Examining the Reasons Students Prefer Reality-Based Learning
Abstract
Are learning styles a myth? Is there a correlation between learning styles and student receptiveness to reality-based learning? Or, does the preference for reality-based learning within a curriculum correspond to the demographic of adult professional students surveyed? This research study conducts a follow-up to research previously presented at SoTL wherein adult learners, who are predominantly working professionals within the discipline of criminal justice, were surveyed to determine whether they had a common learning style. The results of that study revealed that these criminal justice students did, in fact, have a common learning style and that their common learning style corresponded to their preference for reality-based learning within their curriculum. The authors will now challenge last year’s results and will conduct a further study to determine whether student preference for reality-based learning has less to do with learning style and more to do with the demographic of students surveyed, namely working professional adults.
Panel members will present research findings and will invite attendees to discuss their own experiences in small groups and dialogue with panel members throughout the session. Presenters will discuss their experiences, while sharing findings from ongoing research.
Location
Room 2010
Recommended Citation
Nunez, Eloy; Sereni-Massinger, Christine; Vendrell, Ernest G.; and Wood, Nancy, "Examining the Reasons Students Prefer Reality-Based Learning" (2015). SoTL Commons Conference. 126.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2015/126
Examining the Reasons Students Prefer Reality-Based Learning
Room 2010
Are learning styles a myth? Is there a correlation between learning styles and student receptiveness to reality-based learning? Or, does the preference for reality-based learning within a curriculum correspond to the demographic of adult professional students surveyed? This research study conducts a follow-up to research previously presented at SoTL wherein adult learners, who are predominantly working professionals within the discipline of criminal justice, were surveyed to determine whether they had a common learning style. The results of that study revealed that these criminal justice students did, in fact, have a common learning style and that their common learning style corresponded to their preference for reality-based learning within their curriculum. The authors will now challenge last year’s results and will conduct a further study to determine whether student preference for reality-based learning has less to do with learning style and more to do with the demographic of students surveyed, namely working professional adults.
Panel members will present research findings and will invite attendees to discuss their own experiences in small groups and dialogue with panel members throughout the session. Presenters will discuss their experiences, while sharing findings from ongoing research.
