Group 4 Searcher (Pragmatist)

• Strengths
• high motivation and interest
• broad general knowledge
• see connections between topics
• creative inventive
• Issues
• setting goals priorities
• analytical thinking
• selecting relevant information/editing
• memory

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Teaching at University

• Aim to vary style so as to accommodate people
  with differing preferences for learning
• Lectures
• traditional didactic approach
• questions encouraged
• occasional activities
• Seminars/ tutorials
• small group discussions
• Practical sessions
• hands-on work with software

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Summary

• Everyone has a style of learning
• There is no one best learning style
• Situations or tasks that match your style are
  usually easier for you to handle
• People who have the same learning style aren't
  exactly the same, but they have a lot in common
  with one another
• If you have trouble understanding someone you
  probably have a different learning style
• You can change your behaviour but difficult to
  change your learning style