COGNITIVE STYLES
While sensory modalities refer to how we perceive new input (what channel – visual, auditory or kinaesthetic – we tend to prefer),
cognitive styles
[I1]
[I2]
[I3]
[F1]
[F2]
[F3]
[F4]
[S1]
[S2]
[S3]
[S4]
refer to how we process new information, how knowledge is organized in our mind (in order to be able to remember it and retrieve it).
Although it is not easy to identify and describe mental processes, we can talk, in general terms, about polar oppositions (
two poles
which define a continuum. Students place themselves somewhere along this continuum).
EXAMPLES OF POLAR OPPOSITIONS
ANALYTIC AND GLOBAL LEARNERS
[E1]
[I1]
[S1]
[S2]
Analytic learners tend to prefer logical reasoning; they tend to get at details through analysis; they absorb information and acquire understanding of material in small connected chunks.
Global learners tend to go for the main idea; they tend to start from a general overview of the learning task and then to process new input in a random and casual way; they grasp the total picture.
SENSING AND INTUITIVE LEARNERS
[E1]
Sensing learners like facts, data and experimentation (drawing objective conclusions from what they observe); a sensing person perceives information realistically and precisely.
Intuitive learners tend to rely on indirect perception by way of the subconscious (they tend to draw subjective conclusions from what they perceive); (an intuitive person concentrates on meaning rather than details.
CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT LEARNERS
[E1]
Concrete learners
are more inclined to rely on memorization (they like using drills and flash cards) as a learning strategy; they tend to be sequential, grounded in the present; they tend to process information step-by-step.
Abstract learners tend to deal better with principles, concepts and theories; they tend to be non-sequential and abstract.
ACTIVE AND REFLECTIVE LEARNERS
[E1]
[E2]
[S1]
Active learners
have a tendency toward the experimentation; they tend to live the learning experience and then to understand it; they prefer doing something with the new information (discussing it, or explaining it, or testing it in some way).
Reflective learners
tend to examine and manipulate the information introspectively; they tend to understand the learning experience before actually living it; they tend to focus on thoughts and concepts.
