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Learning and Teaching Styles:Learning Styles and Teaching StylesLearning Styles: The Onion Model (Cury 1983) & Grasha’s (1996) six styles of learning.Teaching Styles: formal and informal styles (Benett 1976) high initiative and low initiative (Fontana 1995).Measuring Learning Styles and Teaching StylesLearning: Approaches to Study Inventory (ASI) (Entwistle, 1981). Teaching: teacher centered and student centered styles (Kyriacou and Williams, 1993); Kolb (1976) learning styles. Improving Learning Effectiveness (study skills) The 4-mat system (McCarthy 1990)PQRST method- learning from textbooksStrategies for effective learning and thinking (SPELT) Mulachy et al (1986)LEARNING STYLESAuditoryVisualKinesthetic (involving movement of muscles) Onion Model (Cury 1983) According to Cury we learn information in different layers, some layer we can control the others we cant. He says its highly generalizable and applicable to all. He focuses on three main layersThe Outermost Layer: Instructional PreferencesIt is the layer where people usually have the least amount of control, it is only later on that you get option for higher education. It is shaped by nature. You realize this through trial and error. It is changing permanently depending on external factors like who teaches you etc.The Middle Layer: The Information Processing LayerIt is how you try to memorize and organize things in order to learn things. This could be like highlighting books, making notes, reading aloud, making rhymes etc. It is also shaped by nature, because you learn what works for you through trial and error over time. This is also unstable and changing. The Inner-Most Layer: Cognitive or Personality Style LayerIt is considered to be the part you are born with; whether you are going to be creative and would work better in an unconditional method or would you benefit from a regular classroom; whether you are an empathizer or a systemizer; whether you learn better by memorizing (ratofying) or learn better through logic. This part is the most measurable, in terms of personality tests. This part has the highest reliability and validity due to psychometric testing which gives quantative results. Evaluation of the Onion Model: HolisticIt is Holistic because Cury shows that learning occurs and different levels and it is both environmental and natural. Nature and Nurture Curry's model is helpful as it illustrates that our preferences may take place on multiple levels.Curry's model is helpful as it illustrates that our preferences may take place on multiple levels – he takes into account that human beings, and our thinking processes are complex and not reductionist.GeneralizationDifferent for everyone hence applicable to allNature V/s Nurture Look at different layers to evaluate some focus on nature where as the others focus on nurture. Reliability and ValidityLook at inner most layer to evaluateQualitative One big problem with these theories however, is that they are descriptive, not scientific. Can not be measured or tested. Grasha’s (1996) Six Types of LearningIndependent Learners: They like to learn everything on their own, many of these are even homeschooledDependent Learners: These are the tuition kids, they like to have everything given to them to learnCompetitive Learners: The ones who start to work best when competing with other or for ranks etc. Collaborative Learners: People who work best when they work in a groupAvoidant Learner: These are the ones who can’t just learn for the sake of learning but they can pull it together for the need like midterms, CIEs etc. They will only do an assignment if it is marked. Participant Learner: The exact opposite of avoidant learner. They would do whatever it takes to do well; the other learning categories would also work for them. They are just enthusiastic for learning. Evaluation of Grasha’s 6 types of Learning: ReductionistYou can not fit a person in one specific category, most people are a mix. These also change over time depending on the environment you might become avoidant at some point of the day because you are tired but participant otherwise. Reliability and ValidityLow because it isn’t necessarily measurable it might change overtime. HolisticGrasha's styles may be useful as a simple guide to different preferences.Usefulness and ApplicationGrasha's styles may be useful as a simple guide to different preferences.One big problem with these theories is that they are?descriptive, not scientific. For example, Grasha's styles are unquantifiable (qualitative), they cannot be easily measured or tested.simple guide to different preferences, hence it builds on Curry’s onion model.QualitativeOne big problem with these theories however, is that they are descriptive, not scientific. For example, Grasha's styles are unquantifiable, they cannot be easily measured or tested.TEACHING STYLESFormal Vs. Informal Teaching Styles (Benett 1976)Formal Teaching: