Learning Styles and Preferences

Indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment,

influenced by nature and nurture.

MODELS THAT DIFERENTIATE THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE LEARN

• Perceptual modalities: the way our body takes in information: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, read/write learning styles

• Cognitive learning style: the way we effectively process, handle and organize information.

• Social interaction style: the way we interact or not with the others

• Personality: personal values, beliefs, attitude, etc…

PERCEPTUAL MODALITYIs the way our body takes in information

Visual Learners

They take information best with their eyes.

They love to watch someone else do something before they try it themselves.

They love color and are typically organized.

Visuals often maintain a neat appearance.They will use visual language when they

talk...“I see"...."Imagine"..."Look at this."

Auditory Learners

They use their ears to take in information.

They love to listen to others and often like to talk a bit themselves.

They need to talk with others to cement what they are learning and are easily distracted by noise in the learning environment.

They use language like, "I hear what you're saying"..."Listen to me".

Kinesthetic Learners

They need to move their bodies to keep their brains fully functioning.

Most kids in a classroom are highly kinesthetic and have a hard time sitting and listening for long periods of time.

Use body shots and frequent state changes to keep them alert and to manage behavior.

They dress with comfort in mind (loose) and often use language like, "I feel tired"..."Can I try that?"

Read/Write learners

They prefer to read instructions from booksTake notesLook words up in a dictionaryWrite essaysThey like to rewrite ideasAppropiate readings will fully enlighten the

student

Some tips if you are…

Visual

•Try using colour notes.•Use different coloured pens or highlighters.•Try different coloured paper.•Draw pictures and diagrams or mind maps to help explain your notes.

Au

ditory

•Try studying with a friend and explaining to each other what you know about each topic.•Record your notes, lie back in a comfortable spot and try to listen to them.

Kin

esthetic

•Try moving around when you are studying at home.

•Make some jigsaw study cards when you have to fit questions and answers together.

•Try making up a rhyme or a song to help you remember key points.

Cognitive styles• Also called

« thinking style »• It is the way that

learners think, process and remember information, to solve problems.

• Cultural-conditioned preferences for congtitive strategies.

• Ways of characterizing cognitive styles:

Field independent learners:

Are able to break up an organized visual field and keep part of it separate.

Excel at remembering names.Understand visual cues and are better at

math.Prefer learning environments that require

minimal interaction.Enjoy discovery learning and individualized

self-paced learning.

Field dependent learners:Are unable to separate figures from background.

Excel at remembering faces.

Have trouble understanding visual cues, for example, recognizing icons on a computer screen.

Prefer well-structured learning environment with much positive feedback.

Enjoy the social aspects of learning.

Tolerance of ambiguity

A person who has a high tolerance of ambiguity can deal with uncertainty fairly comfortably; they don’t mind if a question

has several possible answers.

A person who has a low tolerance of ambiguity may become frustrated when a task presents unknown elements or seems

ambiguous or difficult; they prefer questions to have one correct answer

Flexibility vs Inflexibility

Persons who can easily find alternative solutions to a problem or can find a variety of answers to a question are characterized as flexible, while other posibilities, or who tend to think in

terms of one « right » answer, would be characterized as inflexible in this

dimension of cognitive style.

Impulsiveness vs Reflectiveness

This style is concerned with the speed with which a person makes

decisions.

Impulsive individuals tend to produce quick answers (without

thinking about them first), whereas reflective individuals

prefer to take their time before deciding on an answer or making a

choice.

Hemispherical Dominance

• Movement of the right hand

• Speech• Language• Writing• Logic• Mathematics• Science

• Movement of the left hand

• Spatial abilities• Creative

thought• Fantasy• Artistic abilities• Musical

abilities

Social Interaction Style

Communicative Learning Style

• Learners prefer a social approach to learning.

• They need personal feedback and interaction, and learn well from discussion and group activities.

• They thrive in a democratically run class

Authority-oriented learning style

• Learners are said to be responsible and dependable.

• They need structure and sequential progression.

• They relate well to a traditional classroom.

• They prefer the teacher as an authority figure.

• They like to have clear instructions and to know exactly what they are doing.

• They are comfortable with a consensus-building discussion.

Personality Factors

• Isabel Mayers • Katherine Briggs

Myers-Briggs indicator, based on

Carl Jung’s work.

• SENSING (OR CONCRETE-SEQUENTIAL ) TYPE

• INTUITIVE TYPE

• THINKING TYPE

• FEELING TYPE

• JUDGING (OR CLOSURE-ORIENTED) TYPE

• PERCEIVING (OR OPEN-ENDED) TYPE

• EXTROVERTS

• INTROVERTS

• People are different .• Each individual’s psychological preferences or ways that

are typical or characteristic of that particular individual • They are eight psychological types:

SELF-ESTEEMValue that an individual

places on himself

• General self-esteem. Stable in a mature adult

• Situational self-esteem. Referes to one’s appraisals of oneself incertain life situations, such as social interaction, work, education, etc. Learning a foreign language

• Task self-esteem relates to particular tasks within specific situations. One’s self-evaluation of a particular aspect

Building self-confidence

• Inhibition• Risk taking• Anxiety• Language ego

Mental AbilitiesMultiple Intelligences