Date of Award
1-1-1990
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Polly Peterson
Committee Member
Ken Foyder
Keywords
adult learning inventory, classroom attitudes, classroom behavior, classroom teachers, diagnostic skills, Dunn and Dunn, elementary education, group teaching methods, home implementation, individual learning, learning styles, learning style inventory, literature review, parent consultation, student work habits, teacher training, sixth grade students
Abstract
The practicum addressed the problem that classroom teachers lack diagnostic skills to identify and teach to their student’s learning styles. In a survey of teachers in this elementary building and in a review of the literature the causes of the lack of individualizing student learning were related to class size, poor leadership, teacher training, and poorly developed learning style instrument.
The writer’s goals were to have the classroom teacher give the Dunn, Dunn, and Price (1987) individual learning style inventory to 31 sixth grade students. The classroom teacher used the four group teaching methods as proposed by Dunn and Dunn (1987) to teach to their learning styles.
Based on the individual learning style inventory’s results, the parents of the 31 students were consulted and given recommendations for home implementation.
To stimulate further interest in learning style concepts 12 of 27 teachers volunteered to take the adult version of the inventory.
The expected outcomes of the practicum were 27 of 31 students improved work habits, 26 of 31 students improved classroom attitudes, and 10 of 31 students improved classroom behavior. The students and their classroom teachers found the four group teaching methods introduced and demonstrated to be an excellent experience.