LEARNING STYLES AS PREDICTORS OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING SUCCESS IN THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS CLASSROOM Timothy Olsen Richard Welke Center for Process Innovation Georgia State University Presented at SIG-ED 2008 – Paris, France

Timothy Olsen

Richard Welke

Center for Process Innovation

Georgia State University

Presented at SIG-ED 2008 – Paris, France

Research Question Can satisfaction with problem-based learning be explained by students’ learning styles? What led me to ask this question: NSF Grant (CPATH) Feedback from students Disrupting Class , Clayton Christensen, 2008

Can satisfaction with problem-based learning be explained by students’ learning styles?

What led me to ask this question:

NSF Grant (CPATH)

Feedback from students

Disrupting Class , Clayton Christensen, 2008

PBL is an answer Can we make courses more appealing? (low enrollment) Can we build life-long learners? (necessary in IS industries) Can we adopt a teaching model that emphasizes team work? (recruiters like this)

Can we make courses more appealing? (low enrollment)

Can we build life-long learners? (necessary in IS industries)

Can we adopt a teaching model that emphasizes team work? (recruiters like this)

History of PBL Background – Plato and Socrates required that their students think, retrieve information for themselves, search for new ideas and debate them in a scholarly environment. However, this process differs from the teacher-dominated approach used in most educational settings. PBL is not a new teaching method. 1968 PBL introduced in Canadian medical school 1970’s many USA and European schools adopted varieties of PBL 1990’s introduced into many other professional schools and colleges 2007 Georgia State CIS program starts adoption

Background –

Plato and Socrates required that their students think, retrieve information for themselves, search for new ideas and debate them in a scholarly environment. However, this process differs from the teacher-dominated approach used in most educational settings.

PBL is not a new teaching method.

1968 PBL introduced in Canadian medical school

1970’s many USA and European schools adopted varieties of PBL

1990’s introduced into many other professional schools and colleges

2007 Georgia State CIS program starts adoption

Our PBL Model Students work in small teams (4) with a leader & ‘roving’ facilitator Students share results and apply to problem Individual reflection at end of problem Problem as authentic for IS professional as possible Problem drives the learning

Students work in small teams (4) with a leader & ‘roving’ facilitator

Students share results and apply to problem

Individual reflection at end of problem

Problem as authentic for IS professional as possible

Problem drives the learning

Our Measurement Model

Example Questions from Felder’s Learning Style Questionnaire

Learning Styles Sample results from Felder and Solomon’s online questionnaire

Exploratory Results N = 12

Questions I have Does anyone have experience using Grasha’s teaching or learning style survey instruments? Learning Style Instrument Teaching Style Instrument What are good measures of student satisfaction? What are your questions?

Does anyone have experience using Grasha’s teaching or learning style survey instruments?

Learning Style Instrument

Teaching Style Instrument

What are good measures of student satisfaction?

What are your questions?