Editing Learning styles (section)

==Overview of models==
There are many different learning styles models; one literature review identified 71 different models.<ref name="Coffield" />{{rp|166–168}} Only a few models are described below.

===David Kolb's model===
[[File:David Kolb Experiential Model.jpeg|thumb|A graphical representation of David Kolb's model, placing the grasping and the transformation of experiences along the axes.]]
[[David A. Kolb]]'s model is based on his [[experiential learning]] model, as explained in his book ''Experiential Learning''.<ref name="Kolb">{{cite book |last=Kolb |first=David A. |author-link=David A. Kolb |date=2015 |orig-date=1984 |title=Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development |edition=2nd |location=Upper Saddle River, NJ |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=9780133892406 |oclc=909815841 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6DfBQAAQBAJ}}</ref> Kolb's model outlines two related approaches toward grasping experience: ''Concrete Experience'' and ''Abstract Conceptualization'', as well as two related approaches toward transforming experience: ''Reflective Observation'' and ''Active Experimentation''.<ref name="Kolb"/>{{rp|145}} According to Kolb's model, the ideal learning process engages all four of these modes in response to situational demands; they form a [[learning cycle]] from experience to observation to conceptualization to experimentation and back to experience. In order for learning to be effective, Kolb postulated, all four of these approaches must be incorporated. As individuals attempt to use all four approaches, they may tend to develop strengths in one experience-grasping approach and one experience-transforming approach, leading them to prefer one of the following four learning styles:<ref name="Kolb"/>{{rp|127}}<ref name="SmithKolb1986">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Donna M. |last2=Kolb |first2=David A. |author-link2=David A. Kolb |date=1996 |orig-date=1986 |title=User's guide for the learning-style inventory: a manual for teachers and trainers |location=Boston |publisher=McBer |isbn=9780133892406 |oclc=38505355}}</ref>

# Accommodator = ''Concrete Experience + Active Experiment'': strong in "hands-on" practical doing (e.g., [[physical therapist]]s)
# Converger = ''Abstract Conceptualization + Active Experiment'': strong in practical "hands-on" application of theories (e.g., [[engineer]]s)
# Diverger = ''Concrete Experience + Reflective Observation'': strong in imaginative ability and discussion (e.g., [[social worker]]s)
# Assimilator = ''Abstract Conceptualization + Reflective Observation'': strong in inductive reasoning and creation of theories (e.g., [[philosopher]]s)

Kolb's model gave rise to the Learning Style Inventory, an assessment method used to determine an individual's learning style. According to this model, individuals may exhibit a preference for one of the four styles—Accommodating, Converging, Diverging and Assimilating—depending on their approach to learning in Kolb's experiential learning model.<ref name="Kolb"/>

===Peter Honey and Alan Mumford's model===
Peter Honey and Alan Mumford adapted Kolb's experiential learning model. First, they renamed the stages in the [[learning cycle]] to accord with [[managerial]] experiences: ''having'' an experience, ''reviewing'' the experience, ''concluding'' from the experience, and ''planning'' the next steps.<ref name="Mumford">{{cite book |last=Mumford |first=Alan |chapter=Putting learning styles to work |title=Action learning at work |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgOoHgxObfwC&pg=PA121 |year=1997 |publisher=Gower |location=Aldershot, Hampshire; Brookfield, VT |pages=121–135 |isbn=0566078902 |oclc=35777384}}</ref>{{rp|121–122}} Second, they aligned these stages to four learning styles named:<ref name="Mumford"/>{{rp|122–124}}

# Activist
# Reflector
# Theorist 
# Pragmatist

These learning styles are not innate to an individual but rather are developed based on an individual's experiences and preferences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Duff |first1=Angus |last2=Duffy |first2=Tim |date=2002-07-05 |title=Psychometric properties of Honey & Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886901001416 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=147–163 |doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00141-6 |issn=0191-8869|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Based on this model, the Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Honey |first1=Peter |last2=Mumford |first2=Alan |date=2006 |title=Learning styles questionnaire: 80-item version |location=London |publisher=Maidenhead |isbn=1902899296 |oclc=889619009}}</ref> was developed to allow individuals to assess and reflect on how they consume information and learn from their experiences. It serves as an alternative to Kolb's LSI as it directly asks about common behaviors found in the workplace compared to judging how an individual learns. Having completed the self-assessment, managers are encouraged to focus on strengthening underutilized styles in order to become better equipped to learn from a wide range of everyday experiences. A [[Ipsos MORI|MORI]] survey commissioned by The Campaign for Learning in 1999 found the Honey and Mumford LSQ to be the most widely used system for assessing preferred learning styles in the local government sector in the UK.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}

