The Learner

Chapter 2
Introduction

➢ The learner as the first element of teaching & learning is the focus
on this chapter.
➢ The learner is the core of the teaching-learning processes. It is
from him/her that all activities related to classroom activities
revolves. He/She is either pupil – learner in elementary level and a
student –learner who attends an institution beyond the elementary
level.
Factors Affecting Cognitive Development of Children

1. Biological Factors – are substances that affect biological

systems and are necessary to produce a result or cause
activity of the body. These factors are a) Senses b)
Intelligence c) Heredity d) maturation.
2. Environmental – these includes surroundings, conditions, or
influences that affects an organisms. These factors are a)
learning opportunities b) Economic status c) Play is also
important in developing cognition d) various types of
stimuli e) family and society.
(7) Characteristics of Independent Learners

1. Curiosity –Seeking out ways to explore. On their own, they look

for additional supplements.
2. Self Motivation – intrinsic motivation far surpasses any prize or
reward system, that is setting internal goals to achieve provide
motivation to independent learners.
3. Self-examination- Independent learners keep track of their
achievements & failures. They have proper evaluation of their
strengths & weaknesses.
4. Accountability- Knowing what you have to do & doing it without
anyone telling you to, that is being responsible.
(7) Characteristics of Independent Learners

5. Critical Thinking – An attitude of examining all possibilities & often

come up with multiple solutions. They do not memorize, and they
probe & analyze the nature of things or situation.
6. Comprehension (with little instruction) – this is the ability to read,
visualize, or kinesthetically instruct themselves. They will find ways
to understand material thru application (normally trial and error).
7. Persistence – An attitude of not giving up being serious learning.
They try to comprehend a concept as much as possible on their own
before asking for help. They apply self discipline when faced with
difficulty in finding answer to a problem.
Approaches to Learning (Deep vs Surface)

Deep approach to learning

➢ the student are aiming towards understanding. It involves the critical
& in-depth analysis of new ideas, relating them with already known
concepts & principle.
➢ It promotes understanding & long term retention of concepts that
are used in problem solving. It is applied in real life situation.
Surface Learning
➢ the students are aiming to reproduce material in test or exam rather
than actually understand it.
➢It is the explicit recognition of information & memorization. It leads
to superficial retention of materials for examination.
Designing for Deep Learning

➢Students should be encourage to engage in deep learning, no

matter the difficulty.
➢ It is often argued that the explicit setting of “straightforward
assessments that involve short questions to test separate ideas
encourages “surface learning.”.
➢ however, even the most apparently simple assessment questions
can require students to demonstrate knowledge can be applied
Deep Learning Vs Surface Learning
Deep Learning Vs Surface Learning
Deep Learning Vs Surface Learning
Deep Learning Vs Surface Learning

Putting Theory in Practice

➢ Clearly stated academic aims, opportunities to exercise some choice &
well-aligned assessment strategies that help students to build confidence
can be found among the factors identified as encouraging deep approach to
learning. Example using problem based learning, rather than producing
assessments that require rote application.
➢Concentrate on key concepts, not only in isolation, that is integrated
approach to teaching.
➢While regular assessment is advantageous to remain focused on the
material, memorization is not encouraged.
➢The assessment process must not only give students opportunity to receive
feedback, but also must make the assessment relevant to the field of study.
Learning Styles & Preferences

➢ Learning can be done in different ways. From students, it can by close

observation, seeing & hearing, working alone & in groups, logical
reasoning & intuitively, memorizing or visualizing & modelling. Some
prefer pictures than text, other concrete before abstract.
➢ On the part of teacher, there are those who lecture, others demonstrate
or discuss, some focus on principles & others on applications.
➢ How much students’ learning in class depends among other things on
match between student’s learning styles and instructor’s teaching styles,
thus there should be jive with instructor’s teaching style & student’s
learning style.
 Some guidelines about teaching styles:
1. There is not single/definite learning styles. There is a
Learning mix learning styles for everyone.

Styles & 2. Some people have dominant style of learning with far
less use of the other styles.
Preferences 3. Others may use different styles in different
circumstances. There is no right combination.
4. Styles that are developed can still be further
improved for learning enhancement.
 The 7 learning styles (Memletic styles)

• Visual (spatial)–prefers using pictures, images, graphs,

charts, logic puzzles & spatial understanding.
• Aural (auditory-musical)–prefers using sound & music.
• Verbal (linguistic)–prefer using words, both speech & writing.
• Physical (kinesthetic)-prefers using body, hands & touch.
• Logical (mathematical)-prefers using logic, reasoning &
systems.
• Social (interpersonal)-prefers to learn in groups or with
other people.
• Solitary(intrapersonal)-prefers to work alone & use self
study.
The Basis of Learning Styles

➢ Learning styles change the way the learner internally

represents experiences, recall information, and choose
words to explain things.

