Whether or not styles are malleable is one of the major controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles. Taking thinking styles (one of the intellectual style constructs) as the theoretical basis, the present study aimed at clarifying the issue by examining the change of thinking styles over one year from multiple perspectives. Seven…

Individual differences (IDs) have long been considered one of the most important factors explaining variable rates and outcomes in second language acquisition (Dewaele, 2013). While traditional operationalizations of IDs have, explicitly or implicitly, assumed that IDs are static traits that are stable through time, more recent research inspired…

This study, adopting a longitudinal approach, traces the dynamic word knowledge development of two essential dimensions (meaning and collocation) both receptively and productively in Chinese context. Seven freshmen students (from the same class in a university in Guangzhou) of different language levels were selected to be observed of their English…

Within the scope of the research the following question has been addressed: "Is there a statistically significant difference in students' thinking styles according to (a) gender, (b) academic discipline and (c) grade, between the beginning and the end of an academic semester?" Purpose of the study is to reveal the differentiation…

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.…

In this study, individual differences among the first year undergraduate students' learning styles and motivational styles were examined in two different academic contexts. Changes in students' learning styles and motivational styles were also investigated through a longitudinal design over one academic year. The results of this study showed that…

The persistence of individual differences in phonological development of 10 normally developing children observed at age one and again at age three was studied. The children differed considerably in rate of vocabulary acquisition and relative phonological maturity and also in their general approach to learning. (Author/JDD)

Described in this documentary report are the school lives of seven children and their approaches to learning over a period of 5 years. Chapter 1 presents short introductory vignettes. Each child illustrates a distinctive mode or approach to learning: formalist/traditionalist, reasoner/problem-solver, patterner/adapter, mapper/explorer,…

Reflective teaching has been the basic principle underlying the teacher education program at the Stichting Opleiding Leraren, a teacher's college in Utrecht, The Netherlands. It has been questioned, however, whether reflective teaching is equally suitable for every student. A longitudinal follow-up study was started in which the central research…

Two measures, perceived academic control and action control (i.e., preoccupation with failure), were administered to college students. Achievement-related cognitions, emotions, motivation, and final grades were measured at the end of the course. Of note, high-control, high-failure-preoccupied students outperformed the other groups by one to two…