===Learning modalities===
Walter Burke Barbe and colleagues proposed three learning modalities (often identified by the [[acronym]] VAK):<ref name="Barbe1979">{{cite book |last1=Barbe |first1=Walter Burke |last2=Swassing |first2=Raymond H. |last3=Milone |first3=Michael N. |date=1979 |title=Teaching through modality strengths: concepts practices |location=Columbus, Ohio |publisher=Zaner-Bloser |isbn=0883091003 |oclc=5990906}}</ref>

# Visualizing modality
# Auditory modality
# Kinesthetic modality

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Descriptions of learning modalities
|-
! Visual !! Kinesthetic/tactile !! Auditory
|-
| Picture || Gestures || Listening
|-
| Shape || Body movements || Rhythms 
|-
| Sculpture || Object manipulation || Tone
|-
| Paintings || Positioning || Chants
|}

Barbe and colleagues reported that learning modality strengths can occur independently or in combination (although the most frequent modality strengths, according to their research, are visual or mixed), they can change over time, and they become integrated with age.<ref name="Barbe1981">{{cite journal |last1=Barbe |first1=Walter Burke |last2=Milone |first2=Michael N. |title=What we know about modality strengths |journal=Educational Leadership |publisher=[[Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development]] |date=February 1981 |pages=378–380 |url=http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198102_barbe.pdf}}</ref> They also pointed out that learning modality ''strengths'' are different from ''preferences''; a person's self-reported modality preference may not correspond to their empirically measured modality strength.<ref name="Barbe1981"/>{{rp|378}} This disconnect between strengths and preferences was confirmed by a subsequent study.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krätzig |first1=Gregory P. |last2=Arbuthnott |first2=Katherine D. |date=February 2006 |title=Perceptual learning style and learning proficiency: a test of the hypothesis |journal=[[Journal of Educational Psychology]] |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=238–246 |doi=10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.238}}</ref> Nevertheless, some scholars have criticized the VAK model.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharp |first1=John G. |last2=Bowker |first2=Rob |last3=Byrne |first3=Jenny |date=September 2008 |title=VAK or VAK-uous?: towards the trivialisation of learning and the death of scholarship |journal=Research Papers in Education |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=293–314 |doi=10.1080/02671520701755416|s2cid=11499636 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Franklin |first=Shirley |date=March 2006 |title=VAKing out learning styles—why the notion of 'learning styles' is unhelpful to teachers |journal=Education 3–13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=81–87 |doi=10.1080/03004270500507644|s2cid=143207758 }}</ref> Psychologist [[Scott Lilienfeld]] and colleagues have argued that much use of the VAK model is nothing more than [[pseudoscience]] or a psychological [[urban legend]].<ref name="Lilienfeld">{{cite book |last1=Lilienfeld |first1=Scott O. |author-link1=Scott Lilienfeld |last2=Lynn |first2=Steven Jay |last3=Ruscio |first3=John |last4=Beyerstein |first4=Barry L. |author-link4=Barry Beyerstein |date=2010 |chapter=Myth #18: Students learn best when teaching styles are matched to their learning styles |title=50 great myths of popular psychology: shattering widespread misconceptions about human behavior |location=Chichester, UK; Malden, MA |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |isbn=9781405131117 |oclc=396172891 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DlS0gfO_QUC&pg=PT85 |pages=92–99}}</ref>