Teacher Centered Method- where the teacher decides how the class would work like. The teacher is in charge of the lesson, choosing what to teach, how to teach it and so on.Pro:According Bennet in most cases this leads to best exam results Informal teaching:Student Centered- where the students decide how the classroom would be. An informal style is the contrary position to a formal style. It involves greater input from the students into the lessons.?This is not the same as disorganized, a lot of planning needs to be done before them. High Initiative Vs Low Initiative Teaching (Fontanna 1995)An alternative way of categorising teaching styles comes from Fontana (1995), who divided teaching into high- and low-initiative styles. This is different from Bennett's classification above.?High Initiative: The teacher is very flexible. Pro: More creative scope.Con: If a child is having the hard time adapting as it keeps changes. It can get chaotic and confusing for the child.Low Initiative: The teacher is inflexiblePro: More structure. Students tend to meet deadlines. Con: No room to be imaginativeMixed Examples to clear up the concepts:High Initiative Low InitiativeFormal A formal high-initiative teacher would be willing to make the change but the teacher would be the one to decide. A formal low initiative teacher would be one who knows the method isn’t working but still continues to move forward in that specific way she has come up with. InformalAn informal high initiative teacher would be very open to feedback. So if a method is not working the teacher would change it according what the students would want to do. An informal low initiative teacher would be someone who would let the pupils structure what they want, but once structured she won’t be ready for change. MEASURING LEARNING STYLES Entiwistle’s Approaches to Study Inventory (ASI)- 1981There are a bunch of different types of learners in the world, we should figure out what their approach is so that we can fit them to suitable teaching styles and help them pick their subject.Focused primarily on the Chinese population and the typical US students. The Chinese Student Paradox: Says that Asian people are really good at road memorization or ratifying. Factual stuff. For this reason he came up with his first two orientations. Enwistle’s four orientationsReproducing Orientation is?reproducing orientation?relies on the use of rote memorisation and routine procedures (ratification) Meaning Orientation involves trying to extract meaning, so as to reach a thorough understanding. It means they are better with logic, theoretical and relationship. Analytical Stuff. He realized that some Chinese people were doing really well in Western colleges in subjects other than Engineering and Mathematics. So then he came up with his third orientation. 3. Achievement Orientation describes an attempt to use both approaches effectively. The student will be organised in identifying which areas are best suited for which approach and apply them accordingly. These people know which one of skill (reproducing or meaning orientation) and when. Hence they do well overall. Now he realized that some people are not so good at achieving so he created the fourth orientation. 4. Non-Achievement Orientation is basically the opposite of the achieving orientation. These were those who were slacked off not doing anything unless absolutely necessary. To find out which category one fits in he created the ASIThis was a 64 item test.Consisted of 4 options. 0= Strongly Disagree and 4= Strongly AgreeThis 1981 ASI is no longer available, a new version is called ASSIST, but it has different categories.Evaluation of ASIGeneralizability- Low- Limited to only English speakersCultural Relativism- HighReliability- HighValidity- LowQuantative- Easily tabulated, easy to analyze and compare. Objective. Self Report- hence Social Desirability but first hand data directly from participants.Reductionist- It fits you into one category being a psychometric test, though these things can change over a period of time. You are being boxed into just one of these four categories. Quantitative.Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) 1976(Student Centered) Purpose of Kolb’s LSI:To identify main learning style and, Develop the other stylesThe 4 categories:Divergers are good at generating ideas, tend to be more "people oriented", and are usually more emotional.?Thinkers, feelers, creative.Convergers are strong in practical application of ideas, can focus on hypo-deductive reasoning on specific problems, and are believed to have narrow interests. Specialists, thinkers, doers, implementing things within a specific subject area Assimilators tend to be less interested in people and more interested in concepts. They are strong at creating theoretical models and excel in inductive reasoning. Thinkers but more reflective, logical theoristsAccommodators are intuitive. Their greatest strength is doing things, they take