1.
Study Skills & Learning Styles

2.
Objectives <ul><li>Thinking about how you will study </li></ul><ul><li>Knowing your own preferred way of learning </li></ul><ul><li>Give you some starting points for your own research and study into learning for your assignments. </li></ul>

3.
Study: Starting Out <ul><li>Be Regular </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Make study a habit </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Same time, same place </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Accept responsibility for your own learning </li></ul><ul><li>Plan your time </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Long term & short term </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>To do lists </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Keep the end in mind (remember why you are doing this) </li></ul><ul><li>Location, Location, Location </li></ul>

4.
Study: Keep Going <ul><li>Look after yourself </li></ul><ul><li>Reward yourself to maintain motivation </li></ul><ul><li>Study to your strengths </li></ul><ul><li>Break the work down into parts </li></ul><ul><ul><li>focus on one task at a time </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Recognise when you need help </li></ul><ul><ul><li>and ask for it </li></ul></ul>

5.
The Assignments <ul><li>Make sure you have all the resources before you start </li></ul><ul><li>Get something down, anything will do </li></ul><ul><li>You can always edit out the bad stuff </li></ul><ul><li>Answer the question </li></ul><ul><li>Check with your tutor that you are taking the right approach </li></ul><ul><li>Write with the assessment criteria in mind </li></ul>

6.
Summary <ul><li>Be positive </li></ul><ul><li>Remember why you are doing this </li></ul><ul><li>Plan your study </li></ul><ul><li>Plan your assignment </li></ul><ul><li>Remember people are a great resource </li></ul>

7.
Learning Styles <ul><li>Do you know your own learning style? </li></ul><ul><li>Do you know what methods of learning work best for you? </li></ul><ul><li>Are you: visual (VAKT), musical (multiple intelligences), activist (Honey & Mumford)…? </li></ul><ul><li>Do you work in short bursts or long sessions? </li></ul>

8.
Module 1 Assignments <ul><li>Ask you to consider a learning experience, reflect on it and explain it using theory. </li></ul><ul><li>Two-fold aim of presentation </li></ul><ul><ul><li>To get you thinking about how to maximise you time studying </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>To introduce you to some ideas about learning that might feed into your assignment. </li></ul></ul>

9.
What is learning? <ul><li>Saljo classified respondents ideas of learning into five groups. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning as a quantitative increase in knowledge . Learning is acquiring information or “knowing a lot” </li></ul><ul><li>Learning as memorising. Learning is storing information that can be reproduced. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning as acquiring facts, skills and methods that can be retained and used as necessary. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning as making sense or abstracting meaning. Learning involves relating parts of the subject matter to each other and to the real world. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning as interpreting and understanding reality in a different way . Learning involves comprehending the world by re-interpreting knowledge. </li></ul>

10.
Some Schools of learning theories <ul><li>Behaviourism – Stimulus & Response </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Skinner, Pavlov </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Cognitivism – Mental processes </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Piaget </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Humanism – Learner centred </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Carl Rogers, Knowles’ Andragogy </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Social / Situated – informal occupational learning. Communities of practice </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Lave & Wenger </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Constructivism – Personal constructs </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Kelly </li></ul></ul>

11.
Learning to learn – why bother? <ul><li>Lifelong learning is becoming an important issue in society as a whole. </li></ul><ul><li>Manufacturing and now service industries are cheaper and often better abroad. </li></ul><ul><li>Western Europe needs to develop knowledge workers to keep their place as economic powers. </li></ul><ul><li>We need to learn smarter and faster. </li></ul>

12.
Some learning to learn theories <ul><li>Bateson’s levels of learning </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Deutero-Learning – developing strategies for maximising learning </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Argyris & Schon double-loop learning </li></ul><ul><ul><li>‘ Doing the right thing’ </li></ul></ul>

13.
How we Learn – ‘Learning Styles’ <ul><li>A continuum of models </li></ul><ul><li>Learning styles are inherent features about us. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning styles are deep-seated cognitive features. </li></ul><ul><li>Learning styles are part of relatively stable personality types </li></ul><ul><li>Learning Styles are flexibly stable preferences </li></ul><ul><li>Learning Approaches & Strategies </li></ul><ul><li>Stable in-built styles </li></ul><ul><li>Readily changed styles </li></ul>

14.
Type 1: Largely born with certain preferences that can’t be changed <ul><li>VAKT (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic, Tactile) </li></ul><ul><li>Gregorc’s 4 channel learning styles model </li></ul>

15.
Gregorc’s 4 channel learning styles model <ul><li>Instrument: Learning Style Delineator </li></ul><ul><li>The concrete sequential (CS) learner is ordered, perfection-oriented, practical and thorough. </li></ul><ul><li>The abstract sequential (AS) learner is logical, analytical, rational and evaluative. </li></ul><ul><li>The abstract random (AR) learner is sensitive, colourful, emotional and spontaneous. </li></ul><ul><li>The concrete random learner (CR) is intuitive, independent, impulsive and original. </li></ul><ul><li>http:// www.gregorc.com / </li></ul>

16.
Type 2: Learning styles reflect deep-seated features of the cognitive structure <ul><li>Riding’s Cognitive Styles Analysis </li></ul><ul><li>The verbaliser-imager dimension is intended to measure a natural tendency to process information quickly in verbal or in visual form. </li></ul><ul><li>The holist-analytic dimension relates to cognitive organisation i.e big picture / specifics. </li></ul>

