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.…

Drawing on theoretical perspectives related to play and identity, play as a literary and social text, and multimodality, I present an analysis of a play narrative centred on the theme of playing house. The narrative exemplifies the interconnections between literacy and identity in the social and cultural world of a young girl growing up in a…

In response to recent technological advances and the trend toward flexible learning in education, the authors examined the factors affecting student satisfaction with flexible online learning. The authors identified 2 key student attributes of student satisfaction: (a) positive perceptions of technology in terms of ease of access and use of online…

This article reviews research on the modality effect, the educational practice of presenting to-be-learned graphical information visually, and related textual information through an auditory mode. Meta-analytic methods were applied to 43 independent effects (39 between-subjects designs, 4 within-subjects designs). Major hypotheses regarding the…

Partnership and sector-wide approaches have become common denominators for success in educational development. It is, however, far easier to agree on the rhetoric than to implement the underlying principles. The comparative analysis of Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique highlights how far governments and agencies still have to go in order to…

Research suggests that students learn better when studying a picture coupled with narration rather than on-screen text in a computer-based multimedia learning environment. Moreover, combining narration with the visual presence of an animated pedagogical agent may also encourage students to process information deeper than narration or on-screen…

Objective: To assess: (1) physicians' knowledge and clinical confidence regarding problematic substance use in pregnancy compared to folic acid, and (2) physicians' desire for education in this area and their preferred learning modalities tools. Design: Self-administered survey. Setting: "Family Medicine Forum 2004" in Toronto, Canada.…

Recent studies have suggested that unusual visual processing in autism might stem from enhanced visual discrimination. Although there are also many anecdotal reports of auditory and tactile processing disturbances in autism these have received comparatively little attention. It is possible that the enhanced discrimination ability in vision in…

Researchers have found that the elderly are as capable of learning motor skills as younger persons but perform better under some conditions than others. For example, the elderly learn and perform motor skills more efficiently when there is additional time to respond to stimulus. Tasks which are self-regulated rather than directed by an external…

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 look at the two dimensions of the structure of content for instructional purposes: 1) psychological; and, 2) logical. (HB)