SPSU 1001
Hitchhiker’s Guide to SPSU
Learning Styles
Copyright © 2010 by Bob Brown
Hitchhiker’s Guide ?
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas
Adams (1979) says Don’t Panic “in large, friendly
letters on the cover.”
Introductions
Dr. Jon A Preston
• 18 years’ experience in teaching
IT/CS/Gaming
• Very interested in teaching and learning
• BS, MS and PhD in Computer Science
(Georgia Tech and Georgia State)
Your Education So Far
• In elementary school, you memorized.
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Spelling
Addition and multiplication tables
The “shapes” of words for reading.
Questions had right answers.
• In high school, you learned more complex
material.
• Proofs and derivations in math
• Points of view in history and literature
• The fact of questions with unknown answers in
the sciences and other subjects.
• Most questions still had right answers.
Critical Thinking
• In coming to college, you have chosen to
work with your brain, not your back. (Good.)
• In college, and later at work, you will be
asked to analyze, often on the basis of
incomplete knowledge, and provide an
educated opinion.
“If it’s all opinion, why should I study?”
Your Grade Comes From…
• The answers you give. (There’s still a lot of
material with “right answers” in college.)
• How well you support your opinions. The
opinion part of an answer almost doesn’t
count; what counts is showing how you
reached your opinion.
• You support your opinion through:
• Authority: what do experts think about this.
• Evidence: what known facts support your opinion.
• You have to think critically, organize, and
know the material!
College is Different
• All of you are smart
• Most of you were in the top 10% in high
school.
… what does that imply?
• Equivalent success means more work at
the university level.
• You have more freedoms…
• … and more responsibilities.
People are Different
• We have different strengths and attributes.
• That applies to our brains as well as our
bodies.
• If you know your strengths…
• You can play to your strengths
• And compensate when necessary
People Have Different Learning Styles
• Four “axes”
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Active – Reflective
Sensing – Intuitive
Visual – Verbal
Sequential – Global
• Like height, weight, strength, hair color,
the differences are of degree,
• Like some physical attributes ( such as
strength) we can exercise our learning
styles.
Active and Reflective
• Active Learners:
• Learn best by doing
• Want to try things out
• Enjoy working in groups
• Reflective Learners:
• Prefer to think about something first
• Want to think things through
• May prefer working alone
Sensing and Intuitive
• Sensing Learners:
• Like learning facts
• Solve problems by well-established methods
• Dislike surprises
• Intuitive Learners:
• Like discovering relationships
• Dislike repetition
• Enjoy new challenges
Visual and Verbal
• Visual Learners:
• Remember what they see
• Verbal Learners:
• Remember what they hear
Sequential and Global
• Sequential (Linear) learners:
• Learn in logical steps
• Want to follow all steps to a conclusion
• Global (Associative) learners:
• Learn in big jumps
• Absorb material almost randomly
• Suddenly put the pieces together and “get it”
Exercise
• Consider how you learn, then place
yourself “somewhere along” each of the
four axes.
• Example:
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Strongly reflective
Somewhat verbal
Neither visual nor verbal
Mostly global
Exercise
• Four “axes”
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Active – Reflective
Sensing – Intuitive
Visual – Verbal
Sequential – Global
• “Placement” words
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Strongly
Mostly
Somewhat
Neither ___ nor ___.
More About The Course
• You will submit your homework using
email.
• Due dates are always by 6am.
• This course is graded, and counts in your
GPA.
• There is no textbook!
Questions