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  • Learning Styles and Tuition Dollars

    By Joshua Kim February 11, 2010 11:33 pm EST

    In 2019 both of my girls will be in college. Our tuition dollars will go to the schools that figure out how to match my daughters' learning styles with the curriculum. And we are not alone. A generation of parents have come of age who believe passionately in multiple intelligences, and the requirement that educational institutions adapt themselves to our kids' brains as opposed to the other way around. We have seen first hand how our kids respond to the Web, gaming, mobile platforms, and their increasing ability to leverage technology to produce, share and collaborate. We see that learning content is abundant (iTunesU, YoutTube/EDU), while the scarcities we need met are educators and institutions that can add educational value for our individual learners.

    Colleges and universities that invest in creating personalized learning opportunities will gain significant advantages in the competitive market for students.

    Some attributes that we will look for in selecting a college:

    - A philosophy to play to the strengths of its learners as opposed to correcting their weaknesses.

    - The delivery of course and learning materials in formats (and on platforms) that are flexible enough to match a range of learning styles.

    - An emphasis on supporting learners in finding their passions and in transitioning to creators and leaders.

    Some things that we will not consider in choosing where our tuition dollars go:

    - The U.S. News & World Report rankings. Rankings are for the median student, not my student. Your school needs to be the best for my student, not for all students.

    - The dorms, the grounds, the gym, etc. etc. We expect these amenities. They are not differentiators.

    - The number of books in the library. Books are not scarce, and my kid can only read one at a time.

    Families that can afford the tuition to send their children to private schools or out-of-state public institutions will have a wide range of choices. Institutions that invest in learning technology, libraries, faculty development, and learning support systems in order to create personalized learning opportunities and individually tailored learning paths will stand out. We will want schools that allow our kids to develop expertise around their passions and strengths.

    If colleges and universities wish to differentiate themselves as places where all kinds of learners can thrive then they will need to invest. We keep hearing about how it is too expensive to provide curricular content in multiple formats, or that introducing advanced learning technologies is too expensive to support. These expenses are opportunities, as some institutions will make the investments to position themselves for the next generation of students who demand a learning environment that support their learning style. Both academic computing and the academic library can take a lead role in positioning our institutions for the next generation of learning style aware students (and their parents).

    How can we make the case that learning technology and innovative library programs will be a differentiator in driving the attractiveness of our institution to coming cohorts of students? How can we connect investments for innovations in learning to the bottom line concerns of admissions?

    Speaking of kids, I'll be taking week of 2/15 off as the Kim family hits the ski slopes for our Winter vacation.

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Comments on Learning Styles and Tuition Dollars

  • No coherent construct you can call "learning styles"
  • Posted by Sherman Dorn , Professor at University of South Florida on February 12, 2010 at 7:45am EST

  • I am quite surprised that anyone still spouts the "learning styles" stuff, since there is no consensus that learning styles exist in the way that most people use the term.

  • I agree with Sherman
  • Posted by Betzi Bateman , Doctoral Student, Ed Psych/Instructional Technology at Kent State University on February 12, 2010 at 9:30am EST

  • In addition, Howard Gardner himself has admitted that there is no empirical evidence in support of his theory of multiple intelligences.

    Learning styles really seem to be learning "preferences," which are important, I guess, but what people prefer isn't always the best way for them to learn the material.

  • Your children may be smarter than you realize
  • Posted by SJZ on February 12, 2010 at 9:45am EST

  • Why do you think so little of your children? What makes you think they can learn only if the presentation is tailored to them? And what will happen to them when they leave college? I trust you realize that what they learn in college is only the beginning of what they will learn in their lifetimes. Will every person they speak with need to first ask them their learning style?

    We have steadily lowered the bar of expectations for younger generations and are creating a society where the focus is on "me" and "my needs".

