Including the excluded - A case study

Abstract

As teachers, students and ultimately as individual human beings we are all equipped
with a unique set of skills and qualities. It is very important always to keep this in
mind. For a teacher it is essential to be aware that this simple fact applies also to
learning strategies or learning styles. A teaching style that suits one group of students
may be experienced as very frustrating for another group. In educational research
various models are developed in order to explain and to help understand the
different aspects of learning styles. For example, Felder [1996] points out four
learning style models (see Box 1). The purpose here is not to examine such models
further but to indicate the style diversity and the challenge of finding a teaching style
that will satisfy most students and most learning styles in one class.
This paper is based on the exploration of one fictive case: a case of facing conflicts
in a teaching-learning situation where a divergence in teaching and learning styles is
the core of the problem. The purpose is to explore such phenomena and to discuss
and provide possible solutions based on relevant theories in this field of research.