Page 179 - Crisis in Higher Education

150 • Crisis in Higher Education

learners prefer drawings and diagrams as learning tools, whereas social
and physical learners benefit from role playing. Further, there is not a
one-person to one-learning style relationship. People often learn well in
more than one way, and they may use different learning styles when fac-
ing different topics and circumstances. Some people may find it easier to
learn statistics using the logical learning style because it suits the topic
better, but they may grasp philosophical concepts more effectively using
the social learning style. It is important for students to experiment and
understand what works best for them. Universities should provide a set
of learning tools for each course that delivers knowledge using different
methods, although it is possible that one tool could incorporate more than
one learning style. Having several learning tools allows students to choose
the ones that work best for them.
The following example illustrates how this might work for a basic course
in statistics. This should be considered a first pass at designing a course to
cope with different learning styles.

1. Lecture: It may be possible to offer this course without face-to-face
lecture and discussion.
2. Reading materials: Electronic reading materials or e-books are
available that have text, diagrams, and charts, as well as exam-
ple questions and problems, which students can read and follow.
Collectively, universities are in a position to negotiate better prices
with textbook publishers than students, especially for e-books.
They can use their leverage to gain more content and features at a
lower price.
3. Electronic sample test questions: Computer-based, conceptual ques-
tions are provided that students can respond to. The computer identi-
fies correct and incorrect answers, and takes students to the point in
the e-book where information about the question is found.
4. Electronic sample test questions: Computer-generated problems are
provided for students to solve, and they know immediately whether
the answer is right or wrong as well as get hints about the errors that
were made. Students may work these problems repeatedly because
the computer can generate new data. (E-books with these ques-
tions and problems capabilities are being developed by textbook
providers.)
5. Videos: Video vignettes explain key concepts and work problems in
a step-by-step manner, so students understand why they are doing