Classification of Learning Styles

Overview

A useful approach for understanding and describing different learning styles, or models, is to classify them into different groups based on what the model measures or describes. Psychologists have come up with nearly as many classifications of these styles as the number of styles themselves. Here are descriptions of several well-known classifications:

§ Sensory – Which of your senses do you learn best with in different situations? Do you learn better by hearing a lecture, seeing diagrams drawn on the board, doing a lab, or writing notes? Or, do you learn best using a combination of these factors?

§ Perceptual - Are you more right brained or left brained?  The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain that houses rational functions and is divided into two hemispheres which sends messages back and forth between the hemispheres. The left side of the brain is the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order. The right side is more visual and processes intuitively, holistically, and randomly. Most people seem to have a dominant side.

§ Cognitive – The way a person perceives, remembers, thinks, and solves problems. How do you process experiences and knowledge? Do you learn sequentially or randomly?

§ Personality - Some people are very outgoing and fun-oriented, while others are more quiet and introspective; some people are highly analytical in decision making, while others use their feelings for deciding; some people feel more comfortable living a planned, orderly life, while others prefer to live spontaneously. Though the number of observed traits appears limited, the subtle and unique interaction between these traits leads to the conclusion that every individual is gifted with a truly unique personality.

§ Information Processing Model – Every person has a different process by which information is obtained, sorted, stored, & utilized.

§ Affective – This includes personality and emotional characteristics related to areas such as persistence, responsibility, motivation, and peer interaction. Do you prefer working by yourself or with peers? Are you more competitive or cooperative?

§ Physiological – This is biologically based and relates to sex differences, nutrition, and reaction to physical environment. Does background music help you concentrate, or does it distract you?

§ Experiential – This is primarily applied to higher education and addresses the manner in which students choose to learn (deep vs. surface learning) and what motivates them to learn (to receive an “A” or having a personal commitment to learning).

In this tutorial, the learning styles have been divided into three categories based on their common descriptions and measurements:

1. Cognitive

2. Personality

3. Experiential