Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Summary Learning styles and regulation of learning in higher education - Towards process-oriented instruction in autonomous thinking. The aim of this book is twofold. On the one hand it is meant to make a contribution to bridge the gap between theories on learning processes and theories on how instruction should be designed. On the other hand it is meant to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education and training in general and of higher education in particular. In the first two chapters a theory is sketched on regulation of learning and the design of instruction from a cognitive-psychological perspective. Theories on learning and theories on instruction often originate independently from each other. Instructional design frequently takes place without using any learning theory. In the theoretical part of this book an attempt is made to connect the two types of theories into a unified theory of learning and instruction. The contours of this theory, which gives a central place to the learning and thinking activities of students, will be outlined. In chapter 1 the way in which students themselves regulate their learning processes is described. The cognitive, affective and metacognitive activities students use to learn are analyzed, as well as their mental models of learning and their learning orientations. Possible ways in which learning activities, mental models of learning and learning orientations are connected in characteristic learning styles are dealt with next. Supposed relations between learning activities, prior knowledge and learning results are discussed. The chapter ends with an exploration of personal and contextual influences on learning styles and thinking activities of students. In chapter 2 several ways in which instruction (teacher, book, computer, etc.) can regulate the learning processes of students are discussed. Three basic instructional strategies that may be employed for this external regulation are examined here. Different ways in which these instructional strategies and several degrees of selfregulation of learning by students act upon each other are focussed on next. Possible congruences and frictions between these modes of control are discussed. From this interplay principles are derived for an alternative instructional strategy. This process-oriented instruction promotes congruences and constructive frictions, avoids destructive frictions, and tries to bridge the gap between learning theories and instructional design. It is directed at the coherent development of students' thinking strategies and domain-specific knowledge. The chapter ends with an exemplary discussion of the way in which this process-oriented instruction can be implemented in different types of learning environments. The empirical part of the book consists of chapters 3 to 8. In these chapters different aspects of the theory about which there is unsufficient research evidence are empirically studied. Chapter 3 forms the introduction to the empirical part. Here the research questions derived from the theory are presented, as well as an overview of the eight studies done to get an answer to these questions. To situate these studies in their context the characteristics of these research contexts, an open university and a regular university, are described. In chapter 4 the central question is which learning activities students use, how this use is regulated by internal and external sources and which learning styles can be distinguished. The results of two qualitative interview studies with 35 students are presented. The results show, among other things, that students differ greatly in the learning activities they employ and that these differences are connected to the way they interpret, appraise and use instructional measures. Chapter 5 is directed at clarifying relations among all kinds of aspects of learning styles. Relations among learning activities, learning strategies, conceptions of learning, mental models of learning, personal learning goals, motives for studying and learning orientations are examined. Also the stability of learning styles is studied here. The construction of a diagnostic instrument for learning styles is described. Also the results are presented of five empirical studies with 715 Open university students and 795 students from a regular university in which this instrument was administered. These students were from all subject areas of these universities. Four learning styles were consistently found: an undirected, a reproduction directed, a meaning directed and an application directed learning style. Moreover, the results show that students mainly regulate their learning processes themselves. External regulation was not related to the use of deep and concrete learning strategies. The use of constructive processing strategies was especially related to the mental learning models of students and to their use of selfregulation strategies for learning. Chapter 6 is aimed at gaining insight into the influence of personal and contextual factors on the learning styles of students. The data on learning styles described in chapter 5 are therefore related to variables as prior educational level, subject area, study experience, type of learning environment, age and gender. The results show that learning styles are indeed related to these variables, but that the different learning styles have different sources. In chapter 7 the central question is in what ways learning styles of students are related to different kinds of indicators for exam results in two types of learning environments and different types of subject areas. The relations between learning strategies and learning styles of students and their exam results in terms of percentage of exams passed, study pace, mean exam marks, exam participation, and scores on open questions, multiple choice questions, knowledge, insight and application questions are examined. Learning styles showed to explain an important part of the variance in exam results. But the results also reveal that exams as usual in the first years of higher education hardly capitalize on the use of critical, analytical and concrete processing strategies by students. Chapter 8 tries to answer the question what the learning effects are of an instructional program meant to enhance the metacognitive knowledge of students about constructive studying and to develop their mental learning models. The construction of a process-oriented instructional program in learning and thinking strategies is described. In two studies 241 students from the open and the regular university followed different versions of this program. Learning effects are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Whether these learning effects differ for students with different learning styles and background characteristics, whether time spent on the program is connected to learning styles, background characteristics and learning effects, and whether participation in the program is related to exam results is also studied here. The results revealed, among other things, that the program had different effects for different types of students. Especially for students with an undirected or a reproduction directed learning style the program effected in changes in their mental learning models in a constructive direction. In chapter 9 the results of the empirical studies are summarized and discussed in relation to theory and practice. Here conclusions are drawn from the research results with regard to the theory presented in the first two chapters. Also implications of the research results for educational practice are discussed, with an emphasis on higher education. The chapter ends with suggestions for further research.