This seems to reaffirm what we've said about the correlation of metacognitive skills to academic success. What's in question is how successful are we at teaching people to think about their own learning, about how they know they know what it is they think they know. I think Einstein said "The important thing is to never stop asking questions." I think this attitude about "ways of knowing" is more important than what senses we use to learn. Unless we're impaired, we should learn to use whatever is needed at the time and skip this "I'm a visual...blah blah" stuff. When thunder rumbles, even visual learners know what it means. It takes visual and auditory skills to know if it's far away or right over your head. I suspect that the sensory deprivation imposed by technology leaves us feeling a little stunted--maybe that's why we eat flamin' hots while watching TV. It makes up for the lack of tactile input while we're living vicariously. This is off the topic, but maybe not totally unrelated.
I also wonder if "never stop asking quetions" is contradicted by "honor thy father and thy mother..." I question whether "belief" discourages thinking about how we know things.
Chris Breihan
ABE Instructor


>>> <PowerPath at aol.com> 09/04/07 12:12 PM >>>

Hi -

I have been reviewing, with great interest, the listings, responses and 
dialogue on learning style inventories.  Many of the learning style inventories 
that have been offered are really very good to begin a conversation about 
learning with students.  

In the 1970s, 1980s, and then again in the 1990s I did research looking at 
the correlation (relationship) of responses of Adult Basic and Literacy 
Education students (in both community programs and in corrections settings) on 
learning style inventories with actual tasks covering the same areas as those 
questioned for preferences on learning style inventories.

For example - a learning style inventory might have a statement such as:  "I 
am good with remembering numbers that I hear."  with response options of: 
"Never" "Sometimes" "Usually" or "Always".

We used subtests from a standardized (normed and validated for adults) 
information processing battery that looked at the actual task related to the tasks 
mentioned on the learning style inventory.   So, for example, "I am good with 
remembering numbers that I hear."   was followed by a test that actually 
checked the student for short-term memory of random numbers of various lengths 
presented auditorially.

We did this over and over - with a final sample of over a hundred randomly 
selected Adult Basic and Literacy Education students from urban and rural areas.

We found that the higher level learners (GED) had a greater (and significant) 
correlation between preferences/stated strengths/challenges and actual 
tasks. Lower level learners had NO correlation between their responses on learning 
style inventories and their actual abilities. 

In addition, we found that higher level learners (GED) - in a 'test retest' 
situation (with no instruction or conversation on learning happening in between 
testings) were consistent on both their responses to learning style inventory 
questions/statements and on the information processing tests.  

Lower lever learners had NO correlation in their responses on learning style 
inventories from one day to another but were very consistent on the 
information processing subtests.

I have drawn several conclusions from this research which you may have heard 
me address in either my conference presentations or professional development 
seminars.  I am interested in what conclusions listserv users might also draw 
from this research.

Laura Weisel, Ph.D.,
Clinical Services
The TLP Group*
PO Box 21510
Columbus, OH  43221
614.850.8677
dr.weisel at powerpath.com

*The TLP Group is a social entrepreneurial company that uses traditional 
entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage ventures for creating 
needed social change to address recognized social problems.  The social 
entrepreneurial company often tackles social problems that have not been successfully 
solved by traditional government or nonprofit initiatives.    

The TLP Group works in partnership with state departments, universities, 
colleges, communities, community providers and institutional providers.  By 
combining the best of talents, the most effective use of resources, and the latest 
evidence based research, The TLP Group is dedicated to making a dramatic impact 
on service delivery and client outcomes.




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