Jolly Holden

Discussion Comment

Just how many different learning styles are out there?

Based upon the past 40 years of research on learning/cognitive styles, listed below are the major types/categories. With all of these learning styles, how can a teacher accommodate them given a typical, heterogenous online classroom...what's teacher to do? - Converger; diverger; assimilator; accommodator (KolbÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s LSI) - Concrete sequential; abstract random; abstract sequential; concrete random (GregorcÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s learning style topography) - Leveling/Sharpening cognitive styles (Klein) - Impulsive/Reflective cognitive styles (Kagan) - Visual/Haptic (Lowenfeld & Brittain) - Sensory/intuitive; visual/verbal; active/reflective; sequential/global (Felder & Silverman four-dimension model) - Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scales - Activists; reflectors; pragmatists; theorists (Honey & Mumford's learning styles) -… >>>

Jolly Holden

Blog Comment

New generation of students

In a recent article (Fall 2012/Vol 38) appearing in the Canadian Journal of Learning & Technology entitled "The Digital Native Debate in Higher Education: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Literature" (http://cjlt.csj.ualberta.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/download/649/347), the author revisits the claims by Marc Prensky in his epic 2001 article where he introduced the term "digital natives" and "digital immigrants". The author states "at the heart of this struggle is a growing debate regarding notions of such students as “digital natives, and digital immigrants (older generations of educators, lacking technical savvy), there [still] remains disagreement concerning the validity of such characterizations and the implications of… >>>

Jolly Holden

Discussion Comment

ED106

This course did not distinguish between formative and summative evaluation. The overall focus on this course was summative evaluation, which includes summative and formative assessment. That said, the definitions and examples of summative and formative assessments were spot on (RE: module 2), while in module 4 it is stated "assessments leads to course revision" is inconsistent with the reference to Kirkpatrick's 4 levels of "evaluation" that includes formative evaluation, a process used to improve instruction. It appears another module on formative and summative evaluation would help clarify the differences between these two processes

Also, a bibliography or list of "relevant" sources on… >>>

Jolly Holden

Blog Comment

EL106

a very informative course, although it could have better addressed the distinction between formative and summative evaluation. In the instructional design world, formative evaluation is used to improve instruction, while summative evaluation is used to measure/improve [learner] performance.

That said, while a very good introductory course, I can see the value of a follow-on course that explores the differences and processes of formative evaluation and summative evaluation.

In the words of Robert Stake (Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign): "When the cook tastes the soup, that's formative; when the guests taste the soup, that's summative."

Jolly Holden

Blog Comment

Developing different teaching styles and strategies to effectively reach a broader audience.

Since research has revealed over 70 different learning styles with dozens of different instruments used to identify a specific learning style, and given a heterogeneous online class, how could any instructor design content to meet all those different learning styles?