The intention with my study is to examine how teachers in school relate to the concept of learning styles and how they define an individualized education that focus on students’ different learning abilities. My intention is also to raise their thoughts about what they think the benefits and the deficits may be with an individualized education that focuses on students’ individual ways to learn. My study is based on the empiric material I have collected from interviews with five teachers, whom all worked in grade three. To analyze and discuss the interview answers I have had to my help Dunn-, Kolbs- and Gardners theories about peoples different learning abilities and learning styles.    The conclusions I have made from the results of the study is that almost all the respondents reason all the same about students different learning styles. They all agree about that every student has the right to get an education that matches their learning abilities. Despite that I can see some differences in how they define an education that suits individual learning styles and how they teach in their classrooms. Every person has individual ways to take in information, individual ways how they learn and respond to different learning situations and it is important that all teachers see, notice and guide every student to make the schoolwork and learning situations meaningful.

<p>The study attempts to understand how distance education practices influence the learning of calculus. Understanding student learning in a distance education environment is an important factor to consider in improving the learning experiences of students who for one reason or the other opt not to study in conventional institutional of higher education. On one hand, understanding student learning may illuminate the influences that the learning environment has on student learning and on the other hand, it may inform on how learning experiences can be improved. The aim of this study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the diverse manner in which distance students learn calculus, Specific focus is also placed on the distance education contect of the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) influences student learning. The study describes a group of student's experiences of learning calculus in the ZOU distance education environment.</p>

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships between preferences of multiple intelligences, perceptual and social learning styles, and English as foreign language proficiency. Two self-report questionnaires were administered to a total of 123 participants. The results showed that dominant intelligence preference was inter-personal and major learning-style preference was kinesthetic. Pearson correlation results revealed statistically significant positive relations between interpersonal intelligence and group learning style / linguistic intelligence and individual learning style / logical-mathematical intelligence and individual learning style / intra-personal intelligence and individual learning style / inter-personal intelligence and kinesthetic learning style in addition to negative relations between interpersonal intelligence and individual learning style / musical intelligence and individual learning style, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and tactile learning style. This indicates that pedagogical implications should consider individuals&rsquo / intelligences and learning style preferences, and further studies are needed to investigate the interactions among preferences of styles and intelligences. Finally, multiple regression results showed that logical-mathematical intelligence preference and visual learning style preference were the primary contributors to the English proficiency. Since no previous research was found comparing preferences of multiple intelligences and perceptual and social learning styles of foreign language learners, this study provided data-driven evidence for the interrelations between them. Those relationships as well as factorial structure for preferences for multiple intelligences and learning styles were discussed. Moreover, the need for further development of the questionnaires and the need for mixed method data collection were emphasized. Implications for interactions among learning styles and multiple intelligences were discussed.

This research aims to investigate an assertion, endorsed by a range of commentators, that multimedia teaching and learning approaches encourage learners to adopt a richer, creative and deeper level of understanding and participation within the learning environment than traditional teaching and learning methods. The thesis examines this assertion by investigating one type of multimedia activity defined (for the purposes of this research) as a digital audio video assessment (DAVA). Data was collected using a constructivist epistemology, interpretative and naturalistic perspective using primarily a qualitative methodology. Three types of data collection methods were used to collect data from thirteen Diploma of Event Management students from William Angliss TAFE. Firstly, participants completed the Biggs Study Process Questionnaire (2001) which is a predictor of deep and surface learning preference. Each participant then engaged in a semi-structured interview that elicited participant's self-declared learning preferences and their approaches to completion of the DAVA. These data sources were then compared. Six factors that are critical in informing the way that the participants approached the DAVA emerged from the analysis of the data. Based on these findings it is concluded that the DAVA does not restrict, inhibit or negatively influence a participants learning preference. Learners with a pre-existing, stable learning preference are likely to adopt a learning approach that is consisten t with their preference. Participants that have a learning preference that is less stable (more flexible) may adopt either a surface or deep approach depending on the specific task, activity or assessment.

