Approaches to Learning Thanks for great stimuli this week, as ever.

• Kevin made a good case for free software; that is an opportunity to plug Open Office; http://www.openoffice.org/ but I will confine myself to that lest I devote the entire blog to a list.
• We also discussed just what value is added by sophisticated IT; I mentioned the FutureLab initiative; their projects are showcased at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/showcase/show.htm

This led beautifully into Jess's discussion of basic technology and its place in our teaching.

• The issue of blackboards, with a link to Koerner and to my notes on media, is on my main blog at http://www.doceo.co.uk/reflection/2006/06/on-blackboards.htm

After the break, Neil introduced the "plenary" as used in current schools jargon;

• Current Ofsted guidance (for KS3, actually) on plenaries is here; it gives a reasonable idea of what is seen as good practice.
• http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,1929248,00.html is Philip Beadle's take on the four-part lesson.
• Discuss!

And so to so-called "Learning Styles":

Some of these references won't come up until next week, but here goes;

• On convergent and divergent thinking; http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/converge.htm
• Witkin's material is surprisingly ill-served by the web. Sorry!
• For Pask, see http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/pask.htm
• Practically everything we discussed is to be found at: http://www.doceo.co.uk/academic/learning_links.htm#Styles (although some of the links are down, as I check)
• You might also like to have a look at:
  http://www.oswego.edu/~shindler/lstyle.htm
  http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listlearningli2.html
  http://www.support4learning.org.uk/education/lstyles.htm will give you more links than you ever wanted.
• on Deep and Surface learning: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/deepsurf.htm (more on this next week)

However, don't forget, as a corrective:

• http://www.doceo.co.uk/heterodoxy/styles.htm which is my own informal take on the matter, and of course
• https://www.lsda.org.uk/cims/order.aspx?code=041540&src=XOWEB; formally
  COFFIELD F, MOSELEY D, HALL E and ECCLESTONE K (2004) Should we be using Learning Styles? What research has to say to practice London; Learning and Skills Development Agency. for the Coffield report.
• with shorter articles based on it, at
  http://www.wired-gov.net/WGLaunch.aspx?ARTCL=24449
  http://www.lsda.org.uk/files/PDF/Unplearnstylespost16.pdf
• More on all this next week!

And the invitation to comment on VLEs is at http://www.doceo.co.uk/reflection/rrr.htm (23 February)

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