  • Posted by Susan on February 12, 2010 at 10:15am EST

  • Certainly a poor choice of words to lead the essay... The whole notion of "learning styles" is interesting but of little utility in terms of actual instruction. Good teachers provided content in a wide variety of formats long before the learning styles hype began. What this parent seems to be talking about is selecting a college for its good teaching, as opposed to choosing based on external factors (rankings, buildings and grounds, etc.).

    What I don't get is that Inside Higher Ed must think that this is an unusual or innovative approach to choosing a college... Am I the only one who read this and said, "Well, duh" ?

  • Learning
  • Posted by IHE Reader on February 12, 2010 at 10:30am EST

  • Learning is an active process, not a passive one. It doesn't usually happen by simple osmosis. If one isn't willing to engage one's subject, then one isn't likely to learn much no matter what the "learning style" or "mode of instruction." Much of the discussion about learning styles and modes of instruction seem aimed at finding easy ways to get lazy and/or underprepared students to accomplish what is actually quite labor-intensive and challenging.

  • "Learning style" or "varying content delivery?"
  • Posted by Teri Corso , Career Services Director on February 12, 2010 at 10:30am EST

  • This focused search for a college makes sense to me, not so much because I believe that professors should respond to the individual, but because it helps if all educators understand that varying content delivery can benefit all students. Once the student enters the "real world" they will find that the most successful businesses are the ones that pay close attention strong attention to their most critical resources - their employees. To that end, they find ways to deliver instruction and training, as well as other professional development opportunities, in a variety of ways in order to advance both productivity and creativity. Industrial organizational majors/professors understand this concept well.

     

  • Hello?
  • Posted by Tacitus on February 12, 2010 at 10:45am EST

  • The reality-based community is calling you, dear millennial parent. There are currently six job-seekers for every open job. There has been no net job creation in the US during the past decade, and this is not expected to change any time soon. There is a slight mismatch between your expectations and the real world here, isn't there? Perhaps your dear girls need to learn to tailor themselves to reality and deal with the world as it is, and not expect that the world will tailor itself to their wants and needs.

    In one or two of those books you don't think your dear girls need to read, you might find some discussion of the "circulation of elites." Perhaps you could find a way of breaking it to them that people who start out on top don't always finish on top. It would help soften the blow when, in their future, tough-minded, committed kids from less privileged backgrounds blow right past them, while they stand around demanding to be given a job that fits their personalities and preferred learning styles.

    I wish your dear girls luck, as they are going to need it!

  • We Don't Want You To Judge Us By Our Books (or their covers)
  • Posted by stevenb on February 12, 2010 at 12:00pm EST

  • I get your point about learning styles Josh, even if others want to take you to task on it.

    But I totally wouldn't want you or anyone else to pay attention to something like the number of books in the library. That is why I always groan when our students, who are leading the campus tours for the admissions office, always start off their library spiel by asking everyone how many books they think our library has. Who really cares? Turns out the library is actually an important component of the college decision, but not because of the books. It's about the people and the facility. But unfortunately that doesn't always come through on those tours. I'd urge the parents of prospective students to take a side visit to the library. Find a librarian or the director - ask a few questions about personal service and learning opportunities.

    More than once I've suggested to admissions officers that they stop this business with the number of library books, and get the tour leaders to share a personalized story about how the library or a librarian has personally made a difference for them as a student. I know they've all got one. Now if only we could get them to share it.

  • Posted by Greg on February 12, 2010 at 12:15pm EST

  • Uh, you do know Walden was a mythical place don't you? what you want is to look for colleges that have incorporated "Universal Curriculum" tennets.

