The debate on the validity of teaching students how to identify their own preferred learning style is not going to go away anytime soon as evidenced by the number of articles still being written about the topic. One can find numerous research studies that say students have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning and retaining…

The family of cognitive models sometimes referred to as the "Learning Pyramid" enjoys a considerable level of authority within several areas of educational studies, despite that nobody knows how they originated or whether they were supported by any empirical evidence. This article investigates the early history of these models. Through…

Learning styles have been widely accepted in pedagogical practice but suffer from a distinct lack of empirical support. While a diverse range of learning styles have been proposed, modality preference has received the most attention within educational research and practice. Supporters of this theory posit that each individual has a dominant sense…

Gifted students have unique educational needs. Although gifted students are as varied as other students in terms of their learning styles and preferences, all gifted learners have exhibited unusual performance or potential and they have distinctive characteristics, shared by most of these students, which require effective responses from educators.…

Looks at the various ideas related to learning styles and how they relate to our concepts of schooling. (JOW)

Describes five approaches to learning styles that may be of interest to college teachers. Presents a short background to learning styles including some of the research that has been generated over the last couple of decades. Discusses the modalities approach, which refers to the three basic ways people learn: visually, auditorily, and haptically.…

A sample of 503 sixth-grade students participated in a study assessing the relationship between modality of inference and spelling achievement. Each student completed the Dictation Spelling Test and the Modality of Inference Instrument; scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were also available. The Modality of Inference Instrument was…

Offers a solicited response to a question about learning styles, and discusses how this information should affect planning and implementing instruction. Finds that the instructional implications of the body of research on learning styles and learning modalities are limited. (MG)

To understand why an individual is engaging in a particular behaviour during learning requires an investigation of subjective conceptions held by the learner. Historically, the research interview has been widely used as a means for gaining an insight into students' learning, and responses have been presented as explanations of how individuals…

Presents results of a study of 11-year-old children's learning mode preferences, reading attainment, and cognitive ability. Reports that holistic thinkers preferred modes corresponding to their verbal imagery style, whereas analytic thinkers were divided across the verbal imagery dimension. Predicts highest achievement for wholist verbalizers and…

Administration of the Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) to randomly selected groups of 1,769 male and 1,369 female community college students revealed statistically significant differences between males and females on 15 of the 21 LSI scales. Differences in learning preferences for structure, content, and mode of instruction, and for academic…

Challenges 15 popular beliefs held about students and optimal learning environments by citing data from studies of student learning styles. Individual learning styles vary, and academic achievement can be improved by providing flexible teaching styles and classroom environments where students can match their learning styles. Includes extensive…

African American cognitive Styles have not received much attention in research. An intended ethnographic study will examine the preferred cognitive styles employed by African American students in the classroom. The literature on African American cognition indicates that they are likely to utilize field dependent cognitive styles. The setting will…

This paper reviews the literature on learning styles of Native Americans and Asian-Americans. Four different operational definitions of "learning style" or "cognitive style" are presented, related terms are examined, and inconsistencies of usage in the literature are discussed. Noting the great diversity among Native American…

Research on learning styles of Mexican Americans has focused on the cognitive processes and cultural variables affecting cognitive style rather than on perceptual learning style. This study is the first attempt in the assessment of seven perceptual learning style orientations among an exclusive Mexican American population. Using the Multi-Modal…