Literature Review

According to Pashler (2008), which concludes that over hundreds of studies, learning style
has no effect on learning. It conceives of individuals' learning processes as differing along two
dimensions: preferred mode of perception (concrete to abstract) and preferred mode of processing
(active experimentation to reflective observations). The Learning Styles Inventory classifies
individuals into four types based on their position along these two dimensions: divergers (concrete,
reflective), assimilators (abstract, reflective), convergers (abstract, active), and accommodators
(concrete, active). The study referenced another article by Massa and Mayer (2006) which
researched whether people who claim to be verbal or visual learners actually do better on
assignments suited towards them. The authors concluded that their results provided no support for
“the idea that different instructional methods should be used for visualizers and verbalizers.”
According to Montgomerry and Groat (1997), there is a correlation between students
learning strategies and their performance in school. They claim that the problem is not because of
the faculty and student styles mismatch, but rather it is the failure to acknowledge and work out
the potential conflicts and misunderstandings that undermine student learning.
According to Sternberg (1990), there is a clear correlation between teaching styles and
learning styles. He says, “learning styles are directly related to how students achieve in school.”
He says without understanding learning styles, we risk teaching in ways that are educationally
ineffective or even counterproductive. Also, different teaching methods, test formats and
assignments are better suited to some styles than to others. Students generally do better on an
assignment when it matches their preferred style of thinking and learning. By providing a variety
of activities that match different learning styles, we will enable a greater number of students to
demonstrate their intellectual ability and to experience success in our classrooms.