The effects of learning styles on group development in an online learning environment
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Erika Jepsen Robertson (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Mahnaz Moallem
Abstract: As a student, an educator, and, now, as an instructional designer, I have always been
interested in how individuals relate to each other when they attempt to work together. It
appeared to me that, more often, the road to a finished product was paved with conflict when
individuals had to work together. But what was the cause of this conflict, I often wondered?
Online learning’s exponential growth and my extended experiences in working with teams in this
new learning environment added to my perplexity and encouraged me to systematically study
this topic. The purpose of this thesis was to study learning styles as a factor influencing group
development in an online learning environment. It specifically examined how an individual
group member’s learning style influences his/her group development process during online
learning as well as how an individual group member’s learning style contributes to the
development of the group itself during online learning. The results of the literature review
pointed to lack of a consensus on matching a learner’s learning style with an environment similar
to his/her own preference for learning. The analysis of four groups’ interactions in an online
class for a course of one semester suggested that learning style of the individual does not seem to
affect the progression of the group given a sequential stage development model.
The effects of learning styles on group development in an online learning environment
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Cognitive styles, Education--Computer network resources--Evaluation, Effective teaching
- Subjects
- Education -- Computer network resources -- Evaluation
- Effective teaching
- Cognitive styles