risks and they perform well when required to react to immediate circumstances. Doers, driven by instinct, feeling, emotions Each individual should develop skills in all four areas.In order for the students to do well, you can’t solely rely on a single style. In the real world you do not get a choice on how you are taught. You should be able to adopt to different environments, one score might outweigh the other one. Identify what your main teaching style is. You should be equally strong in each. 16573522860000Work on your other styles a bit more. Evaluations of LSI Self report first hand information but social desirability.Hollistic Not limited to one specific area like ASI which gives you one score, this gives you four scores. Everyone should have a bit of each score. Psychometric TestQuantitative Data Nurture Change can be developedValidity high. Measures what is sets out to measure Reliability High because standardized. Low because results can change. MEASURING TEACHING STYLES Kiryacou & Williams 1993 (Teacher Centered)Kyriacou and Wilkins (1993) wanted to find out if teaching methods had changed over time in the UK. This required the ability to measure teaching styles in a?quantitative?manner, so that a comparison could be made.?To do this, a?semantic differential scale?was created to assess how teacher-centred or student-centred teaching styles were (see the box on the left for more info on semantic differential scales. Teacher-centred styles are the same as what Bennett (1976) would term a formal teaching style. Student-centred styles would be classed as informal.?Semantic Differential Scale The semantic differential is a scale used for measuring the?meaning?of things and concepts.The scale is set up using?polar adjectives?(opposite-meaning terms) at each end. The respondent needs to decide where between the two ends they fall. For example:?Evaluation Kiryacou & Williams Usefulness etc. McCarthy 4MAT System (1990) The 4MAT system is designed to ensure that every student is exposed to their preferred learning style at some point in the study of a certain topic.It is a system of?lesson planning, meaning that teachers give students a large role in preparing lessons on a certain topic.? The system is based on Kolb's LSI - the four quadrants cover the same areas as Kolb's diagram above.The four sections are called?motivation, concept development, practice and application.?Each of these will be best suited to different learning styles, but if the cycle if followed completely, then every student will experience the information as they prefer it (in theory!) The model is based on the idea that some learners are 'right-brained' and some are 'left-brained' and that people with different dominant sides of the brain will learn differently.Right Branded: Operates out of being, comprehends images, seeks patterns, creates metaphors, is simultaneous. Strives to synthesize, consolidate information.Left Branded: Operates best through structure, sequence. Prefers language, is sequential, examines the elements, has number sense. Works to analyze or break down information.The interplay between right and left is crucial to higher learning and thinking. It provides a greater range and depth of understanding and encourages creative expression and problem solving.In order to teach effectively have multiple teaching methods. Teach in a holistic way. Different teaching styles. Motivation: Personal examples Concept development: traditional way of teaching. Breakdown concepts. Practice: Test out the concept they have learned in some manner Application: Take theories and link with the real world issues and try to tackle them Evaluation: Holistic: Does not rely on one teaching technique. Multiple kids can get a little something which would help their understanding.The model gives students a chance to use their preferred learning style as well?as giving them the opportunity to use other styles?(so it avoids?labelling?them with one specific learning style).Scientific support: WeaknessThe model assumes that there are a number of distinct learning styles, with children possessing one 'dominant' style... but as we have seen this idea?lacks scientific support!It is also based on the idea of hemispheric dominance - having one dominant brain hemisphere which does different things to the other one.?This idea also lacks scientific support!Usefulness: shows a better and productive way on how to teach. Every learner would get a little of everything. Multiple types of learners should get something out of this.Face ValidityIt is also?simple to use and can be used by all?ages and ability levels, so it could be said to have some?face validity.P Q R S T method (Preview Question and Read Self-reciting Test) Preview: First of all, preview the entire chapter - skim through it all so you know what you're going to be covering. One way to do this is read the chapter introduction, look at the headings, read the section introductions and check