LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES IN THE MULTIMEDIA AGE

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LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIESIN THE
MULTIMEDIA AGE

• Rebecca L. Oxford, Ph.D.
• University of Maryland

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LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES
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PURPOSE

• To introduce main concepts and dimensions of
  learning styles and strategies in the multimedia
  age

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?

• Internet as a source of fast, at-our-fingertips
  information
• E-mail, chat-rooms, and instant messaging
• Reach out and touch someone!
• . . . anyplace in the world

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• Hundreds of new L2 learning programs, some
  exciting and some not
• Hypermedia the Latin example
• New on-line projects for L2 strategy instruction

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• Electronic portfolios for students (and teachers)
• Game-Boys, Nintendo, and Leapfrog
• CNN video linked with the lessons in your
  textbooks

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• CDs, tapes, videos opening up new L2 practice
  possibilities
• E-books, e-journals, and e-zines
• Interactive simulations like ICONS and
  Create-a-Company

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• Shortened attention spans
• Increased Internet-aided plagiarism
• Easy ways to steal music, software, and other
  peoples writing

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• Concept of teacher as technology wizard
• Comfort Your students will ALWAYS know more than
  you do about some things!
• Teacher-student technology alliances
• \

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WHAT HAS THE MULTIMEDIA AGE BROUGHT US?
(Continued)

• New ways of looking at learning and teaching
• More attention paid to HOW PEOPLE LEARN (learning
  styles and learning strategies)

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LEARNING STYLE CONCEPTS

• Learning styles are the general, broad approaches
  a person uses to learn or to solve a problem.
• Learning styles occur on a continuum. They are
  not black-and-white categories.

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LEARNING STYLE CONCEPTS (CONTINUED)

• Learning styles can be stretched by learning new
  strategies .
• Learning styles are related to cultural
  background and beliefs.
• Learning styles can change somewhat over the
  lifespan.

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EXAMPLES OF LEARNING STYLES

• Holistic and item-focused styles
• Synthesizing and analyzing styles
• Open and closure-oriented styles
• Intuitive-random and concrete-sequential styles
• Extroverted and introverted styles
• Sensory preference styles

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LEARNING STRATEGY CONCEPTS

• Unlike learning styles, learning strategies are
  the specific thoughts, steps, or behaviors that
  learners consciously use to enhance the
  perception, storage, retention, and retrieval of
  new information.

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LEARNING STRATEGY CONCEPTS (CONTINUED)

• Learning strategies are intentional tools
  learners use to make their learning more
  efficient, more effective, and more enjoyable.
• Many kinds of learning strategies exist. These
  are used for literacy and other areas of learning.

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LEARNING STRATEGY CONCEPTS (CONTINUED)

• Familiar strategy groupings include
• Cognitive / Memory (outlining, highlighting,
  analyzing, synthesizing, semantic-mapping, using
  imagery to remember, and many more)
• Metacognitive (planning, organizing, evaluating,
  and monitoring POEM)

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LEARNING STRATEGY CONCEPTS (CONTINUED)

• Familiar strategy groupings include
• Compensation (guessing from the context, using
  gestures to convey meaning, and pausing for help
  in a conversation)
• Affective (lowering anxiety through music or
  other means, rewarding yourself, making learning
  more fun)
• Social (asking questions, learning with others,
  finding out about the target culture)

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PULLING STYLES AND STRATEGIES TOGETHER

• Holistic and item-focused styles
• Synthesizing and analyzing styles
• Open and closure-oriented styles
• Intuitive-random and concrete-sequential styles
• Extroverted and introverted styles
• Sensory preference styles
• HOW DO STRATEGIES RELATE TO STYLES?
• HOW DO BOTH RELATE TO TECHNOLOGY?

