----------------------- Page 1----------------------Cognitive Styles and Learning Styles Cognitive styles describe how the individual acquires knowledge

(cognition) and processes information (conceptualization). Cognitive styles are related to mental behaviors which individuals apply habitually when they are solving problems. In general they affect the way in which information is obtained sorted and uti-

lized. Cognitive style is usually described as a stable and pe rsistent pe rsonality dimension which influences attitudes, values,

and social interaction. It is a characteristic of cognitive processing which is particular to a certain individual or class of individuals. Before the 1970s individual differences were synonymous with differences in ab ility at least in the field of learning theory. Nevertheless many psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s became increasingly concerned about the narrowness of abilities measured by standard intelligence tests. Emphasis on abstract logical reasoning seemed to restrict intellige nce to convergent thinking towards pre-determined answers but excluded the type of "divergent thinking" which leads to imaginative or creative innovation. Guilford (1965) introduced a model of the structure of the intellect which differentiated between a number of cognit ive operations including convergent and divergent thinking. Divergent thought soon became equated with creativity but although his concepts of fluency flexibility and originality are still widely used the value of his contributions to the understanding of creative thinking is now thought to be questionable. ----------------------- Page 2----------------------2

To date 19 different ways of de-

as many as

scribing cognitive s tyles have been identified all sist of bi-polar distinctions (Entwistle, 1988). It was Witkin who introduced the term cognitive style to describe the concept that individuals consistently exhibit stylistic preferences for the ways in which they o rganize stimuli and construct meanings for themselves out of their experiences. Cognitive styles inc lude variables within a single dichotomy such d field-dependent vs. as global-holistic vs. focused-detaile of which con

field-independent. Indeed one of the most cited cognitive styles is the f ielddependence-fi eldindependence construct which has become a sort of general theory of perce ption intellect and personality. According to Witkin Moore Goodenough and Cox's (1977) defini tion field independence is "the extent to which a pe rson p erceives par t of a fi eld as discrete from the surrounding fi eld as a whole, rather than embedded in the f ield; or . . . the extent to which the p erson p erceives analy tically" . These researchers found that bodily and visual cues usually coincide with each other but when they do not people tend to rely on either on e of these two standards. Witkin (1977) developed the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) to examine field dependence and field independence. The GEFT involves having someon e find simple graphical figures which are embedded within more complex backgrounds. ----------------------- Page 3----------------------3 Witkin described individuals who tended to rely on external cues and were less a ble to identi-

fy an embedded figure in an organized field as being fi eld dependent and those who tended to rely on internal cues and were more able to identify an embedded figure in an or ganized field as being fi eld independ ent. The central feature of this style is the "extent of autonomous functioning" ( Witkin Gooddenough & Otman aced on is 1979). This means that the key dimension individuals can be pl

whether they characteristically rely on the external environment as a given rath er than working on it. As the name suggests those who tend to accept or rely on the external en vironment are relatively more Field Dependent (FD) while those who tend to work on it are rel atively more Field Independent (FI). Witkin (1969 p. 294) argues that "the style of functioning we first picked up in perception manifests itself as well in intellectual activity". Fie ld dependence or field independence are the p erceptual components of a particular cognitive style. Thus "at one extreme there is a tendency for experience to be diffuse and global; the org anisation of a field as a whole dictates the way in which its parts are experienced. At the oth er extreme the tendency is for experience to be delineated and structured; parts of a field are experienced as discrete and the field as a whole is structured." The construct FD-FI has become very broad over the years and encompasses not onl y cognitive and metacognitive elements but also the socio-affective side of the learner . However we will not work out this aspect in more detail at this point but rather refer to a more limited version of the FD-FI dichotomy which was developed with special reference to education and which has special significance for an individuals choice of learning strategies. This is Pasks (1969) distinction between serialist and holist styl es of l earning.