===Neil Fleming's VAK/VARK model===
<!--This section is linked from [[Neil Fleming]], [[Visual learning]], [[Auditory learning]], [[Kinesthetic learning]] ([[MOS:HEAD]])-->[[File:Four Types of Learning Styles.jpg|thumb|Visual representation of the 4 learning styles]]
[[Neil Fleming]]'s VARK model and inventory<ref name="Leite">{{cite journal |last1=Leite |first1=Walter L. |last2=Svinicki |first2=Marilla |last3=Shi |first3=Yuying |date=April 2010 |title=Attempted validation of the scores of the VARK: learning styles inventory with multitrait–multimethod confirmatory factor analysis models |journal=[[Educational and Psychological Measurement]] |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=323–339 |doi=10.1177/0013164409344507|s2cid=144889213 }}</ref> expanded upon earlier notions of sensory modalities such as the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues<ref name="Barbe1979"/> and the [[Representational systems (NLP)|representational systems]] (VAKOG) in [[neuro-linguistic programming]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Fleming |first=Neil D. |author-link=Neil Fleming |date=July 1995 |chapter=I'm different; not dumb: modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom |editor1-last=Zelmer |editor1-first=A. C. Lynn |editor2-last=Zelmer |editor2-first=Amy Elliott |title=Higher education: blending tradition and technology: proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of the Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) |series=Research and development in higher education |volume=18 |location=Rockhampton |publisher=Professional Education Centre, Faculty of Health Science, [[Central Queensland University]] |pages=308–313 |isbn=9780133892406 |oclc=154135362 |quote=Those skilled in using neuro-linguistic programming (N.L.P.) and left-brain, right brain theorists have been claiming that the visual, aural, kinesthetic preferences (V,A,K) follow through into creativity, spatial abilities and even vocabulary usage... In addition to the usual three part modal divisions (visual, kinesthetic and aural) a fourth category, the read-writers, has been added for our questionnaire. |chapter-url=http://www.vark-learn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/different_not_dumb.pdf}}</ref> The four sensory modalities in Fleming's model are:<ref name="VARK">{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Neil D. |author-link=Neil Fleming |title=The VARK modalities |url=http://vark-learn.com/introduction-to-vark/the-vark-modalities/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314235648/http://vark-learn.com/introduction-to-vark/the-vark-modalities/ |website=vark-learn.com |date=2014 |archive-date=14 March 2015 |access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref>

# [[Visual learning]]
# [[Auditory learning|Aural learning]]
# Reading/writing learning
# [[Kinesthetic learning]]

While the fifth modality isn't considered one of the four learning styles, it covers those who fit equally among two or more areas, or without one frontrunner:{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

# [[Multimodal learning|Multimodality (MM)]]

Fleming claimed that [[Visual learning|visual learners]] have a preference for seeing (visual aids that represent ideas using methods other than words, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, symbols, etc.). Subsequent [[neuroimaging]] research has suggested that visual learners convert words into images in the brain and vice versa{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=Makes claim that: "Subsequent neuroimaging research" proves something, yet fails to provide said research. This makes the claim difficult or impossible to verify.}}, but some psychologists have argued that this "is not an instance of learning styles, rather, it is an instance of ability appearing as a style". Likewise, Fleming claimed that [[Auditory learning|auditory learners]] best learn through listening (lectures, discussions, tapes, etc.), and [[Kinesthetic learning|tactile/kinesthetic learners]] prefer to learn via experience—moving, touching, and doing (active exploration of the world, science projects, experiments, etc.). Students can use the model and inventory to identify their preferred learning style and, it is claimed, improve their learning by focusing on the mode that benefits them the most. Fleming's model also posits two types of multimodality. This means that not everyone has one defined preferred modality of learning; some people may have a mixture that makes up their preferred learning style. There are two types of multimodality learners: VARK type one learners are able to assimilate their learning style to those around them. VARK type two learners need to receive input or output in all of their preferred styles. They will continue to work until all preferred learning areas have been met.