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HOLISTIC AND ITEM-FOCUSED STYLES

• The holistic style prefers big ideas and few
  details can guess or predict easily, though not
  particularly accurately may use all-or-nothing
  thinking often impulsive does not involve
  systematic, reflective synthesis.
• The item-focused style prefers small pieces of
  information may be hyper-focused on details,
  though not interested in relationships between
  them does not involve systematic, reflective
  analysis.

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HOLISTIC STYLE(RIGHT-BRAINED)
Personally, I like to look at the big picture.
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SAMPLE STRATEGIES LINKED WITH THE HOLISTIC STYLE

• Seek only a general impression of what is read or
  heard, without focusing well
• Skim very fast for the main idea (may involve
  grabbing for the first concept encountered)
• Look for / accept someone elses summary without
  asking if it is adequate
• Guess randomly (desperately) from context or
  background knowledge

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ITEM-FOCUSED STYLE(LEFT-BRAINED)
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SAMPLE STRATEGIES LINKED WITH THE ITEM-FOCUSED
STYLE

• Make lists of facts, ideas, or expressions
  without organizing or labeling them
• Listen or read for details without attending to
  relative importance
• Take detailed notes but without coherence
• Ramble through the Internet picking up odds and
  ends
• In a summary, list facts without regard to
  whats important

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SYNTHESIZING AND ANALYZING STYLES

• The synthesizing style prefers big ideas and few
  details, does not need total accuracy, can guess
  or predict easily, and seeks the main theme,
  based on systematic, reflective synthesis.
• The analyzing style likes detailed information,
  precision, and accuracy does not prefer to guess
  unless relatively sure of being right seeks
  relationships between parts and part-to-whole,
  based on systematic, reflective analysis.

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SYNTHESIZING STYLE (RIGHT-BRAINED)
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SAMPLE STRATEGIES LINKED WITH THE SYNTHESIZING
STYLE

• Integrate multiple strands into a written
  synthesis that reflects thoughtful priorities
• Make a mind-map centered on a big idea (involves
  both synthesis and analysis)
• Seek the main idea and double-check
• Use Internet to search for all the big ideas
  related to TOPIC OR PERSON X

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ANALYZING STYLE(LEFT-BRAINED)
Knowing how it could change the lives of canines
everywhere, the dog scientists struggled
diligently to understand the Doorknob Principle.
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SAMPLE STRATEGIES LINKED WITHTHE ANALYZING STYLE

• Seek relationships and priorities among facts or
  ideas found through multimedia
• Create a flowchart indicating linkages
• Make a mind-map centered on a big idea (involves
  both analysis and synthesis)
• Break down an expression into parts to understand
  the meaning
• Compare and contrast
• Ask for evidence to support assertions

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(No Transcript)
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OPEN AND CLOSURE-ORIENTED STYLES

• The open style thinks learning is a game,
  believes deadlines are ridiculous, and wants to
  keep taking in (perceiving) information. This
  is the MBTI Perceiving type.
• The closure-oriented style likes decisions made
  rapidly, prefers clarity NOW, and actually
  prefers deadlines. This is the MBTI Judging type.

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OPEN STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITH THE OPEN STYLE

• Make L2 learning a personal game
• Put things off to take in more information on a
  topic (Procrastination can be based on interest,
  not just anxiety!)
• Leave paper and e-files and folders all over,
  with personal meanings unknown to others but
  (perhaps) clear to you
• Respond to urgent instructional demands when you
  can find no way out

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CLOSURE-ORIENTED STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE
CLOSURE-ORIENTED STYLE

• Identify the purpose of a task and plan how to
  fulfill it
• Organize your computer files or notebook
• Put away materials not in use
• Evaluate your work
• Review in a widening spiral
• Work toward deadlines
• In cooperative learning, identify roles for each
  person and encourage productivity

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INTUITIVE-RANDOM AND CONCRETE-SEQUENTIAL STYLES

• The intuitive-random style thinks futuristically
  and abstractly, wants many options, wants freedom
  to make own rules, and avoids authority figures.
  This is the MBTI Intuitive type.
• The concrete-sequential style focuses on todays
  task, learns step-by-step, and wants an authority
  figure to give the rules and directions. This is
  the MBTI Sensing type.