----------------------- Page 4----------------------4 A holist style involves a preference for seeing the task in the broadest possibl e perspective and gaining an overview of the area of study in order to contextualize the details ( Entwistle 1988). This has implications for metacognitive strategies such as previewing anizational planorg

ning and directed and selective attention. Previewing will tend to come natural ly but may be rather indiscriminate. It is perhaps more difficult for holists to extract the o rganizing principle from a text without explicit cues. Holists may also have more difficulty in atte nding to a task or deciding what is essential in the early stages. In performing writing ta sks they are more likely to discover what they want to say through a global strategy of drafti ng and redrafting rather than by filling in an initial outline be "idiosyncratic and and their approach tends to

personalised" (Entwistle, 1988, p. 62). They may also have difficulties evaluati ng form. Holists use visual imagery and personal experience to build up understanding. Dr awing mindmaps using imagery and color are useful memory strategies for holists. Cre ative elaboration (e.g., making up stories) and personal elaboration are also likely to appeal to holists. However they may need to develop strategies that compensate for a natural tendency to ov ergeneralize and ignore important differences between ideas. Such attention-directing strategies are described by De Bono (1976) and include "thinking tools" such as listing other pe oples points of view, arguments for and against a proposal, etc. In contrast Pask (1969) describes a serialist style as step-by-step learni ng. The focus is narrow with the student concentrating on each step of the argument in order and in

isolation. Serialists approach the study of new material by stringing a sequence of cognitive structures together and thus tend to be very intolerant of redundant information because of t he extra burden it places on memory. They are likely to use planning and selective attention strategies too ----------------------- Page 5----------------------5 early in an attempt to limit the amount of information they have to deal with. W hen performing writing tasks they may need to make a considerable effort to "brainstorm" for new ways of approaching a subject and are likely to have difficulty evaluating content wh ich "tends to be carefully structured and clearly presented but may be dull and humourless" (Ent wistle 1988 p. 63) and is "lacking in personal interpretation or independent conclusions ." Unlike holists serialists are good at noticing even trivial differences but are poor a t noticing similarities. Thus they may need to use elaboration strategies that emphasize how different pa rts of new information can be related to each other as well as to personal experience. A word of caution must be added here. As with the FI/FD dimension olist dichotomy of which the serialist-h

forms a part few people are totally serialist or holist in their approach. Pask found some students who were versatile: They were equally comfortable with either style and co uld use both as needed. Other students however her of these showed a marked over-reliance on one or ot 1988

styles which gave rise to characteristic learning pathologies (Entwistle p. 62). These individuals are likely to prove the most impervious to strategy training. ----------------------- Page 6-----------------------

6 Learning Styles We each learn and process information in different ways. Many students dont reali ze this because most of them attended schools where teachers delivered instruction in one way and did not encourage students to learn their unique styles. What is the difference between learning styles and cognitive styles? As stated a bove cognitive styles are individual characteristics of cognitive processing which are par ticular to a certain individual or class of individuals whereas a learning style is the manner in which a learner perceives interacts with and responds to the learning environment. Componen ts of learning styles are the cognitive affective and physiological elements all of whic h may be strongly influenced by a person's cultural background. In general there are many different ways to classify learning styles. Th ese fall into general categories: perceptual modality, information processing, and personality pattern s. (See also: http://www.learnativity.com/learningstyles.html, Messick S. (1994): The matter of styl e: Manifestations of personality in cogn ition, learning, and teaching. Educational Psychologist 29(3) 12 1-136). The categories represent ways to focus on the learner.

Perceptual modalities define biologically based reactions to our physical en vironment and represent the way we most efficiently adopt data. Learning our perception s tyle helps us to seek out information in the format it can be processed in most directly. In accordance with this, we can distinguish between ----------------------- Page 7-----------------------

7 visual learners (learning through seeing): These learners need to see the tea cher's body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual ob structions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in pictures and learn best from v isual displays s videos including diagrams illustrated textbooks overhead transparencie

flipcharts and handouts. During a lecture or classroom discussion visual l earners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information. Auditory learners (learning through listening): They learn best through verbal lec-

tures discussions talking things through and listening to what others hav e to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech by listening t o tone y of voice pitch have little speed and other nuances. Written information ma

meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text al oud and using a tape recorder. Tactile or kinesthetic learners (learning by moving, doing, and touching...: T hey learn best through physical world a hands-on approach actively exploring the

around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration. ----------------------- Page 8----------------------8 Information processing distinguishes between the way we sense think solv e problems

and remember information. Each of us has a preferred consistent distinct w ay of perceiving organizing and retaining information. For example forms of learning t hrough workshops practical activities or through informal methods may suit some peo ple more than others. Sometimes people feel they are not good at learning when it may ju s t be that they don't know their own learning styles. Personality patterns focus on attention emotion and values. Studying the se differences allows us to predict the way we will react and feel about different situatio ns. This is a very interesting website for learning style resources: http://www.support4learning.org.uk/education/lstyles.htm For examples of learning styles go to: http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/fourls.htm Perceptual Learning-Style Preference Questionnaire: http://lookingahead.heinle.com/filing/l-styles.htm