L10 2 4

=E–learning design and (re)development procedures require the use of a variety of media and activities. =

Evidence
Support for diverse student needs is becoming a mandatory requirement for quality education programmes. Diversity refers to capabilities, disabilities, and styles of learning that must be considered in providing for and supporting teaching and learning (Ragan, 1999; Salmon, 2000). Sensitivity to diversity means respecting ‘values, orientations, learning styles, language factors, and traditions of learning from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, as well as…special educational needs’ (Reeves, 1997, p. 27). Gender is also a factor in diversity, including consideration of home-based learners who have childcare and housekeeping duties (Kramarae, 2003). Age is another significant factor (Witt and McDermott, 2004). Learning styles or preferences when engaging in different learning activities have also been suggested as having value in understanding the diversity of learner capabilities (for example Gardner, 1984; Kolb, 2005).

Learning styles have generally been considered important because of their potential positive impact on all aspects of teaching and learning, both as a means for understanding how students learn and as tools for guiding the design of courses and learning activities. There are tools to assess learning style preferences (Kolb, 2005), and numerous studies that research their effects on learning outcomes. However, the complex, contextual, and conditional nature of learning and learners leads to the view that ‘variability in approaches…coexists with consistency’ (Ramsden, 2003, p. 51). While some studies report that certain learning styles appear to be better suited to online learning environments (Fahy and Ally, 2005; Terrell, 2002), other researchers dispute learning style effects (Chall, 2000) or find them to be negative (Clark, 2003). There is also evidence that learners can adapt their learning styles to suit the context (Terrell, 2005). Therefore recommendations tend to support the holistic inclusion of all learning styles and types in approaches to e-learning (Chen et al., 2005; Laurillard, 2002; Terrell, 2005; Wang et al., 2001).

A longitudinal study that examined relationships between student age, gender, ethnicity, learning style and their effect on attrition from an online graduate programme found no significant effects of the differentials on outcomes (Terrell, 2005). However, Terrell does discuss possible contributory effects of intrinsic motivation that enables students to adapt their learning style preferences, and ‘to balance their preferred learning style with the skills needed to succeed in the online environment’ (Discussion ¶. 4). He also suggests consideration of ‘the possibility of a change in preferred learning style over time…in order to compensate and adapt to an online learning environment’ (Conclusions ¶, 3). In an earlier study, Terrell (2002) reports that students, mostly, can successfully adapt their individual learning styles to suit online learning environments, and, that students with learning styles that favour systematic planning and intellectual understanding are more likely to be successful than those who prefer concrete experiences and interaction (p. 345). The study also confirmed that the type of programme is a reliable predictor of student learning style preference, that is, that a majority of students in a web-based doctoral programme would be Converger or Assimilator types (sharing a preference for higher levels of Abstract Conceptualization) (pp. 350-1).

After examining differences in learning style in relation to online interaction, Fahy and Ally (2005) reported that some learning styles may dispose certain learners (Convergers) to more interactivity, while other learners find interaction unhelpful. They comment that social interaction variability according to learning style may have significant implications for teaching strategies: ‘Not only might some participants find online interaction unnecessary to learning, they may…find it inimical’ (p. 19). Reporting on a study of learning style changes, learning outcomes, and learner satisfaction, Wang et al., (2001) found ‘[n]o changes in student learning styles and no significant differences in learning outcomes and learner satisfaction with regard to different learning styles’ (p. 75). However, the results suggest that computer-supported collaborative learning environments support diverse learning styles (p. 75). Generally, the literature supports the view that learning styles are helpful for understanding the different approaches that students bring to their learning, and, that effective and successful e-learning incorporates all learning styles and approaches.

Resources
Evidence of capability in this area is seen through course design and implementation practices that use a variety of complementary pedagogical approaches to support student learning, including a variety of media, assessment types and communication channels.

Further information found at JISC: http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/page.aspx?o=jisctechdis