Doctor of Philosophy / The main aim of this research is the exploration of relationships and correlations between thinking styles of student designers, their personal aptitudes, and design education. It involves discovering the role/s several groups of learning styles and cognitive abilities may play in problem solving during administered design tasks; and the influence they may have on academic performance and quality of produced design solutions. The main hypothesis is that differences in designers’ individual problem solving strategies and, ultimately, products of their expertise – designed artefacts – can be correlated with the differences in their learning styles and cognitive abilities. We suggest the following. (a) Designers with different styles adopt different approaches to design situations and use different strategies during problem solving. It is possible to find the supporting evidence by investigating their performance on design tasks. (b) Individual differences in design reasoning and problem solving could be correlated with the differences in individual cognitive abilities. (c) It may be possible to find correlations between cognitive styles and cognitive abilities. (d) It is likely that a number of visible or measurable qualities of students’ design drawings, would in some way reflect different characteristics of the above individual styles and abilities. The methodological approach draws on theoretical and empirical knowledge from several domains, including: design studies, psychology, cognitive science and study of creativity. This study is concerned with selecting and substantiating the input – a number of cognitive styles and abilities chosen for evaluation; and their subsequent assessment. It involves administering design sessions and exploring them as a process to see whether and how the above abilities and styles are reflected in problem solving. It also deals with the assessment of the product i.e. produced design solutions, and their relation to the academic performance reports. And, finally, it explores correlations between the input, the process and the product to help finding explanations for the students’ preferences in adopting particular problem solving strategies in designing. This study is based upon the analysis of six major datasets from (1) an electronic test assessing individual positions on four dimensions (two dichotomies) of learning styles; (2) tests of cognitive abilities chosen on the basis of their relevance to designing; (3) design sessions, administered individually under retrospective protocol guidelines; (4) questionnaires, containing summaries of design sessions, and introspective reports of imagery use and problem-solving styles and strategies; (5) judgements of academic performance from course supervisors based on marks and grades; and (6) assessments of design drawings by professional architects. The analysis revealed fundamentally different ways by which students approach design situations; they are positively correlated with their learning styles. Students’ approaches to problem situations change with the task and within the task. However, eighty percent of the first year and half of the final year subjects showed various degrees of inflexibility in dealing with design problems; this may have decreased the quality of performance. Learning styles proved important in predicting the process and the outcome of problem solving. They may account for moderate to low quality of design solutions in cases with either style (from both dichotomies explored) being of low development. Styles were also observed to may have a moderate to strong influence on the students’ academic performance. Correlations between the measured cognitive abilities and academic performance were moderate to significant for the first year and similar but marginally lower for the final year students. At the same time, final year students scored higher on the ability tests and showed better results on the learning styles assessments. One of the likely reasons for this is the enhancement of abilities and styles during the course of study. No significant linear correlations between preferred learning styles and most of the measured cognitive abilities have been observed. The probable inference is that abilities are among many other factors affecting the development of learning styles. It has been, however, possible to establish a number of important correlations between the measurements of learning styles, cognitive abilities, observed problem solving behaviour, and students’ design solutions. Overall, it has been demonstrated that the applied methodology, although requiring further refinement, does enable examining and elucidating the influence of learning styles and cognitive abilities on design problem solving and academic performance.