➢ According to research, learning styles activates different

parts of the brain. Involving more of the brain during
learning capacitates learner more to remember more of
what he/she learns.
The Basis of Learning Styles

Key areas of the brain responsible for learning style are as

follows:
1. Visual-the occipital lobes at the back of brain manage
visual sense.
2. Aural-the temporal lobes handle aural content. The right
temporal lobe is specially important for music.
3. Physical-the cerebellum & the motor cortex (at the back of
the frontal lobe handle much of our physical movement.
4. Logical-the parietal lobes especially the left side, drive our
logical thinking.
The Basis of Learning Styles

5. Verbal-the temporal and frontal lobes especially the two

specialized areas called Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area (in
the left hemisphere of these two lobes) govern the use of
manually articulated (i.e. signed) or vocally articulated (i.e.
spoken) language as shown on Figure 2.
6. Social-The frontal & temporal lobes handle much of our
social activities. The limbic system (not shown apart from the
hippocampus) also influences both social & solitary styles. The
limbic system has a lot to do with emotions, moods &
aggression.
The Dunn & Dunn Learning Style Model

➢Learning style is the way person processes, internalizes studies,

interprets, & changes new & challenging materials.
➢ Most people can learn & each individual has his own unique ways
of mastering new & difficult subject matter. This is the
cornerstone of Dun & Dunn Learning style.
➢ Dunn’s model is a complex & encompasses five strands of 21
elements affecting each individual’s learning. Some of these
elements are biological, and others are developmental.
 The Dunn & Dunn Learning Style Model

A summary of these elements as provided as follows:

➢ Environmental- this strand refers to these elements:
lighting, sound, temperature & seating arrangement.
People prefer a place to study that facilitates more
learning. Depending upon which learning situation is
more compatible & conducive to learning.
➢Emotional –this strand involve the following elements:
motivation, persistence, responsibility & structure, i.e.
some people work best when motivated & encouraged,
or when allowed to do multi-tasking (persistence),
while other feel motivated when assigned to lead.
The Dunn & Dunn Learning Style Model

A summary of these elements as provided as follows:

➢ Sociological- the strand represent elements which
make individual learn while in association with other
people. It can be a) alone or with peers; b) an
authoritative adult or with collegial colleague; and c)
learning a variety of ways or routine patterns.
➢ Physiological-elements in this strand are: perceptual
(auditory, visual, tactile & kinesthetic), time of the day
energy levels, intake (eating, or not while studying), &
mobility (sitting or moving around).
The Dunn & Dunn Learning Style Model cont…
A summary of these elements as provided as follows:
➢ Psychological- the elements in this strand correspond to the
following psychological processing: hemispheric, impulsive or
reflective and global versus analytic. Hemispheric element
refers to the left & right brain processing modes. The
impulsive versus reflective style describe how some people do
something or resort to doing something before thinking and
others scrutinize the situation before moving an inch. Global
& analytic element are unique, as these two elements are
made up of clusters of elements from the other four strands.
The elements are sound, light & seating arrangement
(environmental) and persistence (emotional), sociological
preference & intake (physilogical).
Differences among Student’s leaning styles
(4) Factors that significantly differ between groups & among individuals
1. Global & analytic- Global learner prefers to work in an environment with
soft lighting & informal setting; need breaks, mobility & sound, while
analytic learners prefers to work in an environment with bright lights &
formal setting, work best when uninterrupted or with few; prefer a quiet
surrounding & little or no snacking. C
2. Age-learning styles vary & change with age. Some learning styles
(sociological, motivation, responsibility & internal vs external structure)
are developmental & change as people grow older. Children prefer to
work with peers than being alone. The auditory & visual perceptual
elements strengthen with age for many.
Differences among Student’s leaning styles cont..

3. Gender-Perceptual strengths of males are often visual, tactile & kinesthetic.

More mobile than females & they function & achieve better in an informal
environment. On the other hand, females tend to be more auditory, prefer quiet
atmosphere while studying, work best in formal setting & need less mobility. They
are more conforming , authority oriented & parent & self motivated & engaging
than males.
4. High vs low academic achievement- High & low achieving students learn in
statistically different ways from one another. Successful teaching strategies for
one group may not produce similar outcomes in the other group, thus teacher
should remember that there are various range of learners; one learning style may
apply to some but not to others.
Kolb’s Learning Style
This model sets out four distinct learning style. The intersection of the
processing & perception dimension in this model creates a set of
learning style.
1. Social learner are leaders. They learn best by
analyzing & solving problem using their intuition &
information from other people rather from books or
lectures.
2. Creative learners are imaginative. They have
open mind to new ideas & offer multiple
perspectives. They value brainstorming with a
group although they often listen & observe first
before sharing their own ideas.
Kolb’s Learning Style
This model sets out four distinct learning style. The intersection of the
processing & perception dimension in this model creates a set of
learning style.
3. Intellectual learners are organized, logical &
precise. They like to learn from lectures, reading &
contemplation. They find fact, ideas & information
fascinating & challenging to people & emotions.
4. Practical learners are both thinkers & doers.
They are those who learn through experimentation,
seeking out new ideas, & discovering practical
application for them. They can focus intently on select
subjects; they favor technical challenges to
interpersonal matters.
 Kolb’s Learning Style
Kolb explained that different people naturally prefer a certain single different
style & several factors influence a person’s preferred style. In Kolb’s ELT, he
define three stages of person’s development & suggested that propensity to
reconcile & successfully integrate the four different learning styles improve as
we mature.
1. Acquisition (birth to adolescence)-development of basic abilities &
“cognitive structures”.
2. Specialization (schooling, early work & personal experiences of adulthood) –
the development of particular “specialized learning style” shaped by social,
educational & organizational socialization.
3. Integration (mid-career thru later life) – expression of non-dominant learning
style in work & personal life.