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Educator's Voice

Volume 6, Issue 1
January 18, 2005

Learning Styles: Your Online Students

"Sure, I address my students' differing needs. I'm aware when I design and present my courses that students differ in how they learn. Every instructor knows that and reacts appropriately! Don't they?"

It is commonly accepted as a truism in educational settings that individuals (students or trainees in our case) have different "learning styles." A key here, most practitioners in the field note, is that the learning style employed at any given time is a "preference" of the individual student. Practitioners also tend to agree that most students are comfortable using more than one style or a mix of styles, depending on the learning context and content.

In order to create an educational environment in online courses that knowledgeable observers would designate as appropriate for a mix of learners, instructors must be familiar with broad descriptors of learning styles.

Learning Styles
The concept of learning styles is most frequently described as preferred ways that individuals accumulate, comprehend and process information for later use or application in a variety of settings. Many theorists and practitioners have examined different aspects of learning styles, produced a variety of learning inventories and personality style guides, and developed explicit or implied guidance for the design and development of instructional materials. Two common categories include cognitive styles and personality types:

Cognitive Styles: A variety of models have been proposed to explain or describe how students "prefer" to receive and process information. In our own field of education, two widely known models are as follows:

• Kolb presents a two-dimensional model with learning style preferences ranging from Active Doing to Reflective Observing on the horizontal Processing continuum and from Concrete Feeling to Abstract Thinking on the vertical Perception continuum.
• Gardner presents "seven intelligences types" which encompass awareness involving bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical and spatial aspects.

Personality Types: Different inventories and models have been used to describe learners' individual differences and their potential influence on the learning process. One model commonly used in educational settings is the Myers-Briggs personality types inventory. This tool identifies and measures four individual preference areas: extroversion-introversion, intuition-perception, judgment-feeling and attitude-perception.

Learning Style Notes: Learning, as we are all aware, is a complex process. The few models briefly mentioned above are an indication of the somewhat subjective manner in which we have approached an understanding of the learning process. It's also commonly noted in the literature that an individual's learning style and preferences may well change, at least to some degree, over time. Thus the models can provide a means to capture an "at this time" or "snapshot" view of individual preferences for learning. Without "photos" in hand, we can use this information about student learning styles as we design our courses.

Instructional Preference -- The Students
Based on our own teaching experiences, we are aware that most students are able to employ different, though invariably not all, cognitive styles, depending on the learning environment and course content. That is, students are able to adapt, to a large degree, to the requirements of a given instructional strategy and educational setting. It's also common for individuals to be able to function in personality-type areas that are not their preferred type. For example, how many teachers who are an "I-introversion" type have learned to stand in front of a group of students and effectively "role-play" an "E-extrovert" instructor delivering a well received class?

It comes as no surprise that the large majority of students are unaware of their preferred learning styles, at least as identified/described by the type of inventories and models referenced above. Many students, however, are readily able to describe their preferred learning style in more non-academic terms. These self-described preferences can be correlated with the prevalent cognitive models and personality inventories in use in educational circles today.

Students will generally describe their own learning preferences, as well as preferences for interacting with other students and instructors, in terms often identified as follows:

• Independent learners prefer to work through materials at their own pace and in an order over which they have some control. They frequently view textbooks and instructors as resources to access as needed and use as desired.
• Dependent learners prefer to work through materials following an instructor-directed schedule with clear expectations and assignments. They often view the textbook and instructor as resources to be accessed on schedule and as essential to their success in the course.
• Collaborative learners prefer to work through materials as they interact with others, often according to a suggested schedule. They tend to view group discussions and team projects as an essential part of their successful learning process.