Na sociedade contemporânea a utilização da tecnologia é cada vez mais incorporada no cotidiano dos indivíduos e atualmente os dispositivos móveis fazem parte do cotidiano dos estudantes. Seu uso demanda novas soluções que aproveitem suas potencialidades e potencial ubiquidade considerando, todavia as limitações que esta classe de dispositivos impõe. O presente estudo abrangeu uma investigação do uso de dispositivos móveis na área de ensino de Técnica de Programação, que é uma etapa básica e fundamental para a construção de sistemas computacionais. Este trabalho aborda a aplicação de dispositivos móveis na construção do conhecimento de algoritmos e programação, considerando os estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem dos estudantes. A pesquisa investiga como aprimorar o processo de construção de conhecimento em algoritmos, com vistas a reduzir os índices de reprovação que, ao longo dos anos, têm sido constatados nesta área. A estratégia educacional utilizada envolveu o uso do ciclo de aprendizagem de Kolb (1984), que trabalha com experiências concretas, reflexão e observação. A metodologia utilizada neste trabalho consistiu em investigar como a tecnologia móvel e os estilos preferenciais preferencial de aprendizagem dos alunos podem alavancar a melhoria neste processo de construção do conhecimento, por meio de um ambiente com objetos educacionais e que enseja interações junto do serviço de SMS. A investigação buscou também adequar as necessidades derivadas de diferentes estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem que os estudantes podem evidenciar, mas considerando as limitações e características dos dispositivos móveis. Como resultado são apresentadas sugestões para as instituições de ensino, relacionadas à utilização dos dispositivos móveis e considerando os estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem. / In the contemporary society, the use of technology has been more and more incorporated to the daily life of individuals and, currently, the mobile devices have made part of the students’ everyday routine. Their usage demands new solutions which take advantage of their potentialities and potential ubiquity regarding, though, the limitations that this class of devices impose. The current study encompassed an investigation of the use of mobile devices within the Technical Programming teaching area which is a basic and fundamental stage to the construction of computer systems. This work approaches the application of mobile devices in the knowledge construction of algorithms and programming, considering the students’ learning styles. The research investigates how to improve the process of knowledge construction on algorithms aiming at reducing the indices of failing that have been verified in this area through the years. The educational strategy utilized involved the use of the learning cycle of Kolb (1984), that works with concrete experiences, reflection and observation. The methodology used within this work consisted in investigating how the mobile technology and the attention to the students’ preferential learning style can boost the improvement within this teaching learning process through an environment with educational objects and that provides students with interactions by the SMS service. The investigation also aimed at making adequate the needs derived from different learning styles the students can evidence, but by considering the limitations and features of the mobile devices. As a result, suggestions – related to the usage of mobile devices and regarding the learning styles – are presented to the education institutions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of grouping middle school students by learning modality preferences on vibrato acquisition. Traditional approaches to teaching vibrato synthesize reading and listening to elicit an appropriate tactile response, however, Ornstein (1995) identified this approach as a narrow scope suited to a "hypothetical average student" (p.105). Keefe (1985) proposed learning styles as a reliable lens for understanding the individuality of learning. Music education research has a pronounced lack of pedagogical studies addressing technical development particularly regarding stringed instruments. A majority of vibrato research in particular has been regulated to diagnostic studies of the behavior of its inherent acoustic properties. Of the several tutorial vibrato studies that exist, namely those by Gillespie (1997), and Shepherd (2004), few examined beyond two of the primary sensory (e.g., visual and auditory) learning modes identified by Swassing and Barbe (1979). This study challenged traditional approaches by accommodating individual sensory preferences as the most promising path to learning vibrato. Dominant learning preferences of 60 middle school orchestra students were identified using VARK (Fleming, 2001), an instrument whose name is derived from an acronym for Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic. Based on VARK (Fleming, 2001), results, four groups were created corresponding to three learning preferences and a control group. Pretest recordings were made to evaluate existent vibrato abilities and all subjects participated in six weeks of intervention vibrato lessons where teaching was deliberately matched to each group's learning preference. The control group was taught using a traditional class method book. Following the intervention period, posttest recordings were made as an exit assessment. All recordings were evaluated by a panel of qualified string educators using Gillespie's (1993) vibrato evaluation instrument and three data sets were constructed corresponding to means of the pretest, posttest, and a means of difference between the two. Analysis included measures of central tendency, Kruskal-Wallis H test and frequency distributions. Descriptive statistics were computed for grade, gender, and instrument to examine latent peripheral relationships and no significant differences were found between learning preference groups and the control group compelling the researcher to accept the null hypothesis.

