Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century - Web-Based Engineering Education: Critical Design and Effective Tools - page 35

B. Learning Styles and
class Participation

also classroom effectiveness. Through describing
some important concepts the effective strategy for
mutual relationship between learner and lecturer
will be addressed. It is extremely attracting and challenging area if

one strikes a balance between lecturing and engag-
ing in alternative teaching techniques to stimulate
students with various learning styles. Learning
style is a biologically and developmentally im-
posed set of personal characteristics that make
some teaching (and learning) methods effective for
certain students but ineffective for others. These
include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, (Myers
& McCaulley, 1985) Kolb's Learning Style Model,
(Felder, 1993; Kolb, 1981) the Felder-Silverman
Learning Style Model, (Dunn, 1990) and the
Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model (Dunn, et
al., 1989). The following statements has been of-
fered based on current research on learning styles
to assure that every person has the opportunity to
learn (Dunn, 1992).

A. Practical Applications

Completing a thriving course involves connecting
the program of study to existent life problems and
to present events. This is often made promising by
including realistic applications in the classroom,
and the instructor can carry out this by drawing on
personal experience or by using student examples
as sources of practical problems (Finelli, et al.,
2001). Students who contribute in certified work
programs, research activity while in college can
be a precious source of such information. Since
there are many situations where bring students
into contact with realistic problems, all that is
necessary is to take advantage of those activities
in teaching situations. Following paragraph give
one example related to this partnership between
industry and academic institute.
Faculty of engineering in Guilan University
has a compulsory cooperative education program.
Students are placed with an employer in their field
of study (currently the school has partnerships with
over 100 companies), and they alternate semesters
at their worksite and on campus beginning. Under
this program, undergraduate students have some
financial support from the university, and they get
practical experience by working for the industry,
for governmental agencies, or for public or private
non-profit organizations. The connection with
industry begins in the first year when students
are teamed with alumni to assist the students
with their semester writing projects. Through all
of these experiences, students are often able to
provide practical insight to classroom activities.

A. Each person is unique, can learn, and has an
individual learning style.
B. Individual learning styles should be acknowl-
edged and respected.
C. Learning style is a function of heredity and
experience, including strengths and limita-
tions, and it develops individually over the
life span.
D. Learning style is a combination of affective,
cognitive, environmental, and physiological
responses that characterize how a person
learns.
E. Individual information processing is fun-
damental to a learning style and can be
strengthened over time with intervention.
F. Learners are empowered by knowledge of
their own and others' learning styles.
G. Effective curriculum and instruction are
learning-style based and personalized to
address and honor diversity.