Gabi Witthaus's List: Learning & teaching

This is a longish and very good article summarizing the research and discussion on learning styles. The message is simple: no research has proven the efficacy of differentiating instruction by learning styles. Now I would like to add the article does not offer any argument that learning systems do not exist, only that they are not useful in an instructional context. See Ryan Tracey's comment to this effect. As he argues, 'learning styles' is a poor (and overly prescriptive, I would add) way of describing student preferences.

There is discussion of Will Thalheimer's $1,000 challenge, but even he sees that it stacks the cards, and that there are some relevant differences between learners:
- It seems clear from the research that learners who are new to learning sometimes need different instructional supports from learners who have had experience
- diagnosing a learner's misunderstandings—and providing different feedback/guidance based on such a diagnosis creates faster understanding
- Motivational differences may also require different interventions.
It's just that none of these are allowed to count as 'learning styes' - or he would have lost his money ages ago.
(Hits Today: 30 Total: 1480) [Direct Link] [Tags: Learning Styles, Research, Experience]

The 5-stage model revisited

L&D 2020: a guide for the next decade is a new ebook published by TJ and launched at the 5th TJ Annual Conference.

The ebook is written by TJ's principal consultant to the L&D 2020 research project, Martyn Sloman, a highly experienced researcher, author and commentator on L&D.

Since he joined TJ's research team in 2009 he has been gathering information to support the project's ethos of identifying changes in which workplace learning is managed and delivered.

Sloman's central argument lies not in providing answers, in fact he contends there is no single, neat solution to any problem and he challenges us to re-think our old perceptions of how L&D professionals operate and to look for a new model for the 21st century.

As Sloman says: "The main advice to the practitioner must be to trust your judgement, show confidence in yourself and formulate your own way in your organisation."

Quite clearly the future offers real potential for those willing to grasp the opportunities as they arise. For those involved in workplace learning the challenge is to keep an open mind, as the exploration of future possibilities is never more important than it is now.

This new publication introduces nine, new principles to guide the L&D practitioner.

1. Trust your judgement
2. Understand the difference between training and learning
3. Disregard anything that was written in the last century
4. Distinguish between context and processes and seek to understand both
5. L&D builds organisational benefits through higher value products and services
6. Value lies in the eye of the beholder
7. Try to develop the learning culture
8. Different interventions have different strengths and weaknesses
9. L&D is a craft activity which takes place in context

The ebook is available free of charge as a downloadable pdf here and you can find out more about the L&D 2020 project here

This ebook is free but for those who find the material valuable there is an option to make a donation to the Nick Webber Trust. Nick Webber was a y

By Daniel Willingham
An article was published this week in the venerable (and reliable) psychology journal Psychological Bulletin, which synthesized 67 brain imaging studies of creativity. Among other things, it showed that creativity is not especially a right-brain function. In fact, two of three broad classes of creative thought that have been studied seem not to depend on a single set of brain structures.

Sent: 07 July 2010 16:38
To: ALT-MEMBERS@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: Re: [ALT] Google Apps - E-portfolios

Hi Everyone,

I have used an app similar to Google docs, so the following gives you an
idea of one approach to eportfolio construction/maintenance.

My students and I have been experimenting with the use of box.net as a
means of creating a personal (e) portfolio. As trainee teachers they
are required to build up a significant collection of evidence to
demonstrate that they have met certain national standards. Historically
this portfolio has been paper based.

box.net allowed the students to create a file structure populated with a
huge variety of file types, e.g. pdf's and .doc etc. They can share
individual folders or files, granting read/write permissions as they
chose. They can tag files for ease of finding. Simple documents can be
created/edited online and downloaded in a variety of file formats. The
simple approach shows what can be done. The ease of uploading .doc files
and sharing/editing online is easy - although formatting can get messed
up. If you want to integrate google docs there is a charge of about $15
per user per month - booo.

The benefits of 'cloud computing' document management are many. Suffice
to say, my students really like box.net and so do I. The ability to look
at their emerging portfolios via a box.net app on my smart phone is
helping to position my smart phone as an indispensable mobile technology.

Regards, Bruce

HootCourses are held online, using Twitter and Facebook as a virtual classroom space.

Reading the latest issue of ALT-J (the peer-reviewed journal of the Association for Learning Technology), you could be forgiven for thinking that Learning Technology is only being used in the formal education system (ie. primary through to tertiary), and not at all in the workplace. So I raised this question with other ALT members.

Slide show by Irma Manty - how SL helps education

These are my live blogged notes from Karen Hyder’s webinar, Key Steps to Preparing Great Synchronous Interactions from the Training Magazine Network.

Every time I see a report that shows what an organization can expect to spend on an LMS (learning management system), I lose my smile. Worse, I want to hang my head and weep.

In her “Building the Business Case for e-Learning,” published by the eLearning Guild, Temple Smolen writes, “Most off-the-shelf LMS products require some customization. The costs can vary widely for a LMS with customization, but under $100,000 is a reasonable starting assumption for most organizations with less than 2,000 employees.”

“We have no intention of using Facebook for academic purposes. We are acutely aware of the amount of student time Facebook occupies which I personally think is quite good; it acts as social glue in terms of social transitions, easing the transition for first years from home to university; they can now meet and interact with fellow students before they get here.

“However, Facebook is a social space and therefore I don’t want to intrude or deliver learning there. It is possible to pull content from Blackboard to Facebook, but many students will be much more interested in Farmville than what we’ve got to say.”

Within the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Leicester, Dr Cann has built a network on the FriendFeed website with first year students to trial the success of using social media to deliver course-related information and provide a forum for discussion and feedback amongst students via a social media space described by one student as ‘Fakebook’.