Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Karen D. Bowser
Committee Member
Stan A. Hannah
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
College of the Southwest, course descriptions, course syllabi, educational goals, faculty, faculty development, faculty learning styles, faculty teaching styles, inservice training, instructional goals, learning style preferences, learning style theory, learning styles, LTM, postsecondary education, professional development, professional development plan, research questions, School of Education, student learning styles, teaching styles, template development, training plan, TSI
Abstract
This dissertation was designed to help bridge the gap between student learning styles and faculty teaching styles at College of the Southwest. Student learning styles in the School of Education (SOE) at CSW may not have always meshed with faculty learning and teaching styles. This possible disconnect between students and faculty suggested that students may not have been achieving their educational goals nor reaching their potentials. The purpose of this project was six-fold: (a) to identify and compare student learning styles with faculty learning and teaching styles; (b) to examine course syllabi; (c) to interview faculty regarding their instructional goals; (d) to reach conclusions, make recommendations, and disseminate the data; (e) to develop a template for creating course syllabi; and (f) to create a professional development and inservice training plan.
Thus, five research questions guided this project: (a) Is there a disconnect between the learning styles of students in the SOE and the learning and teaching styles of all CSW faculty? (b) What is the nature of this disconnect as reflected in course syllabi and as influenced by the SOE’s conceptual framework? (c) Can the development of a template for creating syllabi help bridge the gap between student learning styles and faculty teaching styles? (d) What is the appropriate structure (contents and format) of a template for creating syllabi to help bridge the gap between student learning styles and faculty teaching styles? and (e) What is the appropriate training schedule and plan for professional development that can be used as a motivator to help faculty learn more about and make use of learning style theory in teaching and learning at CSW? This research question led to the research hypothesis which was “At CSW, there is a significant difference (gap) between student learning styles and faculty learning and teaching styles as determined by the administration of the TSI to education majors and by the administration of the LTM and the TSI to faculty in the SOE and in other CSW departments/divisions.”
Research, evaluation, and development methodologies were used to answer the six research questions by using six sets of procedures. An analysis of the data revealed no significant differences between student learning styles and faculty learning and teaching styles at CSW. However, those involved in this project believed that attending to the learning style preferences of students and teaching style preferences of faculty is an important issue. Therefore, it was recommended that the professional development and inservice training plan development for this project should be implemented in fall 2004.