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INTUITIVE-RANDOM STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE
INTUITIVE-RANDOM STYLE

• Brainstorm many current and future options
  Internet is perfect for this!
• Create your own theories
• Alter assignments for your own intellectual
  interests seek your own voice
• Add new twists and multiple views
• Judge your work by creative or theoretical value,
  not by linear rationality or conformity
• Become your own authority

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CONCRETE-SEQUENTIAL STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE
CONCRETE-SEQUENTIAL STYLE

• Ask the person in charge for the right way to
  do it
• Ask for step-by-step instruction and feedback
• Do a systematic search using multiple electronic
  data bases
• Keep everyone on track
• Look back to see whats accomplished and forward
  to see whats next

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EXTROVERTED AND INTROVERTED STYLES

• The extroverted style gets energy from other
  people and from lots of activities. This is the
  MBTI Extroverted type.
• The introverted style gets energy from the
  internal world of ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
  This is the MBTI Introverted type.

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EXTROVERTED STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE EXTROVERTED
STYLE

• Seek a learning buddy, peer reviewer, or
  conversation partner
• Ask questions for clarification or verification
• Set up a study group
• Keep the e-mail hotline going!
• Practice jointly for presentations or exams
• Express your ideas, whether your know the
  audience or not
• Exercise social skills (persuasion, small talk,
  asking personal questions) useful to create a
  learning community
• Find out everybodys interests

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INTROVERTED STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE INTROVERTED
STYLE

• Use a chat group or listserv that is relatively
  anonymous
• Study by yourself or with one trusted friend
• Choose independent tasks when possible
• Write in a private journal that is not to be
  shared
• Seek greater depth than breadth

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SENSORY PREFERENCE STYLES

• The visual style prefers to learn through the
  eye reading, computers, TV, bulletin boards
  needs written directions! Examples visual verbal
  style, visual spatial style, and visual pictorial
  style.
• The auditory style prefers to learn thorough
  listening and/or talking. Examples auditory
  aural style and auditory oral style.
• The hands-on style prefers to learn through touch
  or movement. Examples tactile style and
  kinesthetic style.

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VISUAL VERBAL AND VISUAL SPATIAL STYLES
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VISUAL PICTORIAL STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE VISUAL STYLE

• Use flowcharts, story grammars, T-lines
• Use videos, movies, Internet , photos, pictures,
  books for visual stimulation
• Read extensively
• Exercise your fine visual memory
• Remember material by where it is located
• Create visual art to illustrate stories/ideas
• Start a class newsletter

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AUDITORY AURAL AND AUDITORY ORAL STYLES
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE AUDITORY STYLE

• Remember material by what it sounds like
• Remember material by when you first heard it or
  by who said it aloud
• Use rhyming, intonation, and background noise to
  remember (accessible through media)
• Listen carefully to oral directions
• Tape native speakers and imitate their
  pronunciation
• Exercise your fine auditory memory
• Remember by listening to yourself talk!

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HANDS-ON (TACTILE AND KINESTHETIC) STYLE
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SAMPLE STRATEGIESLINKED WITHTHE HANDS-ON STYLE

• Build 3-dimensional models or dioramas of
  literary scenes
• Label objects to remember their meanings
• Play guessing games with objects or props
• Participate in role-plays, skits, etc. that
  require movement or touch
• Practice vocabulary or concepts while taking a
  leisurely walk (with your Walkman)
• Rehearse or review while lifting weights at the
  gym
• Use flash cards or other movement-related aids

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WHERE WE HAVE BEEN

• We have
• Outlined major concepts of learning styles and
  strategies in the multimedia age.
• Provided definitions and illustrations of key
  learning styles.
• Listed sample strategies related to each style.
• HOW CAN YOU USE THIS INFORMATION
• TO TEACH MORE EFFECTIVELY?