Learning
Styles

Jeni

When I think back over the reading for this week, one thing jumps out in my mind. It was a statement that Dee Fink made in the book, Creating significant Learning Experiences. Fink stated, "If students have indeed been challenged to and have achieved something that can meaningfully be called "significant learning," then the learning experience has been good, no matter what else is bad about the course.

This quote took me back to when I was in my third year at the University of Prince Edward Island. I was taking a theory course in sociology, a required course which I had to complete in order to receive a major in sociology. I was also in the education program, and needed to keep an average of seventy percent in all of my courses in order to continue in the program. My sociology class was filled with tension, hatred for the professor and fear that the professor would insult a student, because he or she did not do 'enough work'. I am a shy person, and can be intimidated in a situation very easily if I do not feel secure or feel as though my thoughts are respected and valid, so I never spoke a word in class unless the professor demanded me to voice an opinion.

I believe what the professor was trying to accomplish was to force us to learn, to study and to read the readings he assigned so that we, as learners, would gain a vast amount of knowledge in his subject. I also think that he wanted us to be the best we could be and he wanted us to earn wonderful grades.

As a result of the fear and anxiety I studied, I read all the readings, I participated in study groups, and I studied some more on my own. I studied night and day for a whole academic year. By the end of the year, I received the highest marks in the class and some wonderful praise from the professor! I learned, from my sociology professor, that in order to do well in school, I had to put a lot of effort into my studies and it paid off. The remarks that my professor made to me meant more than the mark ever will. In general he encouraged me to go on and be someone great! His praise gave me a great sense of value and self-worth. This was my significant learning episode or experience. It was a critical point in my education, to know that if I applied myself, I could do anything not only do it, but come out on top, a winner and the highest reward! I, like many other students who refer back to their learning episodes will "leap in self-confidence... and [it should be] a marker event in [every] student's development" (Brookfield, 1990, p. 49).

I guess this goes to show you that not every significant learning experience is a positive one, and that you can learn from negative experiences. However, I think we can all agree that positive learning experiences are more enjoyable!

Angela

With a love of music and a youthful desire to play keyboard in an all-girl rock band, I began piano lessons at a young age. What followed was 9 years of participating in a highly-structured, extremely disciplined institution nationally recognized for its history of producing very talented, technically proficient, pianists and certified music teachers. While the music teacher was extremely talented and resourceful, the lesson plan was impersonal and inflexible. "Drill and practice" (Fink, p. 19) and mandatory annual testing slowly deflated the dream of playing any instrument and almost destroyed my enjoyment of music. The focus in this institution was to "produce learning" (Barr & Tagg (1995) p. 18, as cited in Fink 2003)

Fink states that a significant learning experience has both a process and an outcome dimension (p. 6) and later in life I experienced both in a music program focused on creating a student-centered musical environment. Together, the teacher and student explore and develop the student's strengths in a variety of musical areas. Note-reading music theory, rudiments and history are studied with colorful, hands-on materials and reinforced with group activities. Music interpretation, individual expressiveness and preference are encouraged and music composition is offered to integrate aural and written skills. Piano performances replace piano exams but when desired, the examinations are successfully completed. This program renewed my musical interests and inspired my life-long study and enjoyment of music.

Currently a teacher/learner still proudly associated with this music program, these readings offer the reasoning and means to teaching new things differently. In particular, I enjoy a quote from Phillip Candy (1991), p. 27 as cited in Fink (2003). "If learning is regarded not as the acquisition of information, but as a search for meaning and coherence in one's life and, if an emphasis is placed on what is learned and its personal significance to the learner, rather than how much is learned, researchers would gain valuable new insights into both the mechanisms of learning and the relative advantages of teacher-controlled and learner-controlled modes of learning."

Brigitte

I found this book very interesting to read. It contains very interesting information for me who has been interested in and is working on the design and development of online courses/distance learning. What caught my attention was the topic of 2 different paradigms. (p.17) I have been hearing more about a paradigm shift in terms of learning theories. This paradigm, however, refers to the 'teaching paradigm' versus the 'learning paradigm', which I thought was a very interesting way to put it. Now I will have to go and read the article the author refers to!! What became clearer in my mind when I read it is that most likely, depending of the paradigm you believe in (or that are asked to work with -as an ID), the same course content may look and have a complete different feel.

Something else that caught my attention is the author questioning if it is in fact possible to 'change the quality of teaching and learning significantly.' This is a very good question, which of course the book/author advocates 'yes' and I also think in theory it is quite feasible …but in reality with all the constraints people have to work with (lack of time, lack of money, etc)-is it a possible thing to achieve? That's what I wonder, especially in an online environment.

Penny

I most definitely welcomed the chance to study course design as my experience to date has not been grounded on any theory or model but was rather a mishmash of delivery styles driven by the nature of the content to be studied. This approach has been met with varying degrees of success and was definitely in need of refinement.

The most salient points from the readings for me included the encouragement to involve students in the design process- from goals through to the evaluation phase. This seems so obvious to me now that I have better understanding of adult learning theories and I wish I had attended to this earlier. I believe this active participation may lead to a sense of ownership of knowledge, not in a negative, unsharing way, but in a way that contributes to the learner's confidence to seek further understanding.

Fink (2003) stressed the importance of selecting a "teaching strategy" versus a specific teaching activity. I now recognize the importance of not narrowing my objectives and approach too much. I will instead step back and assess the overall goals and flow of the learning process. Providing a well planned course, with time allowed for reflection and spontaneous interaction enables the learner to experience a "....serenity that comes when heart, will and mind are on the same page" (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997, p. 28 as cited in Fink, 2003).

Maureen

When I entered my newly created position last year as an educator, I had to prepare presentations for an orientation beginning in 2 weeks. I was an inexperienced educator, so this was a daunting task. Needless to say, I defaulted to a common traditional teaching method - lecturing!! Over the course of the year, I have tried a few different techniques via trial and error as well as from feedback on participant evaluation forms (asking for more interaction!!). I thought mastery over the content was of utmost importance as an educator. What the readings as well as experience have shown me is that while this is necessary, it is also only one piece of a significant learning experience.

I was particularly struck with the holistic approach to active learning. This was something I was trying to achieve without knowing of any models or processes at the time. The specific activities outlined by Fink (2003) of getting information and ideas, doing and observing experiences, and reflection were of particular interest to me. It was reassuring to note that observing experiences (although not as effective as actually doing experiences) is still considered a beneficial experience. Reflection is the component I was probably lacking most in my presentations, something I will definitely need to incorporate. If a holistic approach to active learning is applied and built upon, then it would seem hopeful that learners will be engaged, and significant learning experiences will be achieved.