3 Learning Style Tables: Kolb/ILS; Visual/Verbal; Global/Sequential

 

1.  Kolb/ILS Learning Styles

Characteristics

Teaching Tips

Examples of Activities

Concrete

Experience

(Sensing)

 

 

(ILS contrasts

Sensing with Intuitive)

Concrete: Must see how ideas apply in practice.

Learns through

specific cases,  examples, facts & details.

Prefers step by step instruction.

Create relevance by leading students to see how topic connects to their lives. Why it is meaningful or useful?

Initiate problem solving or experience before instruction; evaluate it.  Share values & perceptions.

Provide facts, details & examples.

Interactive lecture

Lecture w/ feeling tone

Role playing

Journal writing

Learning logs

Group discussion

Problem sets

Primary readings

Labs & fieldwork

Simulations & games

Trigger films

Issue, question or problem to solve

Begin w/ brain teaser.

Case studies

Reflective

Observation

 

 

(ILS contrasts

Reflective with Active)

Learns by observation

& thinking through the issue, question or problem before engaging in action.

Uses reflection to gather the essential meaning from experiences.

Show how to draw out ideas from reflections. 

Provide opportunities for students to take an active observer role.

Describe different points of view.

Problem solve in front of students.

Model how an expert in your field would think (in an accessible way).

Lectures w/ visual aids

Rhetorical questions

Thought questions

Brainstorming

Gathering data/searches

Textbook readings

Seminars

Socratic dialogue

Use journals & logs for writing & groups for discussion so students can sift through information & experiences to identify core ideas and/or values.

Abstract

Conceptualization

(Intuitive)

 

 

(ILS contrasts

Intuitive with

Sensing)

Likes to discover possibilities & relationships.

May concentrate better studying alone.

Understands through abstract thought.

 

Provide overview or big picture.

Stimulate with ideas & theories.

Think aloud to show how to form concepts.

Well-structured presentation of ideas works best to promote comprehension.

Analyze relationships and how things work.

 

Concept formation exercises

Lecture w/ demonstrations

Theoretical or primary readings

Papers

Projects

Analogies

Model building

Guided lab work

Computer simulations

CATs to see how students  are thinking

Make connections between fields/ideas

Active Experimentation

 

 

(ILS contrasts

Active with

Reflective)

Must do something with the information to retain it.

Prefers hands on experimentation.

Applies knowledge.

Form of expression combines interactivity with active thinking.

 

Students practice skills.

Active learning.

Provide opportunities for students to try out & test their knowledge in new settings.

Discussion groups. Students question & teach each other.

Student presentations

Student prepared problems

Group projects

Field tests; Open-ended labs

Homework

Case studies; Simulations

Think tanks; Collaborative groupwork.

Exercises requiring application

 

 

2.  Visual/ Verbal Learning Styles

Characteristics

Activities or Examples

Visual

Must see it visually or visualize it in the space of the imagination to process and remember information.

Perceives, analyzes, and thinks w/ visual

patterns, spatial configurations. 

May concentrate individually to maintain focus.

Illustrate lectures w/ visuals (transparencies w/ an outline, graphic organizer, etc.)

Pictures, diagrams, flow charts, timelines

Concept diagram (abstract idea, characteristics, definition, concrete examples and non-examples)

Advanced organizers

Lesson organizer connecting new ideas to learned material

Key words listed visually

Feedback given in visual form (points, written comments on papers, checklists, email, etc.)

Use of language that promotes visualization

Graphic arts, multimedia, films, videos

Computer assisted instruction

Allow expression through writing in various forms.

Draw or illustrate problems.

Use visual mnemonics for recall.

Organize using color, bolding, spatial array

Verbal

 

Must hear it and rely on language to process and remember information.

May carry on an internal dialogue to think things through.

Sensitive to tone, volume, pitch of voice.

Needs discussion.

Connect calculations with verbal explanations, i.e. study guides.  Encourage verbal mediation when solving problems.

Students paraphrase & summarize ideas from various sources, and annotate from specific points of view.

Share written work verbally (answers, notes, etc.).

Explain visual diagrams or graphical data in lecture.

Discuss ideas in small & large groups.

Students give oral reports, debates & other presentations.

Dramatize when possible.

Use sound alike mnemonics for recall.

 

 

Sequential/ Global Learning Styles

Characteristics

Activities or Examples

Sequential

Learns in a serial, step-by-step, linear process.

Responds to rules or procedures.

Lecture using a logical outline, & ask students to take notes using a logical outline or Cornell 6-R method.

Ask students to give specific examples and supporting details for a main idea or topic.

Analysis and evaluative activities.

Global

 

Needs to get the big picture.

Integrates main points into a structural whole.

Give an overview of material to be covered.

Encourage students to survey text assignments before reading and taking notes.

Relate new material to studentsí background knowledge; create a sense of context when introducing new ideas.

Synthesis activities.

 

 

 

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