out the figures. Then read the summary at the end of the chapter (it usually tells you what you have learnt in that chapter). Look at the content. Skim/ Flip through it. Don’t read it just make yourself familiar with the information. Just don’t be alienated with the material. Give yourself an odd bizarre time.Question: ?As you read through each section, start by asking yourself "what am I supposed to learn in this section". Also work out what you already know.?Test yourself on your current level of knowledge and find where you have gaps. These first two sections function as an?advance organizer?for what you will then read?Really structure and decide what to do and how to do.Read: ?At last, you can actually read that section. Do it carefully, think about the meaning and relate this to other things you know about this and similar topics. Do some underlining or highlighting of key words, but don't highlight everything! If you want to take notes, read the whole section first, and then summarize it later. Sit and stuff all the crap in your head.Self- Recite: Revise all the material by saying it out loud. Makes learning multi-sensory. Boosts up confidence. Could be auditory or written. ?Once you have finished reading, think back about what the main ideas were. Try and recite some of this information aloud. Check back against the text, and note the things you missed out. Ensure that you didn't miss them out because you haven't learnt them.?Test yourself: So now you have finished the chapter (or a major section if the chapter contains large dissimilar sections). Test yourself and review all the material. If you made notes, read through these. Think about the relevance of what you learnt and how it all fits together. Reread any chapter summaries. Even though you have only just read the chapter, now is the?best?time to test yourself. Solve past paper questions. difference between studying hard and studying smart. SPELT for Meta Cognition- learning to learn- Mulcahey et al (1986)?'Metacognition' means "thinking about thinking", so metacognitive strategies are ones that are designed to make children think about what and how they are learning, with the aim of making them understand how they learn effectively.?Mulcahey et al (1986)?designed one such strategy:Strategies Program for Effective Learning and Thinking (SPELT)How to recognize what style, meta cognition, how they are learning it. What where they messed up and how to go about it, apply it to themselves. What goes wrong. Where it goes wrongSPELT has three?stages of implementationExplicit teaching of metacognitive skills and strategies.Students practice the strategies and evaluate their effectiveness. Teacher helps ("facilitates") but the student must evaluate the strategies for themselves.Students develop new cognitive strategies that are most effective for them as individuals. They are encouraged to continue evaluate and modify these. The teacher can now adopt a more informal approach as the student is more in charge of their own learning.Metacognition is now a well established and widely used teaching tool. If a teacher has ever asked you "how did you come to that conclusion?", then they have been attempting to force some metacognition out of you!?The video on the right is a good example of the use of metacognition in the classroom, in this case to teach reading. The teacher SERIOUSLY loves using the word metacognition, but the effect is very impressive.Look around your classrooms next time you're in school. What cues/strategies can you see displayed to encourage metacognition? Do the same for your workspace at home... have you got helpful tips and tricks prominently displayed? If not... maybe you should start!EvaluationUsefulness It is a method to improve learning effectiveness Population ValiditySample size over 900Spend 20 mins on this 1st Paragraph- Introduction- Definition of Learning & Teaching Styles2nd Paragraph- Point #1- There are multiple ways to classify learning and teaching styles, one learning style is The Onion Model, 1983. Give as much depth and detail as possible. Do NOT evaluate. Other ways would be Grasha’s six styles of learning (mention the rest but do not give any detail)3rd Paragraph- Point #2- Apart from these teaching styles we also need methods to measure them. One such would be Entwistles Ast (1981). Do the same as previous. 