Implications for Online Course Design

Educational literature describes three possible approaches to instructional design:

• Individualized Approach -- Instructional strategies and content can be designed and individualized to meet the educational needs and learning style of each learner. In reality, few instructors or institutions are in a position to (1) identify the preferred learning styles of each learner and (2) design strategies and content to meet the various styles. Generally, the cost in personnel and time associated with this approach is prohibitive.
• Instructor/Content Approach -- Instructional strategies are designed around course content and instructor-preferred approaches to teaching. In reality, most instructors and institutions rely on this approach as the basis for course design. It can be argued that this approach makes use of an instructor's most effective style and also that most students are functional in a variety of styles, though they may have a preference for a given approach.
• Multiple Strategy Approach -- Instructional strategies are designed around course content and instructor strengths, but also incorporate strategies designed to meet the needs of a variety of learners. When multiple strategies are employed it is assumed that most learners will find at least some activities that meet their preferences.

At many institutions it is considered a "best practices" approach to design a course around the content and strengths of the faculty, but also to employ a range of instructional strategies. Based on our work with a variety of educational partners, the application of multiple strategies to an online course is considered essential to institutional, instructor and student success.

A multiple-strategy approach to assessment could include:

• A mix of graded weekly quizzes and mid-term and final exams including a mix of question types.
• Ungraded self-check quizzes that allow students to assess their own progress and to identify areas for additional review.
• A mix of short written assignments and longer papers or projects.
• A group or team project.
• Peer reviews of papers or projects.
• Graded threaded discussions with an emphasis on posting responses and responding to other students.
• Journaling in a graded or ungraded environment.
• Graded Web-based or Web-search assignments.
• Graded interpretations of text, graphs-charts-diagrams, art and drawings, photos, Web site materials, and audio or video materials.

A multiple-strategy approach to content presentation could include:

• Textbooks and other hard copy materials.
• Materials on CD.
• Materials at Web sites accessed via links on a page or located in the Webliography tool.
• Online text -- chunked appropriately and including popup text boxes accessed through links.
• Graphics -- including graphs-charts-diagrams, art and drawings, photos, and animated graphics developed with Flash, Swish or other software.
• Audio and video presentations -- chunked for appropriate length in the online environment.

Note: A key to success is instructor presence in the discussions, constructive and timely feedback on assignments, and timely response to questions posed in an online office or student e-mails.

In Conclusion
Many educational institutions conclude that differing student learning styles and personality types are a valid reason for employing a generalized multiple-strategy approach to course design and delivery. Commonly, the strategies employed are selected based on knowledge of course content, faculty capabilities and the general characteristics of the institution's student population.

References:

• Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books.
• GRSSLS Instrument (1996) http://www.ltseries.com/LTS/sitepgs/grslss2.htm. Learning Technology Series
• Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Myers-Briggs model (1998) http://www.personalitypage.com/info.html. BSM Consulting.
  
         – Ken Switzer, Ph.D.

TIP

You received an e-mail from a student in one of your online courses informing you that the link to a really good, relevant article in the course was broken. That happens sometimes. I'll just relink, you thought. Then you found that the link wasn't just broken, the article was no longer available at the site. "Darn!" Now what can you do? Fortunately, there is a good chance that you can find the article again.

Go to Google or Yahoo and enter in the "Search" box the author's name, the article's title, or key words from the article. Then, click on the Search button. The list of results that appears will, hopefully, contain the article you are seeking. While the article title may contain reference or a link to the site that is no longer available, there is an alternative to finding the article you want. Simply click on the link to "Cached" materials. This should take you to the original article as temporarily cached or archived by Google or Yahoo. If you conducted your search using key words, you'll notice that those key words are highlighted everywhere that they appear in the article.

Keep in mind that the cached article is stored only temporarily. So, you'll now want to copy the article, save it, upload it to your course's File Manager, and create a link so you will always have it available to students in your course (be sure to fully cite the article, now, though, since you aren't linking out to it).

Note: It's always a good idea to ask students (Announcement or e-mail) to let you know when they find links in the course that are not functioning. Even though you check links at the start of a term, it's possible for a site to go down or an article to disappear from a site at any time. Students will often appreciate the little added "watchdog" responsibility, too.

       – Charlotte Redden, Ph.D.