    Greg

  • Learning Styles Don't Exist
  • Posted by Cedar , Asst. Prof of Psychology at liberal arts school on February 13, 2010 at 12:15pm EST

  • Please please please, write another post about how learning styles don't exist. This is a classic myth that gives many people justified pause in adopting educational technology just for the sake of a shiny new toy which doesn't actually foster learning. Giving students a podcast or showing a video can be great (if the content itself is well designed and appropriate for their level), but if we expect teachers to present audio and video purely for the sake of engaging one sensory modality, we are wasting everyone's time. As a cognitive psychologist, I can tell you that the field of people who actually know about the brain (and more importantly, how we learn, not always necessarily tied to brain processes, but to the "software" of the psychology of memory) agree with your assertion that our education system should be guided by what we know about the brain. But learning styles are most certainly not included in this. A few pieces of evidence:

    First, cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham has written about this extensively. I would highly recommend his book "Why Don't Students Like School" which has an excellent chapter on learning styles (chapter 7). He also has a number of excellent youtube videos (for the visual learners, haha...) Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk

    Second, a recent review conducted by a number of experts in learning and memory published in the journal "Psychological Science in the Public Interest" (a very well regarded journal in psychology) is available here: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/PSPI_9_3.pdf

    There is also an associated editorial :http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/pspi/PSPI_9_3_editorial.pdf

    Finally, the concept of learning styles is featured as one of the "50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology" an excellent recent book.

    http://www.amazon.com/Great-Myths-Popular-Psychology-Misconceptions/dp/1405131128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265377189&sr=1-1

  • Posted by anon on February 16, 2010 at 9:15pm EST

  • I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this article. I would like to offer my complete agreement.

    Some attributes that we will look for in selecting a college:

    - A philosophy to play to the strengths of its learners as opposed to correcting their weaknesses.

    No problem. I'll ignore the fact that little Susie can't add. But hey! she can text 30 words a minute. I'll give assignments that focus on her fluency in texting.

    - The delivery of course and learning materials in formats (and on platforms) that are flexible enough to match a range of learning styles.

    I'll use cell phones, itunes, and twitter to communicate - that way at least I'll seem cool.

    - An emphasis on supporting learners in finding their passions and in transitioning to creators and leaders.

    Okay, but what if their passion involves appearing on reality tv?

    Some things that we will not consider in choosing where our tuition dollars go:

    I'm noticing the "we" here. I guess that your child will not be very involved in this process.

    - The U.S. News & World Report rankings. Rankings are for the median student, not my student. Your school needs to be the best for my student, not for all students.

    "Your student?" So you've already decided that your child will be your student? I know that your child will love being in your class.

    - The dorms, the grounds, the gym, etc. etc. We expect these amenities. They are not differentiators.

    I notice that you expect these ammenities. Does this include cable tv? a climbing wall? a state of the art recreation center? private dorm rooms.... hey, I know a place like that - it's called a resort. I wish that I could afford to go there.

    - The number of books in the library. Books are not scarce, and my kid can only read one at a time.

    That's okay - your kid probably prefers to use wikipedia anyway. What do they need a library for? I hear they're replacing them with coffee bars and you can get a frothy cappuncino there.

  • A blog posting you should read
  • Posted by Anthony , IT Director on February 17, 2010 at 7:00am EST

  • Josh,

    You may want to read the Geek Doctor's blog posting that strikes a similar chord: http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/2010/02/resilience.html

  • Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence
  • Posted by tekbek on February 23, 2010 at 10:15am EST

  • Free full text and PDFs are available for the 2 articles from Psychological Science in the Public Interest that were mentioned by commenter Cedar:

    Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer, and Robert Bjork (2008)
    Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence
    Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), pp. 106-119, December 2008
    http://psi.sagepub.com/content/9/3/105.abstract

    Richard E. Mayer (2008)
    Advances in Applying the Science of Learning and Instruction to Education
    Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), pp. i-ii, December 2008
    http://psi.sagepub.com/content/9/3/i.full

  • Are learning styles and MI the same thing? NOT!
  • Posted by Cindy Strong , Librarian, School of Education at Seattle Pacific University on February 23, 2010 at 8:00pm EST

  • Interesting article by Mr. Kim but confusing MI with learning styles is problematic. They are not the same thing. Howard Gardner (originator of MI theory) addressed this myth in an article in the November 1995 issue of The Phi Delta Kappan entitled "Reflections on multiple intelligences: Myths and messages." See Myth # 3.

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