The Search for Style: It All Depends on Where You Look.

This paper traces the history of 11 prominent learning style theorists from the 1970s to the present. Several theorists focused on the student's cognitive processing style. Manuel Ramirez attributed Mexican-American students' tendency toward field sensitivity to their socialization. Charles Letteri classified learners as analytic, global, or combination processors. Anthony Gregorc identified four styles of cognitive processing which combined concrete and abstract spatial and sequential and random temporal components. Ronald R. Schmeck conceptualized cognitive style in a developmental fashion, proceeding from global to analytic. David Kolb identified four learning modes, concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation; and for learning styles, accommodation, assimilation, converging, and diverging. Joseph Hill defined learning style as the way an individual searches for meaning and considered cognitive processes, perceptual modalities, and sociological elements. Harry Reinert focused on students' reactions to an auditory stimulus to enhance learning. David Hunt examined sociological and emotional components of learning style, such as need for structure and peerversus adult-orientation. Kenneth Dunn and Rita Dunn developed a comprehensive model dealing with environmental, emotional, sociological, physical, and psychological learning style elements which provides information directly related to teaching strategies. Bernice McCarthy developed a lesson plan model which provides a sequence of instruction to move students from concrete experience to reflective observation to abstract conceptualization to active experimentation. The models complement and build on one another, but there is still considerable debate on the issue of matching the learner's style or altering it. (Contains 31 references.) (KDFB) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************************************

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