learning-styles

LSRC reference Section 7
page 116/117
Empirical evidence for impact on pedagogy
Sternberg and his associates (eg Grigorenko and Zhang)
have carried out many studies exploring particular
aspects of the theory of mental self-government and
the TSI: for instance, the ability of thinking styles to
predict academic achievement over and above ability;
the relationships between thinking styles and learning
approaches, student characteristics (such as age,
gender and socio-economic status) and self-esteem.
The significance for pedagogy of the findings of these
studies tends to be inferred by the authors rather than
directly studied. The results most relevant to pedagogy
include the findings from a study of four US schools that
‘students performed better when they were more like
their teachers stylistically, independent of actual level
of achievement’ and that ‘different school[s] rewarded
different styles’ (Sternberg 1999, 130). In general,
it can be said that the earlier studies with Grigorenko
were carried out with relatively small samples
(eg 124 students from four schools), but the later
cross-cultural studies with Zhang involve substantial
numbers of participants (eg 646 students from
Hong Kong, 215 from China and 67 from the US):
see Zhang and Sternberg (2001) for more details.
Conclusions
Sternberg has produced an original theory of mental
self-government (MSG) and has derived his TSI from it;
this is beginning to be used and tested, particularly
in China. It is important to realise that this new theory
has not been developed from the thinking or empirical
studies of other researchers, so it may be better to
consider it not as a theory of learning or thinking styles,
but as an intriguing metaphor which may or may not
prove to be productive in stimulating research and
in changing practice. It is, at present, too early to offer
a comprehensive evaluation.
A series of research projects in universities and
secondary schools in the US, Hong Kong and mainland
China are now enhancing our understanding of thinking
styles. The claims made for the implications of the
theory for pedagogy are extensive, but the number
of empirical studies which have tested these claims
remains low. Moreover, the implications for pedagogy
that Sternberg lists are of a very general nature
and some of them have only a tenuous connection
with his research.
One possible (but highly unrealistic) outcome from
this theory, which describes no less than 13 different
thinking styles, is that teachers and tutors could be
invited to produce lessons which cater for all 13 styles.
Sternberg avoids such difficulties by couching his advice
in very general terms; for example, that teachers should
use a variety of teaching and assessment methods and
should provide their students with an understanding
of different styles. In other words, the implications
for pedagogy are based on common-sense inferences
from the theory rather than on the findings of any
experimental studies.
Grigorenko and Sternberg (1995) have suggested
two main reasons for the sudden flowering of research
interest in learning styles in the late 1960s and early
1970s. First, the notion was attractive to many theorists
‘because of their disappointment with intelligence
tests and the need for new measures of individual
differences’ (1995, 218). Second, researchers from
psychology and business studies began to explore
the concept of learning styles because it was so flexible
and ill defined.
More recently, Sternberg has assessed the
learning/thinking/cognitive styles field and addressed
the mystery of why such research, ‘so active and unified
under the cognitive styles banner in the middle of the
[20th] century, seems to be so much less unified
and active by the end of the century’ (2001, 249).
He attributed the current lack of unity and activity
to four main reasons: the early theories were not
distinguishable from abilities or personality traits;
the main theorists remained isolated from each other
and from the psychological literature more generally;
the quality of early empirical research was poor;
and no common conceptual framework or language
has emerged – in its place, different languages
and labels have proliferated. Sternberg concluded
(2001, 250) as follows: ‘The result is a kind
of balkanisation of research groups, and balkanisation
has always led to division and, arguably, death by
a thousand cuts’. It is also arguable that Sternberg
has himself contributed to such balkanisation and that
the answer to his own question – do we need another
theory of learning styles? – is probably best answered
in the negative.