Matters of style

This is the part where I wonder if I'm really a creature of the modern world. I really don't like video tutorials. I should probably amend that - I really don't like video tutorials over 5 minutes in length; I mildly dislike shorter ones. (On a side note, I absolutely despise manuals in video form. I don't want to watch the pretty pictures when I'm troubleshooting.) I am glad to have the UACBT resource (note that many of the segments are under 5 min. Yes.), but in general I prefer to read my way through tutorial material at my own pace, and I'm enjoying working my way through Prof. Fulton's assignments.

This may have to do with the fact that I learn much more effectively when I'm doing. Somehow, the attentional shift between reading and doing is not as disruptive for me as between watching and doing.

In the search for condensed knowledge to read, Wikipedia has been a close companion for a long time now. I understand the reservations many have about it as a source, but for brief summations of technical subjects, generally with helpful links, it's a winner.

This was our time to read about learning styles, but I'll have to fess up that the first thing I found was a podcast built around the contention that 'learning styles', at least as they're bandied about in education, are a load of codswallop.

I do think that individuals tend to favor certain interactions with the world with more attention and thought than others, but I won't even try to guess as to whether this is learned or innate. My department has, in fact, built a multi-year research project around the idea that kinematic learning is superior to butt-in-seat-eyes-front for many K-12 students; preliminary assessments seem to bear this out. The project also seems to be accumulating evidence that the right learning style for any situation is affected by a complex combination of individual preference, content, and environmental context, and may vary for each individual from circumstance to circumstance - which isn't going to take well to tidy categorization.

I think, if the term 'learning style' is to have any useful meaning, it can only be determined by an individual during the learning experience, and is largely a matter of 'know thyself'.

P.S. I have been reading a rather neat book from the Pragmatic Programmers called Thinking and Learning - it's worth a perusal.

This late, late post has been back-dated to keep things in order.