Case Study Paper
Angela Henry
October 7, 2014
Learning styles can come in many different forms for
different people. Learning styles define how a person learns and it is
important that educators recognize that there are different learning styles and
they learn to adapt and adjust to them by using multiple learning styles. A
good professor makes sure that they are using multiple learning styles to be
more effective in the classroom. The two learning styles that I will include in
my case study is VAR (visual, auditory, Kinesthetic). Kolb’s experimental learning
style. Both of my case studies will look at both learning styles to help
develop the syllabus. The cases that are described in this paper are Marquette
University intro to Economics and Intro to chemistry at IUPUI.
Case
Study 1: Marquette University Intro to Economics 101
Overview
When
looking at my 1st study, I chose to select introductory into
economics course which was taught at local college in the city of Milwaukee.
This economics course is selected as an elective to fulfill the elective
requirement that the college requires. In looking into this course, I have
chosen to review the professors inside the department and the students who take
the course, the syllabus and all of the instructional material. This will help
me to gain a better understanding of learning styles.
Learners
The
course has 12 learners. The course is equal with 6 females and 6 males. The
course is offered at night and it has some traditional students and some
non-traditional students. The age of the students vary. The learners in this
course vary with majors. Some have business majors, some have math majors. Because
this is entry level course most learners in this course have little college
experience if any.
Learning Objectives
The
learning objectives are based on what the school’s requirements are. They are
set with specific measurements based on the school’s requirements. The syllabus
requirements are the following:
1.
Demonstrate on exams, homework and
projects the ability to understand and correctly use the basic tools micro and
macro economics
2.
Thinking and analysis in order to be
economically literate adult and intelligent and informed decision maker
3.
Develop and utilize the thinking skills
associated with the economic way of
thinking and reasoning” to analyze
social, political, business and individual decision
making.
4.
Apply the skills of math and
quantitative reasoning and be able to identify, understand, and use correct economic
information and data to analyze and interpret economic issues
5.
Clearly write about and communicate
ideas from an economic perspective
6.
Understand the economic implications
of policy and public decision making in order to be a more productive and
intelligent global citizen
7.
Develop as sense of how ethics and
morality are elements of economic thinking and evaluation.
(Marquette University, 2014).
These objectives described above are
evaluated at the end of the semester in examinations which is a requirement.
Learning Context
The way this course is designed is a
lecture hall and a study hall period. This course is scheduled 3 hours per
week. The learners spend 1.5 hours in the lecture hall and 1.4 hours in the study
hall. The lecture is big classroom but it only has 12 learners in it. The classroom
is set up with desks that face the chalk board and white board in front of the
classroom. The students are able to see the computer, smart boards, and it is
also a flat screen television in the classroom. They are located in the front
of the class. The professor spends the majority of her time in front of the
class, but sometimes walks around the class. The study hall is a smaller
classroom but has tons of resources in the classroom.
Learning Process
When
the teacher is providing classroom instruction, it consists of the teacher
leading the discussion. The teacher uses lots of aids to assist in the
teaching. She uses power points, videos and lots of hands on activities. The
majority of the class the students are engaged in taking notes, asking
questions and doing the hands on activities. The students also do some online
assignments as well and then of course they complete their homework
assignments.
Educators
The
professors of this course are part and full time professors. Their backgrounds
are all different. Their levels of experience vary. Some are getting their
doctoral degree and some are already doctors. The professors follow the schedule
and objectives for the course.
Case Study Features
When
the students are in the lecture hall they are engaging in power point shows,
and also videos and other activities that relate to the syllabus. These
activities are closely related to VAK learning style. The VAK model of learning
style consists of the three main sensory receivers: Visual,
Auditory, and Kinesthetic. The visual aspect of this is the
power point, and also the videos that are shown during the lecture. The
auditory concept of this is supported by the professor conducting lectures and
also classroom discussion. The Kinesthetic learning is supported by the hands
on activities that are offered in the classroom.
Study
hall main learning style is kinesthetic. The reason for this is because the
learners are in the study hall and they are doing hands on activities and doing
activities together as a group. The learners are doing demonstrations and doing
some types of reporting.
Application to Project
There
are many different activities that are used in this course that can be
incorporated into the syllabus design. There are so many different student
learning styles which are based off of VAK and also Kolb learning styles. VAK
style includes power point demonstrations, videos, and power point shows. Kolb
learning styles are associated with demonstrations and reporting.
