Surveys the literature on learning style in an effort to help educators become more familiar with the concept. (FL)

Compares the visual and auditory processing factors of the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Revised (WJR COG) and the visual and auditory memory factors of the Learning Efficiency Test, II (LET-II) among 120 college students. Results indicate two significant performance differences between the WJR COG and LET-II. (RJM)

The article critiques a 1987 (Kavale and Forness) meta-analysis which concluded that research does not support modality-based instruction. The study is faulted for its selection criteria as well as its failure to consider demographic differences, achievement level differences, multiplicity of preferences, definitions of terms, effect-size…

This response to Dunn (EC 221 793) reaffirms the conclusions of a meta analysis on modality-based instruction, through elaboration of the study's selection criteria and methodological factors. Although modality-based instruction is seen to be intuitively appealing, educators are encouraged, instead, to apply instructional methods of proven…

Learners' preferred perceptual modalities--the means through which they obtain information--need to be considered in instruction design. Two strategies to individualize instruction are a multisensory approach and point-of-intervention approach. (SK)

Presents factors to consider in selecting learning style assessment instruments and classifies 20 instruments according to these criteria. (SK)

Argues that teachers who manage their classrooms around learning style instruction are engaging in a practice of debatable value. Notes a lack of supportive research and the questionable reliability and validity of learning style inventories. Suggests that confusion over learning style instruction is magnified by the limitations inherent in the…

Of a sample of 63 nursing students, 28 had a perceptual modality preference. Nutrition instruction using this modality was given to 10; the other 18 were taught using another style. When instruction matched learning style, scores were significantly higher on a nutrition achievement test. (SK)

Graduate students (n=134) used the analytic hierarchy process, which weights expressed preferences, to rate four learning activities: lectures, discussion/reflection, individual projects, and group projects. Their preferences for discussion/reflection and individual projects were independent of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles.…

Journal writing is generally required of student teachers; however, there is a void in career and technical education research regarding this activity. The purpose of this study was to examine student teachers' journal writing experiences to obtain insight into the process of developing reflective practitioners. The study drew on the work of Dewey…

Students have specific learning style preferences, and these preferences may be different between male and female students. Understanding a student's learning style preference is an important consideration when designing classroom instruction. Therefore, we administered the visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic (VARK) learning preferences…

It is argued that learning from different sources greatly depends on the differential way in which these sources are perceived, for these perceptions determine to an important extent the mental effort expended in the learning process. Two ideas are discussed: (1) amount of mental effort investment (AIME), defined as the number of nonautomatic…

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…

A questionnaire to assess verbal and visual learning styles was developed based on the Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire and analyzed, using a total of 477 college students in three studies. The three scales developed had adequate reliability and construct validity. The verbal learning style was most strongly correlated with verbal ability, but…

Discusses learning modalities and learning styles in science education. Learning modalities characterize the way the brain takes in information (input) and restructures/expresses the information (output). Learning styles are ways that information is processed once it is obtained. Examples (including Kolb's "Learning-Style Inventory") are included.…