Learning Style and Learning Strategies

Subject: Education
Pages: 5
Words: 1363
Reading time:
5 min
Study level: College

Introduction

The history of improving by expanding, enlarging or refining education cannot be detached from the history of college learning instruction (Francis, Taylor, p.9).

Cross (1979) makes a possibility or provide opportunity for one of the original historical consultations with a special emphasis still undergoing evolution in the field of developmental education.

However, the Lack of substance or significance of the new developmental education brand is ascertained in Cross’ purpose of the term corrective in positioning close together with developmental in the chapter’s title. The debate is focussed at two things or areas being discussed:

  1. foundations of poor academic performance
  2. historical trends in ascertaining or fixing the value or worth of remediation in higher education.

The intention of this paper is to discover personal learning style so as to apply it to particular study and practical methods of test-taking. The learning style will be employed to mark study of elaborate and systematic plan of action, manage the surroundings to develop learning, realize elevated results on act of examining something closely, and develop skills of communication.

However, different people have different ways in how they analysis the world, how they acquire acts from which conclusions may be drawn and finally how they carry through based on their representation of what is perceived. These qualities of being unlike or dissimilar are innate gifts of the mind. Psychological type is a term defining where people tend to form a pattern to focus their attention.

Psychological category made, joined or united into one with a perceptual structure of learning new information, carrying out a function, and getting encouraged while using prominent attribute of Involving or derived from the senses, preferences can be classified as a learning style. A favourable judgment and use of learning style have an effect upon the ability to study efficiently and to achieve success (Fratzka, 103).

Fixed firmly and stably on personal learning style, student’s grades can always get better if they get skilled in using learning-style precise techniques to obtain information and make conclusions about that information (Shain 150).

Nevertheless, Psychological studies provides evidence that educational success depends on the understanding of the ways used to attain new information and the act of making up your mind on what to do with the information studied (Anchors, and Provost Judith 29).

Leaning strategies and the consciousness of how and when to use the learning strategies will have an effect upon the capability to get hold of the breadth and profundity of information needed to excel in exams. As soon as an individual learns to apply a comprehensive and systematic method of taking in information and deciding what to do with that information, the expanded learning-style repertoire can make a significant difference in grades (Leon and Martinez, 89).

Learning Style and Learning Strategies

The field of learning styles includes more than 70 models with conflicting assumptions and competing ideas about learning (Coffield et al, 2004). In the UK, Kolb’s (1999) Learning style Inventory (LSI), Honey and Mumford’s (1992) Learning Styles Questionnaire, Ridding’s (1991) Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA) and Allinson and Hayes’ (1988) Cognitive Style Index are broadly used and known. This is a practical model widely applied in schools in the USA as well as in Scandinavia.

Learning style is defined as:

The way each learner begins to concentrate on, process and retain new and difficult information

Within this model the term “learning style adapted teaching” means applying the methods that correspond to the student’s styles as revealed in a self-report learning style analysis (for example using the Productivity Environment Preference Survey Teaching based on the students’ identified style is thus one way to individualize instruction and is offered as a method to encourage and develop motivation. However, PEPS does not assess a complete range of styles of learning and thinking and other inventories (Francis, Taylor et al.34)

While the general consensus is that learning strategies describe the way in which students choose to deal with specific learning tasks (Coffield et al., 75), many researchers utilize different definitions and add other dimensions to the term.

Some see learning strategies spontaneous choices, learned or conscious patterns, others differentiate between direct or indirect strategies (Chamot and, O’Malley 120) identified the following learning strategies for students: listening, questioning, talking, thinking, intuition, action, reading, writing and vision as well as combinations of these strategies. She, however, questions whether some strategies (for example: listening or thinking) should be defined as ways of gaining knowledge rather than as learning strategies per se.

An important question is whether there exists a difference between the concepts of learning strategy and study techniques. General study strategies (such as “mind-mapping”) can be directly conflicting with the best learning strategy for some students. In investigating learning strategies for reading, it is emphasized that teachers should develop competence in their students so they can create their own strategies. (Lier, Leo V. p 184 ) points out how learning strategies take on a distributive role arguing that student’s previous knowledge, their learning style and the problems they face influence their choice of strategy. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the conditions under which learning takes place and creating a consciousness of this among teachers and students. Her findings indicated that inefficient strategies result in incorrect decisions in the learning process and that it takes energy as well as hard work to replace ineffective strategies with strategies based on an understanding of the individual need.

These researchers emphasize the importance of meta-cognition as a basis for building strategies, and as Evans and Sadler-Smith (1999) argued the potential of such awareness lies in enabling students to recognize and question long-held habitual behaviour. These researchers, further, indicate that individuals can and should be taught to monitor and use various learning styles and strategies.

In conclusion, we find that style a popular term found in everyday life. It is variously used to describe aspects of individuality. It may be used to describe grace of a gymnast, the manner and cut of a new fashion on the modelling and even the way a person may think, learn, teach, and or talk.

It is also reasonable to conclude that style can be understood to refer to an individual difference in method or process. Nevertheless, style can also be used as a technical term in a variety of contents, especially to define an individual difference between people within a context of learning behaviour. In the psychology of learning, style has been recognised as a key construct. This was further proven to reflect the fundamental makeup of a person. Furthermore, it has a physical basis that controls the way in which an individual responds to the events and ideas they experience.

As a learner, the individual is engaged in a lifelong process like the building up of a repertoire of learning skills and strategies that are regulated by their cognitive style, and that together form a unique pattern of style that defines the shape and texture of an individual’s learning performance.

Works Cited

Anchors, and Provost Judith. Applications of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in higher education. Michigan. Consulting Psychologists Press, 1987. Print.

Chamot and O’Malley. Learning strategies in second language acquisition. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print.

Coffield, et al. Differing visions of a learning society: research findings, Volume 1. Great Britain. UK:The Policy Press, 2000. Print.

Cross, K. P. (1971). Beyond the open door: New students to higher education. San Fransico: Jossey-Bass.

Cross, Malcolm Urbanization and urban growth in the Caribbean: an essay on social change in dependent societies. Cambridge: CUP Archive, 1979. Print.

Evans and Sadler-Smith, Learning styles in education and training. Durham, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. 2006. Print.

Francis, Taylor et al. Handbook of college reading and study strategy research. New York, NY: 2009. Print.

Fratzka, B.J. (1989) A study of the relationship between preferred learning style and personality type among traditonal age college students and adult learners. Dissertation Abstracts International 49 (12-A, PT 1), P 3587.

Lier, Leo V. The ecology and semiotics of language learning: a sociocultural perspective. Netherlands: Springer, 2004. Print.

Shain, Deborah D. Study skills and test-taking strategies for medical students: find and use your personal learning style. E, lkins: Springer, 1995. Print.