4th Paragraph- Point #3- Apart from measurement and classify learning and teaching styles, it is essential in education to improve them. One way to do this would be the PQRST Method. Do the same as the previous ones. 5th Paragraph- Point #4- Link it to the previous. Do this for all to make it cohesive. Mcarthy (1990)6th Paragraph- Conclusion- Thus we have learnt. IDEALLY YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MENTION A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING. Describe what psychologists have learnt about Learning and Teaching Styles [8m] The underlying theory behind learning and teaching styles is that different students have different modes of learning and their learning can be improved by matching ones teaching style with that preferred learning mode. Learning and teaching styles can be discussed along multiple dimensions, including, identifying, measuring and improving learning effectiveness. Curry (1983) came up with The Onion Model as a way of identifying learning styles. Curry’s model is basically comparing our learning styles to an onion, suggesting that there are a number of layers involved. The outer most layer is the individuals preference for a certain learning environment. This is likely to change most frequently and is least in the student’s control. The middle layer is the method the student uses to process information and study it. This is the most measurable layer and can be measured through for example, the EQ (empathizing quotient) and the SQ-R (systemizing quotient-revised). The inner most layer is the general approach to thinking that the student uses, for example, field dependent or field independent. This layer is supposed to be the most stable and is not supposed to change regularly. Once we have learnt about learning styles, it is also important to learn about teaching styles. Bennett (1976) distinguished teaching styles as formal and informal styles of teaching. In Bennett’s formal style of teaching, the teacher is in complete charge of the lesson and students do not have a say in what is taught and how it is taught. An informal style is the contrary position to a formal style. It involves greater input from the students in the way the lesson is taught. This is not the same as being ‘unsystematic’ and actually, an informal lesson has to be meticulously planned and prepared for it to be successful. After identifying learning and teaching styles, it is beneficial to learn how to measure these styles. Kolb (1976) produced a way of categorizing and measuring learning styles through his Learning Styles Inventory. In this, participants answer a number of items on a test, which gives them scores on each of the four categories. According to Kolb, ‘Divergers’ are good at generation ideas and are what can be classified as thinkers. ‘Convergers’ are strong in practical applications and can focus on specific problems. ‘Assmilators’ are the logical theorists who are strong in analytical reasoning. Lastly, ‘Accommodators’ are intuitive. They are spontaneous and perform well when required to react to immediate circumstances. Kolb felt that while we all have one preferred style, we could benefit by learning to use other styles as well, which is why scores are given for all four categories.Learning and teaching styles can also be measured by Entwistle’s ASI (1981) and Kyriacou and Wilkins (1993), which deals with the semantic differential scale. Once we know how to measure learning and teaching styles, it is essential to help improve learning effectiveness. The PQRST study technique for learning from textbooks is an effective method. PQRST stand for preview, questions, read, self-recite and test. ‘Preview’ is basically skimming through what needs to be studied. This can be done by reading the chapter introduction, going through the headings and even reading the summary. ‘Question’ deals with studying smart. It is focusing on areas of knowledge where one is not strong enough and there are gaps. ‘Read’ is actually reading the section. Highlighting key words and making notes. ‘Self-recitation’ is when one summaries what has been learnt with revision. Lastly, ‘test’ is when one tests themselves on all that is learnt. In conclusion, psychologists have learnt much about learning and teaching styles.SECTION BMAY 2012/32 (b) We know that students have different learning styles and that teachers have different teaching styles, but there are different ways to measure these styles. Evaluate what psychologists have found out about learning and teaching styles including a discussion of the methods used to gather data.OCTOBER 2014/33 (b) Evaluate what psychologists have found out about learning and teaching styles, including a discussion about individual differences. [12]MAY 2015/31(b) Evaluate what psychologists have discovered about learning and teaching styles, including a discussion about the reliability and validity of measures. [12]General Criticisms Should we label?Giving people a label can be a very dangerous thing. It could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, where the person begins to act in accordance with the label they've been given. If people are given negative labels, there could also be ethical issues.Can people really be sorted so easily into categories?Are the categories that theories suggest?valid? Think about the huge variety in characteristics that people have. Is it really so easy to make a small number of boxes and to fit people into them? Even within a label, there will be a lot of variation. One 'assimilator' (to use Kolb's LSI as an example) may be very different to another assimilator; so is there any point in having the label in the first place?Learning styles are not fixedThe preferred style that we have for learning information changes. It might change over time. It might also change with different tasks. If we measure a person's learning style, it may not be a good prediction of what they'll like a few years later. In other words, learning styles measurements may have?low predictive validity.We may give different results on different testsMany measurements of teaching and learning styles seem to lack?test-retest reliability?