Before deciding to come to Liberty I was hesitant and a little nervous about taking online classes with a school that is out of state. I am sure that many other students currently enrolled at Liberty were as well. I began to wonder how I could be successful in an environment that is completely online. But the truth is online schools are growing and more and more students are deciding to take online classes over the traditional classes. With this being said there must be some way in which we can be successful in an online classroom. For this paper I have decided to draw from an article by Nick Zacharis titled “The effect of learning style on preference for web-based courses and learning outcomes” As online education is growing and becoming more …show more content…
Zacharis’ article “The effect of learning style on preference for web-based courses and learning outcomes” observes and compares two classes of a freshmen computer science class (one online and one traditional). Both classes have the same assignments, same reading material and the same instructor. The only difference between the two classes is that one is completely online while the other is in a traditional classroom setting. The purpose of Zacharis’ study was to see if learning style had anything to do with a student’s choice between taking an online class versus a traditional class and to see if learning styles affected the student’s achievement in either the online environment or the traditional one. To determine learning style Zacharis used the Kolb’s Model which separates learning styles into four quadrants; Assimilator, Diverger, Converger and Accommodator. According to Kolb’s Model, people learn in four different stages; Concrete Experience (CE), Reflective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and Active Experimentation (AE). To break these stages down even further I am …show more content…
A successful online environment should; address individual differences, motivate the student, avoid information overload, create a real-life context, encourage social interaction, provide hands-on activities and encourage student reflection. It is important to be aware of these aspects when looking for a good online class that you can be successful in. After reading this article I am realizing that I should be aware of my learning style and actively use it when completing assignments. In knowing my learning style I can be successful in any learning environment. I plan to apply Kolb’s learning style model to my own learning career. I also plan to use Kolb’s model to understand the student I will teach in my future