17.
Type 3: Learning styles are one component of a relatively stable personality type <ul><li>MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>4 Dimensions: Extrovert (E) – Introvert (I), </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Intuiting (N)– sensing (S), </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Thinking (T)– Feeling (F), </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><ul><li>Judging (J)– Perceiving (P). </li></ul></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>So there are 16 personality types e.g. INTJ </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Jackson’s Learning Styles Profiler. </li></ul><ul><li>http://www.cymeon.com/lss2.asp </li></ul>

18.
Jackson’s LSP <ul><li>Conscious learning, 4 scales (low to high): </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Goal Oriented Achiever: Planning, Assertiveness, Decisiveness, Adaptability, Resilience, Achievement motivation . </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Emotionally Intelligent Achiever: Analysis, Decision making, Interpersonal sensitivity. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Conscientious Achiever: Practical, Realistic </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Deep Learning Achiever: Strategic perspective, open to new ideas. </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Instinctive learning, 1 scale (low to high): </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Sensation seeker: Energy and Initiative . </li></ul></ul>

19.
Type 4: Flexibly stable learning preferences <ul><li>Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory </li></ul><ul><li>Honey & Mumford’s Learning Styles Questionnaire </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Activist, Reflector, Theorist, Pragmatist (closely linked to Kolb’s learning cycle) </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Herrmann’s ‘whole brain’ model </li></ul>

20.
Kolb’s learning styles

21.
Herrmann’s Brain Dominance Instrument <ul><li>A Theorists (cerebral, left: the rational self) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Learn by acquiring facts, applying logic, forming theories </li></ul></ul><ul><li>B Organisers (limbic, left: the safe-keeping self) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Learn by sequencing content, practicing </li></ul></ul><ul><li>D Innovators (cerebral, right: the experimental self) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Learn by self discovery, taking initiative </li></ul></ul><ul><li>C Humanitarians (limbic, right: the feeling self) </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Learn by listening and sharing ideas, emotional involvement </li></ul></ul>

22.
Type 5: Learning Approaches and Strategies <ul><li>Vermunt’s framework for classifying learning styles. </li></ul><ul><li>Instrument: Inventory of learning styles </li></ul><ul><li>4 learning styles: </li></ul><ul><li>Meaning-directed : Looks for links between key concepts. </li></ul><ul><li>Application-directed: Relates topics to everyday experience. </li></ul><ul><li>Reproduction-directed: Selects main points to retain. </li></ul><ul><li>Undirected: Finds study difficult. </li></ul>

23.
A word of warning about learning styles <ul><li>There is limited research into the validity and reliability of learning styles and their instruments. </li></ul><ul><li>The field is a bit of a mess because there is little collaboration. </li></ul><ul><li>Selling a product has become more important than trying to make sense of learning styles. </li></ul>

24.
At the end of the day <ul><li>They are useful tools to get you thinking about how you learn best. </li></ul><ul><li>In most cases, they are well intentioned efforts to help people learn to learn </li></ul><ul><li>Use those that suit you. </li></ul><ul><li>But take it all with a ‘pinch of salt’. </li></ul>

25.
Bibliography <ul><li>ARGYRIS M & SCHON D (1974) Theory in Practice. Increasing professional effectiveness , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. </li></ul><ul><li>BATESON G (1973) Steps to an Ecology of Mind London, Paladin </li></ul><ul><li>COFFIELD F et.al. (2004) Learning Styles and Pedagogy in post-16 learning: A Systematic and Critical Review , London, LSRC </li></ul><ul><li>GARDNER H (1993) Frames of Mind: the theory of multiple intelligences (2nd edition) London, Fontana </li></ul><ul><li>HERRMANN N (1996) The whole brain business book . New York: McGraw-Hill. </li></ul><ul><li>HONEY P & MUMFORD A (1982) Manual of Learning Styles London: P Honey </li></ul><ul><li>KELLY G (1955) T he Psychology of Personal Constructs New York: W W Norton </li></ul><ul><li>KNOWLES M et al (2005) The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development London: Butterworth Heinemann </li></ul><ul><li>KOLB D A (1984) Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development New Jersey: Prentice-Hall </li></ul><ul><li>LAVE J and WENGER E (1991) Situated Learning: legitimate peripheral participation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press </li></ul>

26.
Bibliography <ul><li>MYERS IB & McCAULLEY MH (1998) Manual: a guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. </li></ul><ul><li>PAVLOV I P (1928) Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes, Vol. I London: Lawrence and Wishart </li></ul><ul><li>PIAGET J & INHELDER B (1969) The Psychology of the Child London, Routledge and Kegan Paul </li></ul><ul><li>RIDING R (1994) Personal style awareness and personal development Birmingham: Learning and Training Technology. </li></ul><ul><li>ROGERS C R (1980) Freedom to learn for the 80s New York: Free Press </li></ul><ul><li>RYLATT A (2003) Winning the Knowledge Game: Smarter Learning for Business Excellence London, Butterworth Heinemann </li></ul><ul><li>SÄLJÖ R (1979) &quot;Learning in the Learner's Perspective: some commonplace misconceptions&quot; Reports from the Institute of Education , University of Gothenburg, 76. </li></ul><ul><li>SKINNER B F (1973) Beyond Freedom and Dignit y Harmondsworth: Penguin </li></ul><ul><li>VERMUNT JD (1994) Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) in higher education Tilburg: University of Tlburg. </li></ul>