Biology I students (n=166) in a high school in southern Mississippi completed the Learning Styles Inventory, a 45-item instrument designed to measure preference for channel of learning (visual, auditory, or kinesthetic), sociological environment (individually or in groups), and mode of expression (oral or written). A three-way analysis of variance was used to examine learning style preferences based on sex, race, and level of course (regular or honors). Students in the honors classes were significantly different from students in regular classes in preference for learning through visual language and for reporting their knowledge through oral expression. African-American females were significantly lower in preference for kinesthetic or active learning than were the other groups. There was a three-way interaction among sex, race, and level for written expression, with African American females and white males in honors classes showing higher preference for written expression than those in regular classes. There was no difference in preference for written expression between African American males and white females in honors and those in regular classes. A cluster analysis was used to describe three groups whose learning styles preferences can be addressed in the biology classroom: (1) the "scholars," who prefer learning through visual language, working individually, and showing what they have learned through written expression (21%); (2) the "active learners," who prefer learning through listening, engaging in active learning, and reporting what they have learned through oral expression (44%); and (3) "social butterflies," who show no preference other than working in groups (35%). (Contains 9 tables and 12 references.) (Author/SLD)