===Gregorc & Butler's model===
[[Anthony Gregorc]] and Kathleen Butler organized a model describing different learning styles rooted in the way individuals acquire and process information differently.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Butler |first1=Kathleen Ann |last2=Gregorc |first2=Anthony F. |author-link2=Anthony Gregorc |date=1988 |title=It's all in your mind: a student's guide to learning style |location=Columbia, CT |publisher=Learner's Dimension |isbn=0945852010 |oclc=20848567}}</ref> This model posits that an individual's perceptual abilities are the foundation of his or her specific learning strengths, or learning styles.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite web |last=Anderson |first=Margaret |title=Mind Styles: Anthony Gregorc |url=http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/Gregorc.htm |website=cortland.edu |date=3 February 2004 |access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref>

In this model, there are two perceptual qualities: ''concrete'' and ''abstract'', and two ordering abilities: ''random'' and ''sequential''.<ref name="Anderson"/> Concrete perceptions involve registering information through the five senses, while abstract perceptions involve the understanding of ideas, qualities, and concepts which cannot be seen. In regard to the two ordering abilities, sequential ordering involves the organization of information in a linear, logical way, and random ordering involves the organization of information in chunks and in no specific order.<ref name="Anderson"/> The model posits that both of the perceptual qualities and both of the ordering abilities are present in each individual, but some qualities and ordering abilities are more dominant within certain individuals.<ref name="Anderson"/>

There are four combinations of perceptual qualities and ordering abilities based on dominance: ''concrete sequential'', ''abstract random'', ''abstract sequential'', and ''concrete random''. The model posits that individuals with different combinations learn in different ways—they have different strengths, different things make sense to them, different things are difficult for them, and they ask different questions throughout the learning process.<ref name="Anderson"/>

The [[Test validity|validity]] of Gregorc's model has been questioned by Thomas Reio and Albert Wiswell following experimental trials.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reio |first1=Thomas G. |last2=Wiswell |first2=Albert K. |date=June 2006 |title=An examination of the factor structure and construct validity of the Gregorc Style Delineator |journal=[[Educational and Psychological Measurement]] |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=489–501 |doi=10.1177/0013164405282459|s2cid=146783750 }}</ref> Gregorc argues that his critics have "scientifically-limited views" and that they wrongly repudiate the "mystical elements" of "the spirit" that can only be discerned by a "subtle human instrument".<ref name="Gregorc">{{cite web |last=Gregorc |first=Anthony F. |author-link=Anthony Gregorc |title=Frequently asked questions on style |url=http://gregorc.com/faq.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504072936/http://gregorc.com/faq.html |website=gregorc.com |date=29 January 2015 |archive-date=4 May 2015 |access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref>

===Cognitive approaches===
Anthony Grasha and Sheryl Riechmann, in 1974, formulated the Grasha-Reichmann Learning Style Scale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riechmann |first1=Sheryl Wetter |last2=Grasha |first2=Anthony F. |date=July 1974 |title=A rational approach to developing and assessing the construct validity of a student learning style scales instrument |journal=[[The Journal of Psychology]] |volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=213–223 |doi=10.1080/00223980.1974.9915693}}</ref> It was developed to analyze the attitudes of students and how they approach learning. The test was originally designed to provide teachers with insight on how to approach instructional plans for college students.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grasha |first=Anthony F. |date=1996 |title=Teaching with style: a practical guide to enhancing learning by understanding teaching and learning styles |series=Curriculum for change series |location=Pittsburgh |publisher=Alliance Publishers |isbn=0964507110 |oclc=34349818}}</ref> Grasha's background was in [[cognitive processes]] and [[Coping (psychology)|coping]] techniques. Unlike some models of cognitive styles which are relatively nonjudgmental, Grasha and Riechmann distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive styles. The names of Grasha and Riechmann's learning styles are:

