Transforming Learner

Transforming Learners are highly goal-oriented, holistic thinkers who value learning ability, committed, persistent, and assertive effort, abstract theories, creative strategies, and positive expectations to self-manage and accomplish personal goals successfully. These learners seldom rely heavily on schedules, deadlines, expected compliance, or others for support. These learners, who may find routine activities boring, enjoy taking responsibility and control of their learning and willingly become actively involved in managing the learning process (high internal locus of control). Transforming learners typically tap into stimulating, intrinsic influences, such as passions, personal principles, beliefs, and desires to the self-direct intentional achievement of challenging, long-term goals. These learners learn best in open, discovery, or challenging learning environments that encourage innovation, expertise building; risk-taking; mentoring relationships; complex, problem-solving situations; high learning standards, and personal accomplishments and change.

This group of learners can improve by not overlooking important details and increasing focus on implementation and task completion

Performing Learner

Performing Learners are task-oriented, more often extrinsically motivated, and prefer avoiding risks and mistakes. They are less comfortable with abstract theories, more often focus on details, processes, principles, grades, rewards, and normative achievement standards. They often are ready to rely on instructors, external resources, and social interaction to accomplish tasks. They may selectively use self-regulated learning skills and commit effort to learn topics and skills that they find particularly interesting and beneficial. Often, these learners will clearly acknowledge that they want to limit or constrain effort (for example, they do not have enough time or interest) by only meeting stated objectives, getting an expected grade, or avoiding exploratory steps beyond requirements. They value and learn best in semi-structured learning environments that add peer affiliation, teamwork, collaboration, competition, fun, and coaching to foster motivation (i.e., both intrinsically and extrinsically).

These learners can improve by practicing more holistic, abstract, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills

Conforming Learner

Conforming Learners value security, structure, and routine. They are deeply influenced by an awareness of the social aspects of learning and external resources that motivate them. They are more passively accept knowledge, store it, and reproduce it to conform and complete assigned tasks. These learners are less complex learners and struggle using initiative, abstract thinking, critical thinking, making mistakes, and meeting challenging goals. In comfortable, uncomplicated learning communities, conforming learners will, with scaffolded support and feedback, social collaboration, and explicit guidance, successfully work to achieve progressively difficult goals.

This group of learners can improve, over time with targeted support, social intervention, and by learning how to take increasingly greater risks in learning

Resistant Learner

Resistant Learners may deal with either short-term (temporary) or long-term (permanent) resistance. They may doubt that:

1. they can learn or enjoy achieving any goals set by others
2. compulsory academic learning and achievement can help them achieve personal goals or initiate desired changes
3. their personal values, interests, and goals can benefit from academic objectives.

Too often Resistant Learners will suffer repeated, long-term frustration from conflicting values, expectations, and goals, misunderstandings, perceived academic or social inadequacy, disappointment, or instruction that confuses or lacks value