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Importance of knowing students learning styles
Learning styles student nurses
Introduction to understanding learning styles
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In this essay I will be discussing the importance of understanding learning styles for student nurses. I will also be focusing on the learning cycle and learning style using the Honey and Mumford 80 questionnaire. I look into the details of how learning style helps students to understand the importance of recognising one’s learning style preference. I will also provide an understanding of learning and learning theories and discuss my own dominant learning style and how I aim to deal with my weaknesses to progress well in the nursing programme.
Learning is defined as a permanent change in attitude or behaviour that occurs as a result of repeated experience (Sims & Sims, 1995). Understanding one’s learning style has many advantages as it can help one to identify the learning method or activities that can help to optimise the learning experience. It has been suggested that the importance of one’s learning style has been identified through studies and research on how one can maximise the potential for success and further learning development (Honey & Mumford, 2006). Learning styles are unique to each individual and are developed in childhood (Chase, 2001). We all have different personalities; therefore we all have preferred learning styles that suit us best. The way one learns depends on preference. Some learn by observing, listening and imitating others and draw conclusions from their experience. There are several factors that affect our learning style; for example, background, culture, religion and environment can have a major influence on one’s learning.
There are several types of learning styles that are recognised. The basic form, which is well known, is associative learning, making new associations between events in the envi...
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...es of David Kolb's theory of experiential learning. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm#axzz30qWboDKM
Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (2006). The Learning Style Questionnaire 80-item Version. London: Pearson Assessment.
Jasper, M. (2003). Beginning Reflective Practice. Cheltenham: Nelson Thorn Ltd.
Sims, R. & Sims, S. (1995). The importance of learning styles: understanding the implications for learning, course design, and education. London: Greenwood Press.
Witzig, S. M. (2004). Learning style preferences and learning strategies in intensive care nurse educator. 2. Retrieved from http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv.php?pid=UQ:10348&dsID=smwetzig.pdf
Yildirim, B. & Ozkahraman, S. (2011). Critical Thinking in Nursing and Learning Styles. 1. Retrieved from http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_18_Special_Issue/15.pdf
A big component of my learning style is hands-on experience; learning while doing. This usually involved someone with more experience instructing me as I performed the task. Through the hands-on approach, I picked-up the knowledge and gained proficiency as I went along. My learning style also involved standard classroom instruction, which usually meant listening to lectures and taking notes. My note taking was not the best so in order to make up for what I lacked in note taking, I would read the textbooks repeatedly until I understood what I was reading. I learned that in order for me to get a complete understanding from my readings and notes, there had to be a lot great deal of repetition ...
A critical analysis of the four fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing is essential for nurses to be able to grasp the complicated nature of the nursing practice. Barbara Carper (1978) lists the four patterns of knowing as: empirics, esthetics, personal knowledge, and ethics or moral knowledge (p.14). The science of nursing is called empirics and the connection of art to nursing is referred to as esthetics (Carper, 1978, p.14). These patterns are four very complex areas of nursing that every nurse must consider in order to be as successful as possible in providing care. In this evaluation the author will discuss how these concepts affect present learning and practice.
The field of nursing is both a science and an art. New nurses graduate with, at least, acceptable basic competence. They are expected to have the ability to effectively communicate and make decisions in a complex environment with multiple demands on their practical comprehension. However, they usually lack the experience to apply this learned theory. This limited knowledge results in anxiety and difficulty in transitioning from the role of student to leader. How these students can best learn these skills is a topic that has come under considerable debate. We know that most become overwhelmed with multiple tasks and not able to prioritize with critical thinking in a fast pace acute hospital. This begs the questions: How do we make that transition phase easier for them and the staff around them? How do we get the doing and thinking to intertwine together? The article, Coaching for competence, gives one example of how to foster critical thinking skills in novice nurses as well as establish a culture that would help its entire staff to grow and excel together.
In this Learning Style essay, I reflect on an experience during my practicum where a conflict with a superior allowed me to see both the positive aspects and hindrances in my learning style. These nuances in my learning style, which I gained more insight of with the LSI and LCS, have allowed me to critically analyze how I will make my learning as a nursing student more effective.
The term learning styles is based on the assumption that individuals differ in regards to what mode of instruction is most effective for them. Educational practitioners have long stressed that optimal instruction requires diagnosing these individual styles and designing instruction accordingly. It is based on two fundamental flaws that I give the following rebuttal: 1) there appears to be no credible scientific evidence establishing learning styles exist (Riener & Willingham, 2010), and 2) assuming [1], it must be therefore true that people can learn in a variety of ways outside of one particular learning style. However, before abandoning the learning style paradigm completely, I will still contend that the research in this area has not
Felder, R. M., & Soloman, B. A. (n.d.). Index of learning styles. Retrieved from http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
I have listed the three main categories of learning styles above. Learning styles vary for each and every individual and may change depending on the situation. By comprehending and understanding each style you will be able to understand your own weaknesses and strengthen them. Also understanding that not everyone has the same style and being able to adjust in order to help another person better understands what you are presenting to them is important.
Researchers agree on the fact that while there is no credible evidence that learning styles exist, neither is there evidence to the contrary (Reiner & Willingham, 2010). Different people have different preferences for learning, a fact that all researchers agree on. These preferences can be affected by an individual’s interests, abilities, and background knowledge (Reiner & Willingham, 2010). Studies show that while students have a preferred style of learning, if material is presented in another method, the learning is equivalent.
Pritchard, A. (2008). Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis e-Library.
To determine the best way I learn, I carried out two different learning styles questionnaires online. One may find that they are not always categorised in a specific type rather they may have more than one learning preference. Firstly, the most commonly used Neil Fleming’s VARK model. Fleming believes that there are four different types of learner: Visual, Auditory, Reading/writing and Kinesthetic learners. The second model I tried out was Soloman-Felder Learning Styles and Strategies.
Lamarche-Bisson, Diane. “Learning Styles - What Are They? How Can They Help?” World and I Sept. 2002: 268. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 July 2011.
“A learning style is a way of learning and refers to the way that you learn new information” (2). Most people have one preferred learning style and perform to a lesser standard when learning in a different style than what they’re used to. Nowadays, children are told to take a quiz in school to determine what their preferred learning style is, but after a few years, not many of these children remember what their preferred learning style is, or even if they do, they don’t apply it to their learning.
Learning style models differ depending on the theorist that has created them, even though practically all of them contain an accentuation on processing and personality. The learning styles model created by Harvey Silver, Richard Strong, and Matthew Perini versus the Dunn and Dunn learning styles model, is one example of how their is a wide range of theories that can appreciated. These two models diverge because while Silver’s model focuses on the four main types of learner styles, the Dunn and Dunn model explores the 21 elements that affect how a human being learns. The Dunn and Dunn model classifies these 21 elements into five categories: emotional, environmental, sociological, psychological and physiological variables. Silver’s model instead explores the strengths of each of the four types of learners. Although these models contain differences, they both put an emphasis on the relevance of the process and approaches to learning, while Gardner does not eminently consider either ideas within his theory.
Nursing theories are critical for education and practice. The theories suppose to provide a foundation for general knowledge and assist in practice. Thus, healthcare professionals, managers, and patients recognize the unique healthcare service. However,
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.