*avoidant
*participative
*competitive
*collaborative
*dependent
*independent

Aiming to explain why aptitude tests, school grades, and classroom performance often fail to identify real ability, [[Robert Sternberg]] listed various cognitive dimensions in his book ''Thinking Styles''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sternberg |first=Robert J. |author-link=Robert Sternberg |date=1997 |title=Thinking styles |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0521553164 |oclc=36315844 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgxBqGIfJjAC}}</ref> Several other models are also often used when researching [[cognitive style]]s; some of these models are described in books that Sternberg co-edited, such as ''Perspectives on Thinking, Learning, and Cognitive Styles''.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Sternberg |editor1-first=Robert J. |editor1-link=Robert Sternberg |editor2-last=Zhang |editor2-first=Li-fang |date=2001 |title=Perspectives on thinking, learning, and cognitive styles |location=Mahwah, NJ |publisher=[[Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]] |isbn=0805834303 |oclc=44619517 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMeQAgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Zhang |editor1-first=Li-fang |editor2-last=Sternberg |editor2-first=Robert J. |editor2-link=Robert Sternberg |date=2009 |title=Perspectives on the nature of intellectual styles |location=New York |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |isbn=9780826104601 |oclc=301893408 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6drSmW4AbfEC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Zhang |editor1-first=Li-fang |editor2-last=Sternberg |editor2-first=Robert J. |editor2-link=Robert Sternberg |editor3-last=Rayner |editor3-first=Stephen |date=2012 |title=Handbook of intellectual styles: preferences in cognition, learning, and thinking |location=New York |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |isbn=9780826106674 |oclc=714734148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Og8rJGaXCDwC}}</ref>

===NASSP model===
In the 1980s, the [[National Association of Secondary School Principals]] (NASSP) formed a task force to study learning styles.<ref name="Keefe1985">{{cite journal |last=Keefe |first=James W. |date=March 1985 |title=Assessment of learning style variables: the NASSP task force model |journal=Theory into Practice |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=138–144 |jstor=1476430 |doi=10.1080/00405848509543162}}</ref> The task force defined three broad categories of style—cognitive, affective, and physiological—and 31 variables, including the perceptual strengths and preferences from the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues,<ref name="Barbe1981"/> but also many other variables such as need for structure, types of motivation, time of day preferences, and so on.<ref name="Keefe1985"/>{{rp|141–143}} They defined a learning style as "a ''[[Holism|gestalt]]''—not an amalgam of related characteristics but greater than any of its parts. It is a composite of internal and external operations based in neurobiology, personality, and human development and reflected in learner behavior."<ref name="Keefe1985"/>{{rp|141}}

* Cognitive styles are preferred ways of perception, organization and retention.
* Affective styles represent the motivational dimensions of the learning personality; each learner has a personal motivational approach.
* Physiological styles are bodily states or predispositions, including sex-related differences, health and nutrition, and reaction to physical surroundings, such as preferences for levels of light, sound, and temperature.<ref name="Keefe1985"/>{{rp|141}}

According to the NASSP task force, styles are hypothetical constructs that help to explain the learning (and teaching) process. They posited that one can recognize the learning style of an individual student by observing his or her behavior.<ref name="Keefe1985"/>{{rp|138}} Learning has taken place only when one observes a relatively stable change in learner behavior resulting from what has been experienced.

=== Felder and Silverman's model ===
[[Richard Felder]] and Linda Silverman developed their own index for determining learning styles. The Felder Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM) is a type of learning styles based on a two-step process, where the individual first receives the information through an internal or external mean and then processes it.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Harrington-Atkinson |first=Tracy |date=2022-06-30 |title=Felder and Silverman Index of Learning Styles |url=https://tracyharringtonatkinson.com/felder-and-silverman-index-of-learning-styles-overview/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Paving the Way |language=en-US}}</ref>

Felder and Silverman discovered five areas that affected learning:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Felder |first=Richard |date=November 1, 2024 |title=Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire |url=https://learningstyles.webtools.ncsu.edu/ |access-date=November 1, 2024 |website=NC State University Learning Styles}}</ref>

# Active/Reflective
# Visual/Verbal
# Sensing/Intuition
# Sequential/Global
# Inductive/Deductive

They placed each of the opposing areas on a spectrum, stating that when students used the entire spectrum, they achieved optimal learning. In 2002, Felder removed the Inductive and Deductive portion because it did not fit the model well given the differences in inductive and deductive teaching methods. Felder and Silverman placed Active, Visual, Sensing, and Sequential on one side of the spectrum and their counterparts on the opposing side.<ref name=":02" />

Felder also noted, however, that while full understanding of the spectrum allows for optimal learning, that mismatches do exist. Specifically, when a professor does not teach to the learning styles of their students, many students tend to lose interest in the class, going as far as changing to other studies or dropping out of school entirely.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learning Styles and Index of Learning Styles |url=https://engr.ncsu.edu/stem-resources/legacy-site/learning-styles/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Teaching and Learning STEM |language=en-US}}</ref>