Learner type

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The word learning type stands for two very different concepts (theoretical approaches) from the field of didactics and learning psychology .

  • Learning typology according to Vester (didactics): The classification of learners according to learning type based on their preferred learning activity was propagated by Frederic Vester in his book Thinking, Learning, Forgetting . According to this view, learning effectiveness can be increased by addressing the correct perception channel (optical / visual, auditory, haptic , cognitive ). The approach is often mentioned in the context of holistic learning , action-oriented learning and neuro-linguistic programming . Because of its superficiality and inconsistency, Vester's typology comes from learning psychologynot taken seriously. Vester is superficial because he leaves it indefinite whether his typing relates to preferences for certain information offers or for certain mental formats and processes. His theory is inconsistent because he characterizes three of the learner types through perceptual channels, while the fourth relates to the process of understanding - which raises the question of where the cognitive type learner gets his learning material from and what the other learners do with their sensory data: "Thoughts without content are empty, views without concepts are blind ”( Immanuel Kant : Critique of Pure Reason ).
  • Mistranslation of the work of Gagné (didactics): In parts of the didactic literature is learning types as something awkward translation for the name of Robert Gagné klassifierten " types of learning ", ie types of learning : associative learning, Diskriminationslernen, concept learning, rule learning, problem solving (see Web links).

Background of the theoretical work on learner types

A nowadays generally accepted idea of professional teaching is that this is not just about conveying material and thus breaking down and preparing content (see a large number of didactic models ). In theory-guided teaching, teachers should keep in mind the objective (teaching / learning objective ) for which the respective content is being conveyed and which requirements must be taken into account when structuring the content and method of the teaching / learning situation.

The prerequisites that teachers should collect and take into account include, among others

  • sociocultural conditions (such as experienced or neglected support from the family or school environment),
  • Existing repertoire of methods ( methodological skills , social skills such as text reading skills, visualization skills, presentation techniques, techniques of material procurement and evaluation for the development of content, methodological knowledge for working in a team and with a partner, methods of (independent) securing of learning content , Techniques of cooperation in plenary ),
  • Generic requirements for the development of new content ('Which recording channels can be addressed?', 'Which processing mechanisms can be used?').

Various theoretical positions and basic assumptions under headings with partially overlapping fields of meaning have developed on the latter point.

Some of the theories are more broadly based on personality , while others focus specifically on learning and thinking.

Rejection of the term and criticism (learning psychology)

Due to the methodological weaknesses of the approaches mentioned above, learning psychology prefers the concept of learning styles , in particular the studies by Kolb or Honey & Mumford. From the perspective of learning psychology, learner types in the sense of Vester are criticized for several reasons:

  • The classification of people based on their learner type is based on an inadmissible conclusion from preferences in certain situations to persistent characteristics.
  • The majority of human memory content is stored completely independently of any sensory modality.
  • It could not be empirically proven that considering one's own learner type leads to an improvement in learning performance. There is also no evidence that the consideration of different learning types by teachers has positive effects on learning success.

Learning types, learning styles, thinking styles in practice

So that teachers can adjust to their counterparts in the teaching / learning situation is

  • the knowledge of learning and thinking styles or types (see learning strategy ),
  • the diagnosis of an initial status (and the knowledge of diagnostic options that can be incorporated into the teaching / learning situation if possible)

significant.

If one sees the styles and types rather as changeable tendencies and methodical abilities not as innate prerequisites, further educational measures would be important. Including

  • the targeted methodical promotion of the development of further skills
  • the observation of the learning progress while building further skills
  • the handling of a repertoire of diagnostic instruments for the procedural evaluation (evaluation during ongoing events) of learning progress
  • the development of skills that help the learner to focus on appropriate skills and tendencies depending on the learning material and the social learning environment

If the teaching / learning situation is seen as reciprocal (i.e. also the teacher learns something and learners learn from each other by negotiating meaning in ' situated learning '), then another aspect of practical relevance for the design of teaching / learning situations is:

  • Behavioral tendencies and tendencies in the interpretation of situations in specific situations such as B. Conflicts and teamwork.

See also

literature

  • Kolb, David A. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ
  • Smith, Donna M., and David A. Kolb. 1986. The User's Guide for the Learning-Style Inventory: A Manual for Teachers and Trainers. McBer & Company. Boston, MA.
  • Frederic Vester : Thinking, Learning, Forgetting , 1975, as paperback 1978, 36th edition dtv 2014, ISBN 978-3-423-33045-9 ; at least the basic book for the German-speaking area.
  • Bernd Weidenmann : Multicoding and multimodality in the learning process , in information and learning with multimedia in the text , 1995, page 53, critical.
  • Maike Looß: Learning types? - An educational construct on the touchstone , Die Deutsche Schule, 93 (2) 186-198 (2001), critical.
  • Guilford, JP (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist , 5, 444-454.
  • Guilford, JP (1967). The Nature of Human Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Guilford, JP & Hoepfner, R. (1971). The Analysis of Intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Guilford, JP (1982). Cognitive psychology's ambiguities: Some suggested remedies. Psychological Review, 89, 48-59.
  • Grotehusmann, Sabine: "The exam success. The optimal exam preparation for every type of learner." Offenbach, GABAL-Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-89749-859-4
  • Meeker, MN (1969). The Structure of Intellect. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
  • Stangl, W. (2005). Learning styles - what is it? Praxis Schule 5–10, year 31, issue 3.

Historical sources

  • Lewin, Kurt (1942) Field Theory and Learning in D Cartwright (ed.) Field Theory in Social Science: selected theoretical papers, London; Social Science Paperbacks, 1951

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Benedikt Wisniewski: The nonsense of the senses in: B. Wisniewski & A. Vogel: School on astray - myths, errors and superstitions in education , Schneider Verlag, Baltmannsweiler, 2013, ISBN 978-3834012562 .
  2. ↑ DT Willingham: "Do visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners need visual, auditory and kinesthetic instruction?" in: American Educator , 29 (2), 31-35, 2005.
  3. ↑ John Hattie: Visible Learning - A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyzes relating to achievement , Routledge, London, 2009, ISBN 978-0415476188 .
  4. ↑ KA Kabale & SR Forness: "substance over style: Assessing the efficacy of modality testing and teaching" in: Exceptional Children , 54 (3), 228-239., 1987