Assessing the Impact of the 4MAT Teaching Model across Multiple Disciplines in Higher Education

Heldref Publications. 1319 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036-1802. Tel: 800-365-9753; Tel: 202-296-6267; Fax: 202-293-6130; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.heldref.org

Y

9

Higher Education; Cognitive Style; Elementary Secondary Education; Teaching Models; Likert Scales; Faculty; Teaching Methods; Evaluation; Models; Learning Processes; Academic Achievement; College Faculty; Enrollment; College Students; Focus Groups; Interviews

10.1080/87567550903245623

8756-7555

Much attention has focused on learning styles and their impact on the teaching and learning process; however, little has been done to systematically incorporate learning style theory into actual teaching, nor to systematically examine its potential impact on student learning in higher education. As part of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) project, six faculty members representing the university's Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Professional Studies, and Engineering and Technology implemented the 4MAT model in their respective classes during the fall 2007 semester. 4MAT is a teaching methodology posited by Bernice McCarthy (1987) that is built upon the principles of learning styles and their relationship to the natural learning cycle. Use of the 4MAT Model in K-12 settings has been supported by research (Wilkerson & White 1988; Blair & Judah 1990). This article lends support to using 4MAT in a higher education setting. Faculty engaged in the SoTL project at the completion of the semester asked their students to complete a Likert scale survey comparing their redesigned courses to comparable college courses. A meta-analysis of these data indicated significant findings for six out of the eight comparative statements measured. (Contains 4 tables.)

As Provided

34

2010

EJ872051