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Assessment of Perceptual Modality Styles Abstract

Researchers have shown that systematic use of technology actually helps instructors address perceptual dimensions of learning. Technology should not be viewed just as a growing trend; rather it must be intelligently implemented as a valuable instructional tool that can accommodate diverse learning styles of 21st century students. (Watkins, 2005). It is important to acknowledge that students learn better when alternative modes of information processing are made available at college campuses. Dr. Walter B. Barbe, a nationally known authority in the fields of reading and learning disabilities has shown that perceptual modality styles provides an indication of an individual’s dominant learning mode. The degree of processing speed, accuracy and retention that an individual is able to accomplish when encountering information depends upon to what extent the medium in which information presented matches his or her learning style. (Barbe & Milone 1980 and 1981). In this presentation, the authors describe how they have implemented, incorporated and assessed ideas from Fleming & Mills’ VARK Learning Styles (1992), into their classroom activities and compared them with Hunter Boylan’s research findings. This leads to interesting findings and observations. The authors acknowledge the fact that it is very important to create significantly different learning environments, particularly for engineering students.

Introduction

Howard Gardner is the Director of Harvard Project Zero and Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has received numerous honors and written dozens of books. He was the first American to receive the University of Louisville's Grawemeyer Award in Education. Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments. During the past twenty years, he and colleagues at Project Zero have been working on the design of performance-based assessments, education for understanding, and the use of multiple intelligences to achieve more personalized curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm)

Fleming & Mills’ VARK Learning Styles

VARK is an acronym that stands for Visual, Auditory, Read(includes writing), and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that humans employ for learning and processing information. Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four categories that seemed to identify students’ learning behavior. [Copyright for VARK version is held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain, Colorado, USA].

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Narayanan, M. (2007, June), Assessment Of Perceptual Modality Styles Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--1474