According to the Felder and Silverman Learning Styles Model (FSM), students have learning preferences regarding how information is obtained, processed, perceived and understood. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) is an online questionnaire created by Felder and Soloman to classify students according to their learning styles. With a priori…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent framework to present the relationship between individual differences and web-based learning. Two individual difference factors have been identified for investigation within the present paper: Cognitive style and prior knowledge. The importance of individual differences is reviewed and previous…

To bring order in concepts related to individual learner differences, Curry (1983) designed the three-layered onion model. As this model provides an interesting way to distinguish related concepts--such as cognitive styles and approaches to studying--on the basis of their stability in learning situations, ample studies build further on this model.…

Implementing instructional interventions to accommodate learner differences has received considerable attention. Among these individual difference variables, the empirical evidence regarding the pedagogical value of learning styles has been questioned, but the research on the issue continues. Recent developments in Web-based implementations have…

This paper identifies the need for a deliberate approach to theory building in the context of researching cognitive and learning style differences in human performance. A case for paradigm shift and a focus upon research epistemology is presented, building upon a recent critique of style research. A proposal for creating paradigm shift is made,…

What is a learning style? No one seems to know for sure. The language used by learning style theorists is filled with ambiguities. Price (2004) maintains that "learning style is often used as a metaphor for considering the range of individual differences in learning" (p. 681). Is learning style merely a fanciful metaphor or is it the wave of the…

The need has arise for the consideration of individual differences, to include their learning styles, learning orientations, preferences and needs in learning to allow learners engage and be responsible for their own learning, retain information longer, apply the knowledge more effectively, have positive attitudes towards the subject, have more…

The purposes of this study were to develop the instructional model for enhancing self-directed learning skills of Bangkok University students, study the impacts of the model on their English reading comprehension and self-directed learning ability as well as explore their opinion towards self-directed learning. The model development process…

This study examined the role of variability and change in children's strategy performance within the context of spelling. The spelling ability of 34 eight- to nine-year-olds was examined using an experimental spelling task comprising 45 items, which varied with regard to rime unit frequency. The spelling task incorporated a series of consistent,…

The idea of a personal style in learning has grown during the past decade to dominate teacher discourse in the UK. The theory supporting this idea is work in understanding cognitive and learning style. A recent review of learning styles for the Learning and Skills Development Agency in the UK has been widely publicised and is deeply critical of…

"Weak central coherence" refers to the detail-focused processing style proposed to characterise autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The original suggestion of a core deficit in central processing resulting in failure to extract global form/meaning, has been challenged in three ways. First, it may represent an outcome of superiority in local…

Describes some ways in which learning styles have been examined. Discusses the ways in which differences in learning styles may develop. Presents educational implications of this work. (RJC)

Discusses development of the Sonnier Model of Hemispheric Preference. Notes frequent references to the senses "visual" and "auditory" rather than the two hemispheric functions "visual" and "analytical." (RS)

This article examines the role of intuition and/or analysis cognitive styles and approaches to studying in business education. The Cognitive Style Index (CSI) and Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI) were administered to 222 American undergraduate business students. The authors found a relationship between analytic orientation and grade…

Howard Gardner's hypothesis of seven distinct types of intelligence is explained and each of the theorized intelligences is related to the theory of cognitive style. The article concludes that multiple intelligence theory is not about new "intelligences," but rather, a reframing of what others have defined as cognitive styles. (DB)