Case Study

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 1^st 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	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