TAVARES, Maria da Glória Guará. A matter of style: looking at L2 teachers' teaching styles from the perspective of learning styles. 2004. 167f. Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras/inglês e Literatura Correspondente, Santa Catarina, 2004. / Submitted by anizia almeida (aniziaalmeida80@gmail.com) on 2016-09-09T11:37:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2004_dis_mggtavares.pdf: 622930 bytes, checksum: 559864164b07060c826e262be1a0c6b8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-09-13T16:36:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2004_dis_mggtavares.pdf: 622930 bytes, checksum: 559864164b07060c826e262be1a0c6b8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-13T16:36:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2004_dis_mggtavares.pdf: 622930 bytes, checksum: 559864164b07060c826e262be1a0c6b8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / The present study aims at investigating L2 teachers’ teaching styles from the perspective of learning styles to identify the learning styles which tend to be most favored by foreign language teachers, the relationship between teachers’ teaching styles and their own learning styles, students’ attitudes towards discussing learning preferences in the classroom, and difficulties teachers face when trying to develop a balanced teaching style. The data for the present study were collected at the Extracurricular Language Courses offered by Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), from April, 16th to July 4th , 2002. Eight teachers of English as a foreign language – two at the beginning level, two of the pre-intermediate level, two of the intermediate level, and two of the high-intermediate level – were observed for the purpose of investigating their teaching styles from the perspective of learning styles. Out of the eight teachers, six were observed for three classes. The other two were observed for six classes, took part in an instructional program, and were required to accomplish two tasks. Task one consisted of trying to approach students’ learning styles and task two consisted of trying to develop a balanced teaching style. For the data collection, seven instruments were used: (1) classroom observation, (2) audio recordings, (3) one instrument for assessing teaching styles, (4) one instrument for assessing learning styles, (5) one questionnaire for assessing students’ attitudes, (6) a reflective session, and (7) a semi-guided interview with teachers. The framework for data analysis was the Myers and Briggs Learning Style Model (1987). Results indicate that (1) extraverts, feelers, perceivers and kinesthetic tend to be the learning styles most favored, (2) there seems to be a correlation between teachers’ teaching styles and their own learning styles, (3) students present a positive attitude towards teachers’ attempts to discuss learning styles, and (4) teachers face two main difficulties when trying to develop a balanced teaching style: lack of time for planning their classes and lack of knowledge of learning style theories. / O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar estilos de ensino de professores de L2 sob a perspectiva de estilos de aprendizagem. O estudo foi motivado por quatro perguntas: (1) Quais estilos de aprendizagem tendem a ser mais favorecidos pelos estilos de ensino de professores de L2? (2) Existe relação entre os estilos de ensino dos professores de L2 e seus próprios estilos de aprendizagem? (3) Quais as reações dos alunos quanto a discutir sobre seus estilos de aprendizagem em sala de aula ? (4) Quais as dificuldades encontradas por professores de L2 ao tentarem desenvolver um estilo de ensino mais balanceado? A coleta de dados foi realizada nos cursos extracurriculares de idiomas da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, no período de 16 de abril a 1o de julho de 2002. Oito professores participaram desse estudo- dois dos cursos iniciantes, dois dos cursos pré-intermediário, dois dos cursos intermediários e dois dos cursos intermediários-avançados. Desses oito professores, seis foram observados por três aulas e dois foram observados por seis aulas, participaram de um programa de instrução sobre estilos de ensino e de aprendizagem e realizaram duas tarefas em suas salas de aula. A primeira tarefa consistiu em tentar abordar seus alunos sobre suas preferências de aprendizagem. A segunda tarefa consistiu em tentar desenvolver um estilo de ensino balanceado em uma de suas aulas. Sete instrumentos foram realizados para coleta de dados: (1) observação de sala de aula e gravação em áudio (2) anotações em diário (3) um instrumento para determinar estilos de aprendizagem, (4) um instrumento para determinar estilos de aprendizagem, (5) um questionário para verificar reações dos alunos quanto a discutir sobre seus estilos de aprendizagem, (6) uma sessão reflexiva com os professores e (7) uma entrevista com os professores. Os resultados indicam que: (1) alunos extrovertidos, sentimentais, perceptivos e sinestésicos tendem a ser os mais favorecidos pelos estilos de ensino dos professores de L2, (2) existe uma relação entre os estilos de ensino e de aprendizagem dos professores de L2, (3) os alunos apresentam reações positivas ao discutir sobre seus estilos de aprendizagem em sala de aula e (4) os professores encontram duas dificuldades ao tentar desenvolver um estilo de ensino mais balanceado: escassez de tempo para planejar a aula e falta de familiaridade com as teorias de estilos ensino e aprendizagem.

