Wht Is Learning Style

Background:
Most of the students don’t recognize their learning styles or how to learn. So the majority of them attempt class without understanding the instructor message. They blame the teacher for their mistake and throwing the guilty on the instructor. In addition, there are some students who understand in their classes but, when they face exam they don’t know how to act, so they end up with bad results. However there are some groups who are taking their responsibility over their learning on them by making group learning.

Most pupils face difficulties when they enter their classes for the first time especially when they found out that the instructor teaching styles different from their learning styles. Learning styles can be described as “an individual’s preferred approach to organizing and presenting information”(Riding & Rayner, 1998). It can also be described as “the way, in which learners perceive, process, store, and recall attempts of learning”(James & Gardner, 1995). The matching of learning styles with a learning environment influence learners’ outcomes and learning process. (Hargrove, Wheatland, Ding, & Brown, (Jul-Dec 2008))

Statement of problem:
The bulk of the students face difficulties to catch-up with their instructor when their instructor teaching style is different from their learning style. This makes them frustrated. It also makes their self steam decreases which lead them to change their course. There are several beginners who find difficulties in learning there subject because they don’t know yet there learning style. Some student stuck in there learning, since they are using one type of learning style that does not match them. So they will not pay attention to the class for example if the course requires students to write notes and they are slow in writing they will not be able to write all the information. As a result they end up getting bad grades.

Research Question:
1: Do all students know their learning style and their teacher teaching style?
2: How can knowing one’s learning style improve grades?
3: Do matching students learning style to teaching situations will result in higher performance?

Definition of key concept:
A learning style is the way a person prefers to process, internalize, and remember new information or concepts. We need to discover our learning style so that we can understand how can we learn more easily from some instructors than others and understand our strengths and weaknesses and choose study methods accordingly. Dunn and Dunn (1979 as cited in Reid 1987) define learning styles as “a term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience” (p. 89). (Zokaee, Zaferanieh, & Naseri, Sep 2012) Literature Review

Learning styles have been the perspective from different opinions. Newble and Entwistle (1986) identify between learning designs considered with regards to information handling techniques, and those related to character. The latter are relatively constant choices of learners to understand in attribute methods, rather than the way in which they actually strategy a studying process and which techniques they use in exercise. The difference seems to recommend that a studying style may be a more continuous feature, a relatively continuous feature, or choice of a personal (Curry, 1983; Kolb, 1984). Curry, in an extensive study of studying style actions, tried to arrange them into a three-part design. The inner layer was cognitive personality style, which is the most stable; the second layer was an information-processing style, which is relatively stable, and the outer layer was instructional preference, the least stable. Curry described Kolb’s (1976, 1984) studying style idea, used in this research, as a popular example of the center range information handling design that mediates between educational choice and intellectual character styles. (Katz, Jul/Aug 1990)

Acknowledging this concept of relative stability of the more typical studying design concept used in this analysis, it is also continuous to use with it a related speculation, as Pask (1976) states: “If the teaching strategy is matched to the same type of learning style. . . The student will learn more quickly and retain the information for longer” (p. 132). Thus, the rationale for a matching hypothesis is the assumption that relatively stable individual differences influence students’ learning. Only when such a supposition is created does the application of related the educational techniques to personal features become sensible. Matching, of course, cannot be regarded a solution for every scenario. Thus, Messick’s (1976) factor regarding its prospective differential impact for various results is well taken.

Messick maintains that related training techniques to certain factors of kids’ personal features may be valuable in some situations, while in others, it may cause side results or none at all. Therefore, it is suggested that the possible trade-offs be examined before determining to implement related techniques. This One of the idea led to the choice to take account of study time and performance outcomes in this study while calculating for extra principal variables, so that the result may provide the foundation for learning decisions. (Katz, Jul/Aug 1990)

None of these studies investigated the relations effect of students learning styles and teaching methods. Namely, identifying if related students learning styles to teaching situations will result in higher performance. Moreover, a quasi-experimental study in work-related treatment knowledge as used here is very unusual. Hence, following the Aptitude by Treatment Interaction (ATI) conceptualization and research methodology (Cronbach & Snow, 1977; Snow et al., 1980), it was hypothesized that learners whose learning styles matched the features of the training method would execute better (effectiveness) and would need less time to study outside of class. (efficiency). (Katz, Jul/Aug 1990)

Furthermore, past research provides combined results from the connection between group studying and educational performance (Hampton and Grudnitski, 1996; Koppenhaver and Shrader, 2003; Prater and Rhee, 2003). This paper investigates studying style choices to describe team studying performance. Several questions remain to be answered: which learning style choice impacts collaborative studying performance and what are the significances of the learning style knowledge for undergrad and graduate student groups in management education? This study proposes that students with a collaborative learning style benefit more from group learning, offering the potential for improved group leadership. Furthermore, studying design information is expected to be useful for successful group development along with academic experience, age and gender. (Yazici, 2005) METHOD

Participants

The samples are the first-year student of AL-AIN campus of ABU-DHABI University. I selected 10 of first-year student because they are targeted to my topic. I didn’t focus on the nationality, whether they are local or expect. Even I didn’t focus on their ages or the major, so I pick up randomly. All of my samples are males not females because I wanted to emphasis AL-AIN campus of ABU-DHABI University on first year of male students learning style problem.