Case
Study 2: IUPUI Intro to Chemistry 101
My
second study consists of an entry level of chemistry at IUPUI. This chemistry
class is a class that helps fill a person’s major if they are looking science,
nursing and anything in the medical field. This is a mandatory course that has
to be taken if you are looking to get a BS from IUPUI. I will examine the educator,
students and also the people who help shape this course. I will look at this
course to gain better evidence of learning styles.
Learners
The
course has 22 students in the classroom. They are all in this course because it
is mandatory. The class consists of 15 females and 7 males. The students in
this course are all traditional students except 3 of them. The reason they are
considered traditional students is because they are all full-time students.
This course is normally offered to freshman and sophomores. Most students who
take this course are interested in a science major or nursing major, some are
planning to go to medical school to further their career. Most of the students
in this course like science in general.
Learning objectives
The learning objectives that are
associated with the course are what is required by the chemistry department and
have measurable results and the idea of chemistry. The following below provides
a description of the syllabus:
1) The student will research scientific
methods
2)
Apply
and demonstrate scientific thought
3)
Complete
data analysis and data collection
4)
Complete
concrete applications
5)
Identify
how to calculate atomic mass
6) Introduction of units and
measurements.
The above objectives are considered
at the end of each semester and the learner is evaluated.
Learning Context
The
class is designed as a class room lecture and also this has a lab associated with
it. The class meets 2 hours in the classroom and 2 hours a week in the lab. The
professor has the class meet in the lecture hall. The lecture hall is medium
size classroom that can accommodate up to 50 students. The classroom is set up
as conservative classroom with desks that face the front of the room. The class
has lots of visual aids. The professor uses power point shows, and also videos,
projectors, computers and also white boards. The way the lab is set up is long
tables that 4 students can sit at time. They students are grouped in 4 at the
lab tables. There are lots of rules in the laboratory for safety precautions.
Learning Process
The
learning process is pretty normal for a chemistry class. The professor spends
the majority of time in front of the classroom. He is providing all of the
instructions for the students by using the aids that are throughout the
classroom. The students spend the majority of their time jotting down notes and
listening to the lecture. They are also active doing activities throughout the
classroom. In the lab the students are doing a lot of hands on activities. A
lot of the activities the teacher provides hands on demonstrations. The lecture
relates closely to the lab activities.
Educators
The
facilitators of this course are both full-time and part-time faculty. The
backgrounds of the faculty members can vary. Most of the professors have long
tenure and they are taught chemistry for some years. Their experience can vary
some have the doctoral degree and some just have their master’s degree.
Case Study Features
The
professor completes the lectures by using different aids. They consist of power
point, videos, and also classroom discussion. When looking at this approach, it
is VAR model of learning. Again this is VAR, because in this style of visual, auditory,
and kinesthetic learning. The visual learning style is used in this course by
the power point shows, videos, and class room discussions. The auditory
learning style is professor leading the classroom. Kinesthetic learning style
is presented by presentations that happen in the class and the class room note
taking. It is also used by all of the hands on activities that are done in the
classroom.
When
thinking of the lab portion of the class it is focused on kinesthetic. That
deals with the hands on activities and the different lab assignments that
involve experiments. The lab is also closely related to VAR and also Kolb’s
learning styles. They are both where students perform demonstrations inside the
laboratory.
Application to Project
All
of the things that have been outlined in this course will be able to help with
the development of the syllabus design related to VAR and Kolb learning styles.
There are several VAR items that are included in the cases such as videos,
demonstration, lectures provided by the professor, and students recording notes
during lecture. Some of Kolb learning styles are the lab work which includes
hands on approaches. It also includes the different experiments that are
conducted in the lab.
|
Features
|
Marquette University
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IUPUI
|
Syllabus
|
|
VAR Learning Styles
|
Note taking, power points,
lectures, videos, demonstrations, recording notes.
|
Note taking, power points,
lectures, videos, demonstrations, recording notes.
|
Note taking, power points,
lectures, videos, demonstrations, recording notes.
|
|
Kolb Learning Styles
|
Laboratory work, hands on demonstration,
discovery
|
Laboratory work, hands on demonstration,
discovery
|
Laboratory work, hands on demonstration,
discovery
|