The relationship between learning styles and achievement has been thoroughly studied by many researchers. However, the nursing assistant population is under represented in these studies. Hence, the purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between learning styles, demographics, and achievement of nursing assistant students in Illinois. The sample for the study consisted of 916 nursing assistant students' in Illinois. The VARK learning style inventory was used to measure the students' learning styles, and a demographic questionnaire was used to gather demographic data. The Illinois Nurse Aide Competency Test score was used to measure the achievement of students. The findings showed that there was a relationship between learning styles and achievement of nursing assistant students. Also, there was a relationship between demographics and learning styles. The dominant learning style was the multimodal all four (VARK) preference. Females were the highest representation in the sample and the majority of students were in age ranges 18-25.

Na sociedade contemporânea a utilização da tecnologia é cada vez mais incorporada no cotidiano dos indivíduos e atualmente os dispositivos móveis fazem parte do cotidiano dos estudantes. Seu uso demanda novas soluções que aproveitem suas potencialidades e potencial ubiquidade considerando, todavia as limitações que esta classe de dispositivos impõe. O presente estudo abrangeu uma investigação do uso de dispositivos móveis na área de ensino de Técnica de Programação, que é uma etapa básica e fundamental para a construção de sistemas computacionais. Este trabalho aborda a aplicação de dispositivos móveis na construção do conhecimento de algoritmos e programação, considerando os estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem dos estudantes. A pesquisa investiga como aprimorar o processo de construção de conhecimento em algoritmos, com vistas a reduzir os índices de reprovação que, ao longo dos anos, têm sido constatados nesta área. A estratégia educacional utilizada envolveu o uso do ciclo de aprendizagem de Kolb (1984), que trabalha com experiências concretas, reflexão e observação. A metodologia utilizada neste trabalho consistiu em investigar como a tecnologia móvel e os estilos preferenciais preferencial de aprendizagem dos alunos podem alavancar a melhoria neste processo de construção do conhecimento, por meio de um ambiente com objetos educacionais e que enseja interações junto do serviço de SMS. A investigação buscou também adequar as necessidades derivadas de diferentes estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem que os estudantes podem evidenciar, mas considerando as limitações e características dos dispositivos móveis. Como resultado são apresentadas sugestões para as instituições de ensino, relacionadas à utilização dos dispositivos móveis e considerando os estilos preferenciais de aprendizagem. / In the contemporary society, the use of technology has been more and more incorporated to the daily life of individuals and, currently, the mobile devices have made part of the students’ everyday routine. Their usage demands new solutions which take advantage of their potentialities and potential ubiquity regarding, though, the limitations that this class of devices impose. The current study encompassed an investigation of the use of mobile devices within the Technical Programming teaching area which is a basic and fundamental stage to the construction of computer systems. This work approaches the application of mobile devices in the knowledge construction of algorithms and programming, considering the students’ learning styles. The research investigates how to improve the process of knowledge construction on algorithms aiming at reducing the indices of failing that have been verified in this area through the years. The educational strategy utilized involved the use of the learning cycle of Kolb (1984), that works with concrete experiences, reflection and observation. The methodology used within this work consisted in investigating how the mobile technology and the attention to the students’ preferential learning style can boost the improvement within this teaching learning process through an environment with educational objects and that provides students with interactions by the SMS service. The investigation also aimed at making adequate the needs derived from different learning styles the students can evidence, but by considering the limitations and features of the mobile devices. As a result, suggestions – related to the usage of mobile devices and regarding the learning styles – are presented to the education institutions.