Instrumentation
I selected the survey method for my research. I used qualitative data for 10 learners of first year in AL-AIN campus of ABU-DHABI University. The question includes visual, applied, social, independent, etc… Furthermore, it included with five- Linker Range, which ranges from (1=.Not at all important, to 5=. Extremely important). I have chosen these questions to find out the relationship between learning style and academic performance that does the Learner know about their learning style, and does the learner think that they need to adapt their style to their teacher teaching style and on the learning style choices to be measured like Visual, Applied, group learning and individual learning. The sample reacted based on a five-point Liker-scale, which range from Not at all important to extremely important.

Result

The graph shows about ABD Dhabi University of the AL-AIN campus answers to the survey. It describes that how many students know their learning style and located to the activities mention in the survey. I have found out that all students of ABD Dhabi University of AL-AIN campus find easier to learn new information using images. Firstly, near to 10% of students prefer words more than working with things. On the other hand, all students think a learner should know their learning style, and they should know teachers teaching style. Secondly, 70% of students think a learner needs to adapt their styles to their teacher style. Whereas, 40% of student like working in groups and 80% of student like to work alone. Finally, there are 90% percent of student thinks knowing their learning style affects their learning.

Discussions
Given the focus of the research, the data suggested that the majority of first-year students in Abu Dhabi University in AL-AIN campus learn more easily by using pictures rather than terms. Because they think, they use more than one sense they see and pay attention. The bulk of the student believes that they should know about their learning style in order to get better grade; however, they still don’t know their learning style Most of the Student thinks that they should know their teacher teaching style, and they need to adapt their style to their teacher style, so that they will learn more quickly and retain the information for longer.

The majority of students like to work alone because they think learning with the wrong people can produce negative attitudes. On the other hand, some of student prefers to work in a group because group study forces them to become actively involved with the course content, and they believe one of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else. So, student who learns alone finds difficulties in learning and won’t be able to solve their problem with other unless to improve their interpersonal communication. Conclusions

All in all, the teaching strategy should matched to the same type of learning style… the student will learn more easily and maintain the information for longer. However, matching teaching method to certain aspects of student’s individual characteristics may be beneficial in some cases, while in other it may cause adverse effects or none at all. Therefore, it is recommended that the possible tradeoffs be analyzed before deciding to use matching procedures. Student should try to work in a group to enable them to learn from one another by viewing each other’s thinking processes and by evaluating each other’s ideas and approaches, and it also helps to valuable skills in interpersonal communication that will be essential for your career.

References:

Reid, M. J. (1987). The learning style preferences of ESL students. TESOL Quarterly, 21(1), 87-111. http://dx.doi.org.adezproxy.adu.ac.ae/10.2307/3586356 Newble, D. I., & Entwistle, N. J. (1986). Learning styles and approaches implications for medical education. Medicai Education, 20, 162-175. Gurry, L. (1983). Learning sty Ie in continuing medical éducation. Ottawa: Council on Medical Education, Canada Medical Association. KoIb, D. A. (1984). Experimental learning; Experience as a source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall. KoIb, D. A. (1976). The learning style inventory: Technical manual (pp. 1-47). Boston: McBer. Pask, G. (1976). Styles and strategies of learning. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 46, 128-148. Messick, S. (Ed,). (1976). Individuality in learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cronbach, L. J., & Snow, R. E. (1977). Aptitude and instructional methods. New York: Irvington. Snow, R. E., Federico, P. ?., & Montague, W. E. (Eds.). (1980). Aptitude Learning and Instruction (Vol. 1, 2). Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Enblaum Associates. Hampton, D. and Grudnitski, G. (1996), “Does cooperative learning mean equal learning?”, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 72, pp. 5-7. Koppenhaver, G.D. and Shrader, C.B. (2003), “Structuring the classroom for performance: cooperative learning with instructor-assigned teams”, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 1-21. Prater, E.
and Rhee, H.S. (2003), “The impact of coordination methods on the enhancement of business writing”, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 57-71.