Designing Distance Education Learning Materials to Cater for Different Learning Styles

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Designing Distance Education Learning Materials
to Cater for Different Learning Styles

• Dr. Mohamed Ally
• Athabasca University
• Canada
• mohameda_at_athabascau.ca
• 13º Congresso Internacional da ABED
• September 2, 2007

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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.
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Distance Education

• Separation of professor or teacher and student by
  distance

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• Generations of Distance Education

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First Generation

• Print

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Second Generation

• Print with support

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Third Generation

• E-Learning

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Next Generation

• Mobile Learning (M-Learning)

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Kolb Learning Style
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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.

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Style One Learners
Strength Innovation ideas Function By Value
clarification Goals To be involved in
important issues and bring
harmony. Favorite Question
Why?
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Style Two Learners
Strength Creating concepts models Function
by Thinking things through Goals Intellectual
recognition Favorite Question
What?
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Style Three Learners
Strength Practical application of
ideas Function By Factual data fromhands
on experience Goals Align their view of
present with future security Favorite
Question
How?
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Style Four Learners
Strength Action, getting things done Function
By Acting and testing experience Goals To
bring action to ideas Favorite Question
What if?
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Learning and Learners
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LEARNING STYLE ONESUPPORTER

• LEAD BY
• the heart
• build community - seek harmony
• sense of noble purpose
• TEACH BY
• facilitation
• discussion
• group work

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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Implications for Distance Education (AC)

• Layout a plan for the students to follow
• Use a linear sequence for the learning
• Like theoretical readings

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Diverger

• Combination of concrete experience and reflective
  observation
• Strengths lie in an imaginative ability
• Interested in people and emotional elements
• Have broad cultural interests

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Diverger (Why) Skills

• Brainstorming
• Listening
• Speaking
• Interacting
• Knowing oneself
• Appreciating others

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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

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Assimilator (What) Skills

• Observing
• Analyzing
• Classifying
• Seriating
• Drawing conclusions
• Theorizing
• Seeing patterns and connections
• Conceptualizing

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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

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Converger (How) Skills

• Experimenting
• Manipulating materials and ideas
• Making things work
• Testing reality
• Tinkering
• Trying and failing

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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

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Accommodator (If) Skills

• Modifying
• Shifting
• Adapting
• Risking
• Intuiting
• Acting
• Innovating
• Creating

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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''

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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.

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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.

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• 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.

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• 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

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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)

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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

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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

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Sample Materials
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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).

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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.

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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.athabasca
  u.ca/online_book/.
• Montgomery, S.M. Addressing Diverse Learning
  Styles Through the Use of Multimedia. University
  of Michigan.