Evaluation of a constructivist approach to student induction in relation to students' learning styles

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Abstract
Increasing class sizes and increasingly complex technology have brought pressure on university staff. Less widely recognized is their effect on freshers, many of whom find the university a bewildering and remote environment. This paper describes an innovative approach to induction in an engineering school. A constructivist approach was used to involve the students, working in small groups with a staff facilitator in the investigation of a technical issue. In so doing they learned the university systems by using them contextually and also immediately got to know staff and peers. Their perceptions of the experience were determined by questionnaire and interview and their learning styles were gauged by a learning style inventory. The aim had been to provide a flexible, supportive experience for all learners. Although it was disappointing to find no significant correlations between learning styles and perceptions, it is perhaps a measure of our success in achieving this aim.