Students have different levels of motivation, different attitudes about teaching and learning, and different responses to specific classroom environments and instructional practices. The more thoroughly instructors understand the differences, the better chance they have of meeting the diverse learning needs of all of their students. Three categories of diversity that have been shown to have important implications for teaching and learning are differences in students' learning styles (characteristic ways of taking in and processing information), approaches to learning (surface, deep, and strategic), and intellectual development levels (attitudes about the nature of knowledge and how it should be acquired and evaluated). This article reviews models that have been developed for each of these categories, outlines their pedagogical implications, and suggests areas for further study.

Understanding Student Differences

Preface to the Second Edition vii Acknowledgments xiii The Author xiv PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF THE LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH 1 1. Learner-Centered Teaching: Roots and Origins 3 2. Research: Evidence That Learner-Centered Approaches Work 28 PART TWO: THE FIVE KEY CHANGES TO PRACTICE 57 3. The Role of the Teacher 59 4. The Balance of Power 88 5. The Function of Content 114 6. The Responsibility for Learning 143 7. The Purpose and Processes of Evaluation 168 PART THREE: IMPLEMENTING THE LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH 197 8. Responding to Resistance 199 9. Taking a Developmental Approach 218 APPENDIXES 239 1. Syllabus and Learning Log Entries for Speech Communications 100A 239 2. Resources That Develop Learning Skills 249 References 259 Name Index 275 Subject Index 279

Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice

With the proliferation of mobile computing technology, mobile learning (m-learning) will play a vital role in the rapidly growing electronic learning market. M-learning is the delivery of learning to students anytime and anywhere through the use of wireless Internet and mobile devices. However, acceptance of m-learning by individuals is critical to the successful implementation of m-learning systems.Thus, there is a need to research the factors that affect user intention to use m-learning. Based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), which integrates elements across eight models of information technology use, this study was to investigate the determinants of m-learning acceptance and to discover if there exist either age or gender differences in the acceptance of m-learning, or both. Data collected from 330 respondents inTaiwan were tested against the research model using the structural equation modelling approach. The results indicate that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, perceived playfulness, and self-management of learning were all significant determinants of behavioural intention to use m-learning. We also found that age differences moderate the effects of effort expectancy and social influence on m-learning use intention, and that gender differences moderate the effects of social influence and self-management of learning on m-learning use intention.These findings provide several important implications for m-learning acceptance, in terms of both research and practice.

http://www.anitacrawley.net/Resources/Articles/Wang%20Investigating%20the%20determinants%20and%20age%20and%20gender%20Wang.pdf

Investigating the determinants and age and gender differences in the acceptance of mobile learning

Wireless data communications in form of Short Message Service (SMS) and Wireless Access Protocols (WAP) browsers have gained global popularity, yet, not much has been done to extend the usage of these devices in electronic learning (e-learning). This project explores the extension of e-learning into wireless/handheld (W/H) computing devices with the help of a mobile learning (m-learning) framework. This framework provides the requirements to develop m-learning applications that can be used to complement classroom or distance learning. A prototype application was developed to link W/H devices to three course websites. The m-learning applications were pilot-tested for two semesters with a total of 63 students from undergraduate and graduate courses at our university. The students used the m-learning environment with a variety of W/H devices and reported their experiences through a survey and interviews at the end of the semester. The results from this exploratory study provide a better understanding on the role of mobile technology in higher education.

Mobile learning: A framework and evaluation

Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research

Part I: GETTING STARTED. 1. Introduction. 2. Countdown for Course Preparation. 3. Meeting a Class for the First Time. Part II: BASIC SKILLS FOR FACILITATING STUDENT LEARNING. 4. Reading as Active Learning. 5. Facilitating Discussion: Posing Problems, Listening, Questioning. 6. How to Make Lectures More Effective. 7. Assessing, Testing, and Evaluating: Grading Is Not the Most Important Function. 8. Testing: The Details. 9. Good Designs for Written Feedback for Students. 10. The ABC's of Assigning Grades. Part III: UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS. 11. Motivation in the College Classroom. 12. Teaching Culturally Diverse Students. 13. Dealing with Student Problems and Problem Students (There's Almost Always at Least One!). Part IV: Adding to Your Repertoire of Skills and Strategies for Facilitating Active Learning. 14. Active Learning: Group-based Learning. 15. Experiential Learning: Case-based, Problem-based, and Reality-based. 16. Using High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Writing to Enhance Learning. 17. Technology and Teaching. Part V: SKILLS FOR USE IN OTHER TEACHING SITUATIONS. 18. Teaching Large Classes (You Can Still Get Active Learning!). 19. Laboratory Instruction: Ensuring an Active Learning Experience. Part VI: Teaching for Higher-Level Goals. 20. Teaching Students How to Become More Strategic and Self-Regulated Learners. 21. Teaching Thinking. 22. The Ethics of Teaching and the Teaching of Ethics. Part VII: LIFELONG LEARNING FOR THE TEACHER. 23. Vitality and Growth Throughout Your Teaching Career.

Marilla Svinivki

Papers

McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers