Learning Styles:
Does the Shotgun Approach
Work?
Dean Farwood, MS, MCT
Heald College, Program in Information Technology
Keller Graduate School of Management, College of
Engineering and Information Sciences
Why I’m Completely Unqualified
to Present This Topic
 I was a C and D student throughout
grammar school
 I didn’t go to high school
 I dropped out of a music conservatory
after two years
 I studied chess for a year
 I didn’t start teaching until I was in my
mid-thirties
Why I’m Perfectly Qualified
to Present This Topic
 I was a C and D student throughout grammar
school
 I didn’t go to high school
 Since age 14 I’ve only studied subjects in which I’m
interested
 I have completed graduate training in three fields
(physical therapy, systems engineering, education)
 I didn’t start teaching until I was in my early-thirties
 I teach in both a two-year vocational program and a
master’s program for managers
Terminology
Learning Style
The way in which a student,
“…concentrates on, processes,
internalizes, and remembers new and
difficult academic information or
skills...” (Shaughnessy).
Terminology
Learning Styles
Competitive
Collaborative
Avoidant
Participant
Dependent
Independent
(Grasha)
Terminology
Learning Styles
(Dunn)
 Environmental
 sound, temperature, light, design
 Emotional
 persistence, motivation, responsibility
 Sociological
 teams, pairs, solo
 Physical
 perception, mobility, time, intake (food)
 Psychological
 analytical/global, reflective/impulsive
Terminology
Learning Styles
(Kolb)
Learning Style Inventory
Learning Modes:
Concrete Experience
Reflective Observation
Abstract Conceptualization
Active Experimentation
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Kolb’s Bipolar Scales
Putting Them Into Action
Terry (2001) - Translating learning style
theory into university teaching practices
 Assimilators should receive advanced,
detailed information on upcoming exams
 Divergers should be given frequent writing
assignments
 Convergers should be tested on practical
application of material learned
Terminology
Student Learning Outcomes
Objective measures of student
performance such as:
course-specific assessments
measurement of course instructional
objective attainment (formative,
summative)
final course grades
standardized tests
Terminology
Active vs. Passive Learning
Active
Hands-on
Moving around
Building
Passive
Lecture
Reading
Thinking
Can learning be passive? Can teaching be passive?
Terminology
The Shotgun Method
 Varying the delivery of course content to
include several instructional modalities
under the assumption that different
students have different preferred learning
styles and, by including varied delivery
methods, teachers will have
accommodated the preferred learning
style of most students
Questions
 Are preferred learning style assessment
tools reliable, valid and practical to
implement?
NO
Questions
 Is there consensus in the identification of
teaching methods which are consistent
with particular learning styles?
NO
Questions
 Does the course content influence the
feasibility of accommodating preferred
learning styles?
YES
Questions
 Does student attainment of learning style
versatility improve academic outcomes?
NO
Questions
 Is an individual’s preferred learning style
subject to change over time?
NO
Questions
 Does the shotgun method work?
NO
Self-referential Studies
Rita Dunn’s recent article:
Learning-Style Responsive Approaches for Teaching Typically
Performing and At-Risk Adolescents, June, 2009




50% Dunn citations
13% dissertation
+20% using Dunn methods/measurements
83% self-referential
The Politics of Teaching
Student-centered
 Supports retention
 Student satisfaction
 Success (grade inflation)
 Decrease anxiety
Learner-centered
 Supports retention
 Learning styles
The Exigencies of Learning
Subject-centered
 Emphasizes mastery of student learning
outcomes
 Objective measures of skills through specific
rubrics
 May require different ways organizing
curriculum
THE GAP
Why do administrators and teachers
subscribe to an approach that,
despite 30 years of research, has
little or no scientific basis?
Possible Answers
Administrators and teachers are
untrained in critical thinking and
critical analysis of research findings.
Teaching to Weaknesses
Learning style accommodation (LS)
Constructivist education (C)
Multiple intelligences (MI)
All have been used to justify accommodating
students’ behavioral and cognitive weaknesses
Teaching to Weaknesses
LS, C, MI all see lecture as
undesirable and all avoid discussion
of reading
 Is this making necessity a virtue?
 How are children prepared for education?
Sesame Street is a
Dangerous Neighborhood
 Attention span limited
 TV and film provide clarity in ethics and
motive
 TV and file provide non-analytical
solutions to problems
 News is folksy and superficial
 Technological communication
discourages reflection and refinement
What is the Teacher’s
Role?
 Should teachers legitimize the politicians’
justifications for their unwillingness to
spend money on education from cradle to
employment?
What is the Teacher’s
Role?
Or…….should teachers train students in
 Sustained concentration
 Objectivity
 Critical perception
 Critical analysis
 Creativity
 Fluency with humanistic perspectives
The Continuum of
Normalcy
Do LS, C, and MI celebrate diversity
to the point that everything is equally
meaningful?
Do LS, C, and MI contribute to a
growing cultural wasteland where
ordinal scales are banished;
everything is equal – and thus,
ultimately, nothing is of value?
The Answer
It’s the teacher,
stupid.
The Answer
Successful outcomes are associated
with a deep rather than superficial
approach to learning
Superficial approaches are
associated with the perceptions that
the workload is too high and that
assessment is testing reproductive
learning
The Answer
Deep approaches to learning are
associated with the student
perception that teaching is good and
goals and standards are clear.
The Answer
It’s the teacher,
stupid.
Thank you