Resources / Links - Individual Needs & Learning Syles

Facilitating Learning

Individual Needs & Learning Styles

Reference Material / Books
Internet Links
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Reference Material / Books

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Internet Links

In this section, some sites focus on second level education, but the information on learning styles is useful to trainers, and can be applied directly to the needs of adult learners.

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/~ggay/lstests.htm
This is an excellent site that provides a tutorial on learning styles. There are guidelines for trainers and learners. It includes Dunn and Dunn style inventories for both trainers and learners, and the Sternberg-Wagner style inventory for learners. The site presents scenarios which you can use for group discussion on learning styles. Individuals in your group will have different opinions about the scenarios, and thus the participants will be able to see their differences.

http://www.geocities.com/~educationplace/ls.html
This site explains the various learning styles precisely and concisely. There are interesting sections on "How learning styles have changed over time" and how to design a room in order to facilitate various learning styles. Links: There are links to other Websites on learning styles, as well as to books and online articles. The links to learning style inventory tests are a useful feature.

http://web.indstate.edu/ctl/styles/ls1.html
This site has good information on the various theories about learning styles. It provides suggestions on how to enhance learning. There is a very good section on how computer technology can be used to enhance the learner's attention. Computers provide all of the stimuli necessary -auditory, tactile, visual and verbal. Links: to sites concerning all the major theorists and to personality inventories.

http://www.cyg.net/~jblackmo/diglib/styl.html
This site provides good clear information. It concentrates on adult learning, and has interesting sections on barriers to adult learning and the differences between male and female learners. Kolb's theory of learning styles is in there too. There are guidelines for trainers on how to adapt to these learning styles. Overall it is a good site that does not lose itself in too much detail and it provides some interesting material that has not been discussed in any of the previous web sites on this list.
Links: The bibliography section provides links to different authors. These are okay but not all authors have links, which is inconsistent.

http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/RMF.html
This is a useful resource site. There are links to Richard Felder's papers on learning styles. There is also a very useful self-assessment inventory, which you can print out. There is also a section on how to assess the results. The site gives practical advice on how instructors can engage the various learning styles. This kind of resource is very useful for trainers.
Links: There are links other papers written by Felder but no links to any external sites.

http://ltc.ncsu.edu:8170/guides/learning_styles/
This is a good site that provides basic information. There are sections on different learning styles for people with different ethnic backgrounds and for people with learning disabilities. There is an interesting section in how computer technology can be adapted to examine learning styles. The layout is clear, but I think the writing is too small. Links: Good descriptions of what the links are about. Note:revisit to see what links

http://www.mtsu.edu/~devstud/advisor/learn.html
This site is worth a visit, though the content deals only with left and right brain hemispheres and the learning styles associated with them. The inventories are simple to do and the results, though somewhat vague, are still interesting enough to make the visit worthwhile. Links:none.

http://id-www.ucsb.edu/IC/TA/ITA/teach.chart.html
This site presents a paper which focuses on the diversity of learning styles for different cultural groups. These different styles mean that the instructor has to adopt teaching styles to suit the learner. There are quotes from instructors describing their efforts to encourage students. The main learning styles focused on are global and atomistic styles. The font is rather too small for easy reading, and there are no headings to aid navigation.
Links: none.

http://www.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwmbti.html
This site summarizes the Myers-Briggs teaching method. It suggests ways in which Extraverted and Introverted, Sensing and Intuitive, Thinking and Feeling, Judging and Perceiving students can learn in the best way. The guidelines given are very useful. The article gives a very good overview of the whole method. The results are based on a study carried out by the author, which gives the page more validity.
Links: none.

http://www.fln.vcu.edu/Intensive/LearningStrategies.html
The site gives a good overview of what learning styles are, and information on the major learning style inventories. There is a really neat table of student learning styles and their preferred classroom activity. This is well done. Even though it concerns younger learners, trainers will get useful hints from it.
Links: to learning style inventories, but some of these do not work.

http://www.crc4mse.org/ILS/Index.html
This site is basic. It has one good section that defines learners as reflective/active, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, sequential and global, and explains how can these different types of learners can help themselves. The inventory provided is not too long. The site is easy to read.
Links: There are no external links.

http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/lernstyl.htm
This site has a learning styles inventory trainers can use to evaluate their learners before they start instructing them.
Links: none related to training.

http://www.csrnet.org/csrnet/articles/student-learning-styles.html
This site contains information on concrete and abstract learning styles. It provides a good definition of each and then goes on to ask what specific learners do best? What makes sense to them? What is hard for them? What questions do they ask when learning? This information is very clear, and presented in bulleted form, which is easier to read.
Links: there are good links to related sites and also links to inventory tests.

http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/~don/Study/13styles.html
There is a good inventory here that tests very basically reasoning, learning senses and learning environment. Although it is very simple the results would probably show the instructor a good overview of the different preferences of the students. The design is clear and accessible.
Links: There are no external links relating to learning styles.

http://www.mtsu.edu/~studskl/Leransty/sld001.htm
Content: This is an interesting site. There is a choice of a graphic version or a text version of the presentation. The graphic version is the most interesting, however the slides are very small. The slides download quickly which is a plus. The slides contain very general information regarding learning styles. There is an interesting section on what jobs suit specific learner types.
Links: There are no external links.

http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/asu/pubs/tlf/tlf95/whit271.html
Content: This is an interesting site that looks at Dunn and Dunn. It looks at the analytical and global learning styles. It provides clues to recognize these learning styles. What is most useful is the list of guidelines provided for teachers. Even though the focus is on the younger learner, trainers will find it useful. This list covers tasks which are multi-sensory. This is especially good, as the teacher will not have to use different instruction for different types of learners.
Links: these do not relate to learning styles specifically.

Commercial sites
http://www.psi-press.co.uk/
This site sells tools for measuring learning styles, but you can try out the free sample (can be slow to download), and get feedback on your own learning style, and the sort of learning environment that suits you best. There is advice too on how to assimilate new learning styles and why it is important to extend your methods of learning.
Links: The site provides a good link to Peter Honey.

http://www.peterhoney.co.uk/peterhoney.html
Peter Honey
Peter Honey's home page is primarily a sales medium. He provides many direct links to publications and projects. Each one gives a short preview of the particular work, but content is superficial. One interesting link is the Declaration on Learning, which takes an extended tour through this subject and provides room for feedback. Overall, the site is well constructed, with good links, but much of the material has a price.

http://www.peterhoney.co.uk/alanmumford.html
Alan Mumford
Alan Mumford's homepage comes via Peter Honey Publications. Again, this is mainly a commercial site. Research and book links give a very brief synopsis of the work with an attached price tag. There are quite interesting links to Peter Honey's work, such as one entitled Learning From Anecdotes. Again this site provides good navigation, but the commercial aspect is overwhelming.

http://www.fln.vcu.edu/Intensive/LearningStrategies.html
Learning Modalities, Styles and Strategies.

http://silcon.com/~ scmiller/lsweb/fourls.htm
The Four Learning Styles in the DCU Survey.

http://www.imc.org.uk/services/coursewa/tutguide/tut-010.htm
Building on Learning Styles by Peter Honey.

http://granite.cyg.net/ gblackmo/diglib/style-c.html
Pedagogy: Learning Styles: Adult Learning Styles.

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Multimedia & Activity Packs

Honey and Mumford's Learning Style Questionnaire.
E-mail peterhoney@peterhoney.co.uk
or direct from Peter Honey,
10 Linden Avenue,
Maidenhead, SL 6HB

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