Know your students
Getting to know your Students.
When you arrive in a strange place you want to get to know the folks that live
there. How old are they? What do they do? Have they been here for a long time
or are they new like you? How do they differ from each other in the way they
go about their work? How are they feeling about being here?
There are many types of learning styles that could be looked at.
VARK (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic)
VARK is a questionnaire that provides users with a profile of their preferences. These preferences are about the ways that they want to take-in and give-out information whilst learning. VARK is about one preference -our preference for taking in and putting out information in a learning context. Although it is a part of learning style we consider it an important part because people can do something about it.
VARK has implications for students in understanding how they learn. The implications for online learning for faculty is to be certain that the course is put together in a way that assures each type of learner opportunity for their preferences.
For more information click here for the VARK web site resources.
Charles Dziuban
Charles Dziuban has suggested using William A. Long's categories to look at behavior of online learners. This can be helpful in understanding the behavior seen in students as they interact with content, faculty and peers.
| Independent | Dependent | |
| Aggressive | high energy not centered with approval A action oriented speaks out freely confrontational situations |
high energy centered with approval A action oriented rarely expresses negates feelings performs atom above ability |
| Passive | low energy not centered with approval prefers to work alone resists pressure from authority man-communicative |
low energy concerned with approval Phobic Impulsive compulsive |
This web site helps to make the connection between learning styles and online learning.
How it all relates to Online Learning
In an online class there is a lot of passive learning done through reading
text, listening to audio clips, and seeing graphics, but the active "speaking" mode
is done very much through writing, email, and chatting. Online learners
are often self-directed and/or working in their chosen fields, so a lot
of doing happens in the way of applying their newfound knowledge to the
workplace, hobby, or home. For this reason many online learners say they
learn more in online classes than traditional settings, and have better
retention, too.
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This site shows a model of learning styles that includes a questionnaire.
The Learning Style Analysis is based on a questionnaire, which takes less
than 30 minutes to complete.
The LSA software (off-line or on-line) generates instant results: a personal
profile for each unique individual.
LSA guidelines then help translate the findings into the perfect learning
environment: individual learning styles become personal strengths that
drive motivation, concentration and academic results.
Across six layers, LSA measures the combination of 48 preferences.