LEARNING STYLES

Learning Styles/Cognitive Styles

üThe habitual manner in which learners receive
and perceive information, process it,
understand it, value it, store it, and recall it.
üThe way a person processes, internalizes
studies, interprets, and changes new and
challenging materials.
 Memletic
Learning
Style

Learning
Style
Models
Dunn and
Kolb’s
Dunn
Learning
Learning
Style
Style
 Memletic Learning Style Model
üRecognizes that each of us prefers to learn in
different ways.
Learning Style Other Term Description Area of the Brain
Responsible
Visual Spatial Prefers using pictures, Occipital lobes and
images, graphs, charts, parietal lobes
logic puzzles, and
spatial understanding

Aural Auditory-Musical Prefers using sound Temporal lobe

and music Right (music)
Verbal Linguistic Prefers using words, Temporal and frontal
both in speech and in lobes
writing
Physical Kinesthetic Prefers using body, Cerebellum and motor
hands, and sense of cortex
touch
Logical Mathematical Prefers using logic, Left parietal lobes
reasoning, and systems

Social Interpersonal Prefers to learn in Frontal and temporal

groups or with other lobes and limbic
people system
Solitary Intrapersonal Prefers to work alone Frontal and temporal
and use self-study lobes and limbic
system
Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model
üMost people can learn, and each individual
has his own unique ways of mastering new
and difficult subject matter.

Psychological Environmental

Physiological Emotional

Sociological
Strand Examples
Environmental Some people study in a cool and quiet room, while others cannot focus
unless they have music playing

Emotional Some people work best when motivated and encouraged, while some
feel motivated when assigned to lead and assume responsibility

Sociological A number of people need to work alone when tackling a new and
difficult subject, while others learn best when working with colleagues

Physiological Some people prefer to study at night, accomplishing more in a quiet

environment; still others find it easier to complete tasks in the morning
as apart of the daily routine.

Psychological Global learners prefer to work in an environment with soft lighting and
informal seating. Analytic learners prefer to work in an environment
with bright lighting and formal seating.
 Kolb’s Learning Style
ü depicts learning as 4 stage cycle beginning with an
intermediate concrete experience during which the
person makes observations and reflections
ü Then the person develops an abstract theory from
which he or she develops ideas on how to proceed.
ü Finally, the person actively experiments with actions to
test them out.
ü The four-stage learning cycle are : social or
accommodating, creative or diverging, intellectual or
assimilating, and practical or converging.
Kolb’s Learning Style
 Kolb’s Learning Style
Kolb then hypothesized that learners need 4
abilities to be effective:
1. Concrete Experience (CE) abilities: Leaning from
actual experience
2. Reflective Observation (RO) abilities: Learning
by observing others
3. Abstract Conceptualization (AC) abilities:
Creating theories to explain what is seen
4. Active Experimentation (AE) abilities: Using
theories to solve problems.
Social/Accomodator Learners
ü Are leaders
ü They learn best by analyzing and solving a problem as a
group using their own intuition and information from
other people rather than from books and lectures.
ü They look for new experiences; often take risks and
employ hands on methods to accomplish their goals.
ü They actively accomplish things often using trial-and-
error methods to solve problems.
ü They may be impatient with other people and act on
intuition and are a risk taker.
Creative/Diverger Learners
ü Are imaginative.
ü They have an open mind to new ideas and offer
multiple perspectives.
ü They value brainstorming with a group although they
often listen and observe sharing their own ideas.
ü They rely on concrete examples to learn, and trust their
own feelings when making decisions.
üThey excel in imagination and awareness of meaning.
üTheir are feeling oriented and people oriented and likes
working in groups.
Intellectual/Assimilator Learners
ü Are organized, logical and precise.
ü They like to learn from lectures, reading, and
contemplation.
ü They find facts, ideas, and information fascinating and
challenging to people and emotions.
ü More scientific than artistic.
üTheir strengths are in inductive reasoning, creating
theoretical models and integrating ideas
ü They prefer playing with ideas to actively and applying it
üThey are more concerned with ideas than with people.
Practical/Converger Learners
ü Are both thinkers and doers.
ü They are those who learn through experimentation,
seeking out new ideas, and discovering practical
applications for them.
ü They can focus intently on selected subjects.
ü They favor technical challenges to interpersonal
matters.
ü They are goal-oriented and make decisions easily.
ü They are good at decision making and problem
solving and likes dealing with technical work rather
than interpersonal relationships.
 Matching Learning Styles to
Instructions
• Some studies have shown increased levels of student
achievement when learners with a strong preference for a
certain style were matched with a similar teaching or testing
style.
• Some studies have shown more student satisfaction when
the teacher matches the student’s learning style, but some
have not.