(if the test is retaken, we obtain a different result). This clearly raises doubts about how good the test is. The tests may also lack?concurrent validity?(whether or not different tests agree with each other). If two tests give different results (e.g. Kolb's LSI and Entwistle's ASI give conflicting results), then this raises doubts about one or both of the tests.May not exist!!See criticisms at the top of the pageSpend 30 mins Overall you need three evaluation points in total. The question would be like:(b) Evaluate what psychologists have learned about learning and teaching styles, including a discussion on _____________________ (12)6/12 marks are for what has been given in the blank. Lets assume Usefulness for this. Mention 3 points. Other 6/12 marks are for two other points. Mention 2 points for each. The priority is to evaluate what you have written in the description answer, the fact that they are the part of the same question is because they are meant to be connected. If you really want to write about a thing you haven’t previously mentioned, you can only do so after you have evaluated things from the description answer. Try not to, but if you do give 1-2 lines of description before beginning to write anything. Format1st Paragraph- Introduction1st Next Few Paragraphs- Usefulness- Define- Mention 3 points- Try to find a balance by writing about both lows and highs but in usefulness most would be high.- Then give one strength and one weakness. Usefulness doesn’t have a weakness but it can be talked in a negative way by saying it is difficult to make a study usefulness, it is hard to make it generalizable, the validity is needed, it needs to be applicable. There are so many factors that it is hard to make it useful. 2nd Next Few Paragraphs- (Eg: Self Report or Reductionism Vs Holism or Whatever- Different from what has been given as compulsory) Define- Mention 2 points- One that is a self report, one that isn’t- 1 strength, 1 weakness3rd Next Few Paragraphs- (Eg: Self Report or Reductionism Vs Holism or Whatever- Different from what has been chosen before) Define- Mention 2 points- One that is holistic, one that is reductionist- 1 strength, 1 weakness [mention vice versa in debates- or put brackets Eg: this is strength of holism (a weakness of reductionism)].Last Paragraph- Conclusion b) We know that students have different learning styles and that teachers have different teaching styles, but there are different ways to measure these styles. Evaluate what psychologists have found out about learning and teaching styles including a discussion of the methods used to gather data.SECTION CMAY 2012/31Imagine you are a teacher. Your students are sitting the examination very soon and you want tohelp them improve their learning effectively. You decide to try out two study skills to see which is the more effective.(a) Describe two study skills that could improve learning effectiveness. [6](b) Suggest how you would investigate which study skill is the more effective for your students. [8]OCTOBER 2012/32Students have many different learning styles and a number of explanations have been proposed along with ways of testing such learning styles.(a) Outline Grasha’s six styles of learning. [6](b) Suggest how you would conduct a study to compare Grasha’s styles with an alternative explanation of learning styles. [8]OCTOBER 2013/31You and your friend are arguing over who has the more effective teacher of psychology because they use different teaching styles. As you are a psychology student you decide to design an experiment to find out.(a) Suggest how you would use the experimental method to investigate which teacher has the more effective teaching style. [8](b) Outline two different teaching styles. [6]MAY 2014/31The Approaches to Study Inventory (ASI) has become the most widely used questionnaire in classifying student learning.(a) Suggest how you would assess the reliability and validity of the ASI. [8](b) Describe the main features of the ASI. [6]OCTOBER 2015/31You have a new class of A Level psychology students and you want to improve their learning effectiveness.(a) Describe two study skills that can improve learning effectiveness. [6](b) Suggest how you would investigate which study skill is the most effective for your students. [8] ................
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