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    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics
    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics
    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics
    Ebook345 pages3 hours

    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics

    By Jeanine Mary Williamson

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    About this ebook

    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics applies learning styles and personality characteristics to science and engineering library instruction. After introducing the idea that individuals tend to choose college majors and occupations in alignment with their learning style and personality characteristics, the book presents background on the Kolb Learning Styles model, the 16 PF (Personality Factor) framework, and the Big Five/Narrow Traits personality framework. It then reviews extant knowledge on the learning styles and personality characteristics of scientists, engineers and librarians.

    Next, the book considers general approaches to the personalization of instruction to learning styles and personality characteristics, opportunities for such personalization in science and engineering library instruction, and science and engineering librarian attitudes towards, and approaches to, this type of personalization of instruction.

    • Best Publication Award - ASEE Engineering Library Division
    • Considers teaching and individual differences within science and engineering librarianship
    • Offers a balanced and critical account of the adaptation of library instruction to learning styles and personality characteristics
    • Cites the dynamic instruction/adaptive teaching literature
    • Discusses opportunities and suggestions for incorporating personalization into science and engineering library instruction
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherElsevier Science
    Release dateAug 11, 2017
    ISBN9780081018828
    Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship: Adapting Library Instruction to Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics
    Author

    Jeanine Mary Williamson

    Jeanine Mary Williamson is the Engineering Librarian and a Professor at the University of Tennessee Libraries (Knoxville, TN, USA). Jeanine learned a Master of Library Service at the University of Alabama and a PhD in Information Science at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has conducted several research studies of the personality characteristics of librarians and engineers as well as studies in the field of science and engineering librarianship published in Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship

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      Book preview

      Teaching to Individual Differences in Science and Engineering Librarianship - Jeanine Mary Williamson

      4MAT.

      Chapter 1

      Individual Differences

      Abstract

      Individual differences vary across people and distinguish them from one another. Learning styles and personality traits are meaningful differences for instruction and learning. Holland's theory of Person-Environment Fit (1997) explains that people tend to select and stay in environments that align with their personality traits. Similarly, learning styles tend to become accentuated in disciplines, leading to greater homogeneity in these groups. College majors and occupations both exhibit a degree of homogeneity with respect to personality traits and learning styles.

      Keywords

      Individual differences; Personality traits; Learning styles; Person-environment fit; Accentuation

      1.1 Definitions of Individual Differences

      Definitions of individual differences point out the reality of traits that distinguish individuals. For example, The Encyclopedia of Social Psychology (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007) defines individual differences in terms of enduring psychological characteristics.

      Individual differences are the more-or-less enduring psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another and thus help to define each person's individuality. Among the most important kinds of individual differences are intelligence, personality traits, and values. The study of individual differences is called differential or trait psychology and is more commonly the concern of personality psychologists than social psychologists. Individual differences are neither a fiction nor a nuisance; they are enduring psychological features that contribute to the shaping of behavior and to each individual's sense of self. Both social and applied psychology can benefit by taking these enduring dispositions into account.

      The Sage Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (Sullivan, 2009) has a definition of individual differences that is particularly geared to learning.

      How individuals differ in traits such as skills, aptitudes, and abilities to learn and perform. Learners may vary in their personalities, motivations, and attributions for their successes and failures when learning—all of which may affect how and why they learn. Additionally, they differ in their preferences for learning and their willingness to learn. Some traits may be more adaptive, whereas others are stable and less malleable, or resistant to change, especially as an individual matures to adulthood. Examples of stable traits are gender, culture, and race. Even education and age are considered as stable traits. Traits that may be more malleable, or adaptive, could include effort and attributions of success and failure, among others. Individual differences may be considered in making the learning environment educationally appropriate, interesting, and relevant.

      A theme that typifies most definitions of individual differences is that individual differences vary across people and thus distinguish individuals from one another. As the second definition demonstrates, individual differences are sometimes malleable. As I discuss later, personality traits are considered less malleable than learning styles. Nevertheless, both are examples of differences that vary across people and distinguish individuals from one another.

      It is also important to note that when scoring individual difference variables such as personality traits and learning styles, the scores can be averaged for a group of people. For example, one could calculate the Introversion of a sample of engineers. One might want to do this to ascertain the characteristics of a typical engineer, while recognizing that individual engineers will differ in respect to these characteristics.

      1.2 Importance of Learning Styles and Personality Characteristics

      Learning style instruments² and personality tests used in academic psychology often measure traits along a range. For example, questions about Extraversion on Big Five personality instruments³ ask respondents to choose options on a Likert scale to indicate how much they agree with each statement. Then these responses are averaged together to give an overall score for the individual on Extraversion. To determine if the score is high, low, or average, the score is compared against the norms. Norms are the average values for large, diverse groups of people that are the reference group used in developing and validating the personality test.

      Because individuals can score anywhere along the range in relation to the norm group, the scales used in learning style instruments and personality tests can distinguish individuals. To qualify as important individual differences; however, personality traits and learning styles must yield meaningful differences. Why might learning styles and personality traits be important individual differences? While answers to this question are developed further in the chapters that follow, I would like to give some concrete examples here.

      1.2.1 Learning Styles

      Here is an example from my personal experience. I have been fascinated with typologies of human behavior and individual differences since college, and I take tests of these characteristics at any chance I get. I took the Kolb Learning Style Instrument (2013) and discovered that my scores fell into the Analyzing type. While I realized that I might not always prefer to learn in the ways that this type does, I recognized that this was an approach I typically used.

      If Analyzing is your learning style, you are best at taking in a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form. You probably are less focused on people and more interested in abstract ideas and concepts.

      I also learned that my learning flexibility was low, which meant that I was fairly consistent in the use of the Analyzing learning style. As I reflected on these results, I realized that my instructional style was similar to this learning style: I most preferred to teach about concepts in a lecture format. When I became aware that learning styles vary widely among individuals, I began to change up my instructional style, incorporating more concrete examples, active exercises, and personal engagement. This improved my teaching.

      This is but one example of the significance of learning styles as an individual differences variable. Knowing my learning style encouraged me to vary my teaching style, which made it more effective.

      1.2.2 Personality Characteristics

      Personality traits are also meaningful individual differences variables when it comes to learning and teaching. Most people are aware from their personal experience that individuals' personalities differ from one another; a very obvious difference is Introversion/Extraversion. Some people are more talkative, active, and outward-focused than others, who may be more reflective, quiet, and inward-focused. Introversion/Extraversion is evident in a wide range of behavior, and it is not surprising that it would be important in learning and teaching situations, as well. For example, as a highly introverted person, I found that teaching (a typically outward-focused behavior) can be challenging and energy-draining at times. When I began teaching, I initially enjoyed teaching individuals or small groups much more than classes.

      Similarly, one can readily think of examples where students' personality traits would contribute to their learning behavior. For example, a highly Extraverted student might enjoy group work more than a highly introverted student. A student who is highly reactive (low in emotional stability) might experience more anxiety during learning situations than a calmer student who is high in emotional

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