How style affects design
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS of learning styles? Is it really possible to create learning materials that will be 'all things to all people'? Here's some suggestions:
- survey a sample of your target population; you may find that one learning style predominates and you can focus on that
- restrict the use of online learning to those audiences which have learning styles that seem to best match the medium
- provide a flexible structure to your training which allows learners to employ a strategy to suit their preferences; for example, your programme may include formal content and a simulation, but you can allow learners to choose which comes first
- use a wide variety of media and methods; not only will this accommodate different learning styles, it will provide a more powerful learning experience for all learners
Links
Here are some sites that will allow you to explore the subject in more depth:
http://www.peterhoney.co.uk
Through this site you can obtain a copy of the Honey and Mumford Manual of Learning Styles. Their learning styles questionnaire is now world famous and could be helpful for surveying typical learners in your organisation.
http://www.rust.net/~lmolter/
Brain Works from Synergistic Learning Inc. is a Windows-based learning styles test that measures for left and right brain orientation and visual or auditory learning preferences.
http://www.funderstanding.com/about_learning.html
Funderstanding - an excellent site for exploring learning theories.
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/%7Eggay/lstylstd.htm
Learning styles links - an extensive listing of sites dealing with this topic.
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