Making Sense Of Learing Styles - education

School Administrator, Jan, 1994 by Pat Guild

Addressing Student Differences in the Classroom Links Directly to Leadership and Management Styles

That there are individual differences in learning has been recognized in theory as often as it has been denied in practice."

Nathaniel Cantor, an educational psychologist, wrote those words in his 1946 book, Dynamics of Learning. Before Cantor, and certainly since, educators have known the truth of this statement from their own experiences. Individual learners differ from one another in many ways. One focus that will make the learning experience more successful for all students is an understanding of learning styles.

Defining Terms

Learning styles are cognitive, conceptual, affective, and behavior patterns that are exhibited consistently over time and task. The roots of learning styles are grounded in perceptual differences--each individual's perception is unique.

A word-association exercise is a good illustration of these differences. For example, what do you think of when I say the word "table"? Do you think of a piece of furniture, a statistical table, or the phrase "to table" something by putting it on hold?

This simple illustration of diverse interpretations helps to describe how complex situations always result in a variety of understandings. In a classroom, it is common for students to "hear" different directions from a teacher. At a faculty meeting, staff will have selective memories of what has been discussed. These examples do not excuse inattention, but rather describe a perceptual reality that exists even in the most ideal situations.

In essence, style describes what makes a person unique. For centuries, psychologists and philosophers have agreed that both nature and nurture forms our perspective, which in turn guides our behavior. All of us are born with a certain life orientation, and then our experiences shape us further.

A focus on the word "style" further illuminates the definition. When we say someone has a "style of dress" or a "style of speech," we are saying a pattern exists in the person's speech or dress. The pattern is recognizable to others and describes a usual or typical behavior.

We each bring these unique personality characteristics--or style--with us to a learning situation, even at a young age. These distinct patterns direct our approaches to learning and give us reliable ways to perform our tasks.

In and of themselves, the patterns are neutral. It's what we do with our particular traits that creates success or lack of it. Because of certain patterns, however, we may find some tasks easier or harder; when we use our style strengths we learn skills more effectively.

Sundry Models

The work on learning styles has centuries-old roots in Hippocrates' discussion of temperaments. Psychologists long have been interested in individual differences and have described patterns in people's personalities.

Since the late 1960s, these theories about individuality and learning have been infused with new energy and insights, and the phrase "learning styles" has been used to describe them. The field of learning styles now is rich with the work of talented theorists, researchers, and practitioners:

* The initial psychological-type theories of Carl Jung, the 20th-century Swiss psychologist, have been implemented through the work of Katharine Myers and Isabel Myers Briggs and carried out through the Center for the Applications of Psychological Type. That work also has affected concepts of temperament as described by psychologists David Kiersey and Marilyn Bates and learning and teaching style dimensions as described by Robert Hanson, Harvey Silver, and Richard Strong, consultants based in Princeton Junction, N.J.

* Cognitive style differences of field dependence and field independence described in the early '40s by Herman Witkin and his associates have been thoroughly researched in the last 50 years and applied to education in a variety of arenas. I have used this model in my own work to help students understand their own ways of learning and developing effective study skills.

* Rita and Kenneth Dunn, who direct the Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning Styles, carefully observed students' classroom behavior and described patterns in students' environmental, emotional, sociological, and physical needs. They have used a diagnostic-prescriptive approach to help teachers respond to the variety of learning needs. Marie Carbo, director of the National Reading Styles Institute, has applied the Dunns' work to the reading area.

* Anthony Gregorc, an educator and consultant in Columbia, Conn., has articulated the importance of "mind styles," describing fundamental psychological differences in people's perception and processing. Consultant Kathleen Butler has used Gregorc's descriptions to offer a model for "style-differentiated instruction" that combines levels of thinking with differences in learning styles.

* Walter Barbe, former long-time editor of Highlights for Children magazine, and Raymond Swassing, a professor at Ohio State University, have focused on the modality approach, describing auditory, visual, and kinesthetic patterns of learning and offering application suggestions for teachers.