learning styles & how to use them

Ramesh Mehay
Aim

To introduce the participants to the concept

and the use of learning styles

and linking it to the e-portfolio

 Objectives
 At the end of the sessions the participants
will have:
 been introduced to the Honey & Mumford Learning
Styles
 seen the variety of styles amongst their fellow
colleagues
 related their learning styles to themselves and their own
lives
 some awareness of the implications for the e-portfolio
Perceptions

 What do you see?

 Demonstrates the value
in working with others
On to Honey & Mumford…
Honey & Mumford Learning Style Learners

4 axes:
 Activists
 Involve themselves fully & without bias in new
experiences
 Open minded & not sceptical, enthusiastic about
anything new
 Days are filled with activity
 When one activity is dying down, they’re on the
look-out for another

“I’ll try anything once”

 Activists

But:
 Act first & consider the consequences after

 Centre all the activities around themselves!

 Thrive on challenge, but bored with

implementation and long term consolidation

 Reflectors
 stand back and ponder about experiences
 enjoy observing other people, adopt a low
profile
 act on the past, the present and the opinion of
others
 = a more ‘rounded’ reflection

“Do you mind if I think about it more first?”

“We need to be cautious”
Reflectors

But:
 thorough collection and analysis of data can

delay reaching a definite conclusion

Theorists
 observe and make theories
 analyse and synthesise
 go back to basic assumptions, principles,
theories, models and systems

“If it’s logical, it must be good”

“Does it make sense?”
“How does this fit in with that?”
Theorists

But:
 perfectionists

 tend to be detached

 Analytical

 feel uncomfortable with subjective

judgments, lateral thinking and anything

flippant
 Pragmatists
 keen on trying out ideas, theories & techniques to
see if they work
 return from management courses brimming with
new ideas that they want to try out
 essentially practical down to earth people & get on
with things
“There is always a better way”
“If it works it is good”
“How can I apply this to practice?”
Pragmatists

But:
 impatient with ruminating and open-ended

discussions
The graphs
 Whats the NORM = “all rounded”
30
REFLECTOR
25

20

15

10

5
ACTIVIST THEORIST
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
PRAGMATIST
-30
 Reflector Theorist

30
REFLECTOR
25

20

15

10

5
ACTIVIST THEORIST
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
PRAGMATIST
-30
Reflector - Theorist

 Commonest variant style

 “ANALYSIS TO PARALYSIS”
 Activist - Pragmatist
30
 REFLECTOR
25

20

15

10

5
ACTIVIST THEORIST
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
PRAGMATIST
-30
Activist - Pragmatist

 2nd commonest variant style

 but they do things too quickly!!!
 Activist - Theorist
30
 REFLECTOR
25

20

15

10

5
ACTIVIST THEORIST
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
PRAGMATIST
-30
Activist - Theorist

 Not a common style

 jump to conclusions
 Activist - Reflector
30
REFLECTOR
 25

20

15

10

5
ACTIVIST THEORIST
0
-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
-5

-10

-15

-20

-25
PRAGMATIST
-30
Activist - Reflector

 uncommon
 But depending on the proportions, have the
ability to reflect before they act = a good thing
How does all of this tie in with the
e-portfolio?
Activists - Pros
 Enthusiastic about anything new
You need to capture this in your e-portfolio.
 Love projects and new experiences
Why did you engage in an activity? etc.
 Act first, consider consequences later
Capture the consequences and reflect later. What have you
learned?
Activists - Cons
 Days are filled with activity/Bored with long term consolidation
Will you have time for the e-portfolio? (schedule it in because when
one activity is dying down, you’ll already be onto another).
Will you get bored with the activity by the time it needs logging on?
End up with lots of incomplete PDPs (long term consolidation).
 Might end up overwhelming the e-portfolio (with all the
activities)
Be selective – what is useful & what shows curriculum coverage.
Reflectors - Pros
 Very good observers
Capture what you’ve seen, heard or feel.
 Capture an ‘all rounded view”
Act on the past, the present and opinions.
 Good at exploring ‘feelings’
As well as the mechanics of an issue.
Reflectors - cons
 Can postpone reaching a definite conclusion
And may end up adding entries too late.
 Capture the views of everyone and everything around them
May result in long entries – think about those who have to
read them!
Theorists - Pros
 The e-portfolio might complement their learning style
Because it helps provide a structure for their learning.
eg what did you learn from the event, what will you do
differently, how will you do this, by what time?
 Often add entries in a logical way
Starting from first principles and basic assumptions.
Therefore, the flow is often good.
Theorists - cons
 Theorists are perfectionists and the e-portfolio isn’t
E-portfolio may not accommodate all real life situations.
Where do you put what?
 Tend to be detached and analytical
You need to show your ‘humanistic’ side.
Subjectivity and ambiguity are just as important as
objectivity.
For that, you need to get comfortable with lateral thinking +
ruminating/open ended discussions.
Pragmatists - pros
 Return from courses brimming with pragmatic ideas
Capture them in the e-portfolio, may help you keep a log of
them so you don’t forget.
 Practical people
Placing learning events in context.
 See problems and opportunities as challenges
And the ARCP panels like that attitude.
Pragmatists - cons
 Practical down to Earth people
May ignore the e-portfolio as they might not see how it can
help them with their day to day work.
 Concentrate on the mechanics rather than people and
feelings
Be careful, you need to capture both – a balance.
 Impatient with ruminating and open ended discussions
And sometimes you need that to help things progress.
If you were the norm:
The ideal for the e-portfolio IS the NORM:
 all rounded

 no extremes to stop them from using the e-portfolio in a

skewed way
How else can you use learning
styles to your advantage?
…and something about how we run our scheme
Putting it all together

When learning, use learning styles to:

 Complement your preference style
 Use methods to boost weaker areas
We use them to:
 Design courses to appeal to a set of different learning
styles
 Learning styles can be used to achieve a balance of
skill mix within a team/group
Methods of Instruction
 the lecture  role-play
 the modified lecture  simulation
 the demonstration  games
 Practical sessions  videos/films
 Readings  brainstorming
 group discussion  programmed instruction
 conferences  field trips
 seminars  question and answer
 workshops, clinics
 the fishbowl
Things we do on our scheme:
Multi-modality learning
We remember:
 10% of what we read

 20% of what we hear

 30% of what we see

 50% of what we see and hear

 80% of what we say

 90% of what we say, hear and do (Rigg)

So don’t dismiss the exercises
Close

HDR exercises, tasks and games are carefully

designed to:
 Explore new avenues, so don’t just dismiss them

 We often put a lot of thought into them

 Don’t mock them until you’ve tried them

 So :
Close
Go out there and PLAY!