Learning Style Archetype
Have you ever wondered how your approach to learning shapes your personal and professional development? As an instructional designer fascinated by cognitive patterns, I created a quiz that helps learners identify their unique learning archetype and understand how it influences their knowledge acquisition journey.
The Problem
In both educational settings and professional development contexts, I noticed people often struggle to understand why they approach learning in different ways than their peers. Some dive deep into single subjects, while others constantly explore across multiple domains. This lack of self-awareness can lead to frustration when traditional learning methods don't align with someone's natural tendencies.
Furthermore, instructional designers often create one-size-fits-all learning experiences that don't account for these different learning styles. I wanted to develop a tool that would:
- Help learners identify their natural learning approach and embrace it as a strength
- Provide insight into how different learning styles complement each other in team settings
- Serve as a practical demonstration of interactive assessment design that could be incorporated into larger eLearning systems
- Create a mechanism to connect with potential users through email collection for future learning resources
Initial Exploration/Research
The concept of learning archetypes isn't new, but I found most existing frameworks didn't adequately capture the nuanced ways people approach knowledge acquisition. I began by researching the distinctions between generalists, specialists, and polymaths, diving into literature about how these different archetypes approach learning.
Through my research, I identified four distinct learning archetypes:
- Specialist: Develops deep expertise in a specific area, thriving on becoming a go-to expert who can solve complex problems in their chosen field
- Generalist: Driven by curiosity to explore various fields, bringing fresh perspectives and making connections across different domains
- Hybrid: Combines depth in one area with knowledge in related topics, blending specialization with a broader perspective
- Polymath: Masters multiple distinct areas, making unique innovations by combining knowledge from different fields
Process
This project presented a perfect opportunity to experiment with AI tools for development while building something valuable. Here's how I approached it:
- Content Creation: I drafted 10 thoughtfully designed questions that would help distinguish between the four learning archetypes. Each question focused on different aspects like approach to new interests, search behaviors, career preferences, and self-perception.
- Technical Implementation: I decided to code this in HTML using Visual Studio Code, leveraging GitHub Copilot as an assistant. This was my first experience using Copilot, and I was curious to see how it could enhance my development workflow.
- Logic Development: I created a scoring system where each answer would add points toward different archetype profiles. Using AI, I developed the algorithm to calculate which archetype had the highest score after all questions were answered.
- Visual Design: I kept the design clean and simple, focusing on readability and ease of navigation. I used illustrations by Oleg Berlov to give each archetype a visual representation that captured its essence.
- Result Pages: For each learning archetype, I created a detailed description explaining the strengths of that particular style and encouraging learners to embrace their unique approach.
Challenges
Creating this learning style quiz came with several interesting challenges:
- Avoiding Bias: One of the biggest challenges was crafting questions that didn't subtly lead users toward any particular archetype. I had to carefully word each question to ensure it was neutral while still being diagnostic.
- Balancing Complexity: I wanted the quiz to be simple enough to complete quickly but complex enough to provide meaningful results. Finding this balance required multiple iterations.
- Working with AI Tools: While GitHub Copilot was helpful, there was a learning curve to effectively "prompt" it for the best results. Sometimes it would generate code that didn't quite match my intentions, requiring significant reworking.
- Technical Integration: Ensuring the quiz would work seamlessly as both a standalone product and as a module that could be integrated into larger eLearning courses required careful planning of the codebase.
Results
The Learning Style Archetype quiz successfully achieved its goals:
- Created an engaging, educational experience that provides genuine value to users
- Developed a functional prototype that demonstrates interactive assessment design
- Established a framework that can be expanded with more detailed insights for each archetype
- Built a tool that can gather user emails for future educational offerings
From a technical perspective, this project helped me gain valuable experience with AI-assisted development tools. I learned how to effectively collaborate with GitHub Copilot, understanding both its strengths and limitations in the development process.
The quiz has been well-received in initial testing, with users reporting that the results accurately reflected their learning approaches. Many expressed that the descriptions helped them better understand and appreciate their natural learning tendencies.