2.3 Theoretical framework
2.3.2 The origin of the learning styles theory
The learning styles theory is a relatively common theory in the teaching and learning of mathematics, today. It is of paramount importance for scholars to know how the theory developed. In this section, a brief history of the learning styles theory is given.
According to Chandler (2019), the study of learning styles started in the twentieth century with the development of an intelligence test by Binet Afred in 1904. Alfred developed an intelligence test in order to identify students who needed extra care in learning. He had particular interest in individual learning differences. According to Wishner (2019), Afred Binet studied children (including his own two daughters), mental patients and professional artists in order to come up with the intelligence test. His study was guided by the belief that an individual’s score on the intelligence test can vary depending on a number of factors. One of the factors is motivation. According to Binet in Wishner, when a learner is motivated to learn, there is a possibility that the learner’s intelligence improves. In his remarks, Binet gave room for further studies on individual differences as he admitted that his work had some limitations (Cherry, 2019).
The development of an intelligence test by Alfred Binet and the fact that he had admitted that his work had some limitations challenged other scholars to pursue vigorous studies on individual differences in learning. One of the scholars who followed Alfred Binet’s footsteps was Maria Montessori. According to Chandler (2019), Maria Montessori initiated the Montessori Method of Education in 1907. Montessori Method of Education entails that the teacher makes use of materials that enhance the learning styles of his or her learners. She adopted a model which was later referred to as the ‘follow-the-child’ model. This means the child determines what the teacher teaches. The teacher’s instruction is tailored to suit the child’s interests, abilities and learning styles. It has to be child-centred. The child is provided with a variety of learning materials and the child chooses the materials to use in learning under the guidance of the teacher. The teacher’s role is only to facilitate learning and to ensure safety to the child. With this method, the teacher acknowledges the individual learning styles of the learners. He or she is also mandated to assist the learners to develop on other learning styles that may not be dominant in them. According to Chandler (2019), Montessori believed that learners show mastery of subject content through their actions and not by responding to multiple choice questions. For that reason, the ideas that were shared by Montessori were action related. With passage of time, the Montessori Method of Education was adopted by several schools around the world, which deal with young learners.
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According to Chandler (2019), after discoveries by Montessori, studies on learning styles were put to a halt for about fifty years and then they continued in the 1950s. During the period when studies on learning styles had stopped, emphasis was put on studies on academic performance of the learners. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom emerged with his taxonomy. It was referred to as Bloom’s taxonomy. The taxonomy contributed immensely in explaining differences in learning styles. Bloom classified students’ learning styles into six levels of cognitive thinking. As explained by Chandler, the levels were quite distinct and the following were the levels suggested by Bloom: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The levels are hierarchical and they can be represented in a pyramid form, with a wider base and a narrow top. From the bottom of the pyramid, the first three levels are more basic than the other three. According to Bloom (1956), a learner progresses from the lower level towards the apex. A learner who masters an upper level is deemed to have mastered the lower levels because according to Bloom, mastery progresses from the bottom of the pyramid to the top. Bloom believed that when teachers teach, their emphasis should be on mastery of subjects and not on transfer of knowledge. He discouraged teachers from using rote methods of teaching. Rote methods of teaching serve to transfer knowledge from teachers to students, sometimes without proper mastery of the subject. The ideas that were brought in by Bloom are applicable to different learning areas (Anderson, Krathwohl &
Bloom, 2001). His taxonomy provides a useful template or checklist for teachers when they prepare lessons. As teachers prepare lessons or training programmes, they should make sure that all aspects of the taxonomy are covered by the lessons or the training programmes.
According to Anderson et al., the levels of the taxonomy can be attained by students in three domains. The three domains are affective, cognitive and psychomotor. The affective domain comprises the students’ attitudes and beliefs. The cognitive domain covers the students’
knowledge and intellect. The psychomotor domain deals with the students’ abilities to use their physical and bodily skills. Anderson et al. suggested that teachers should aim to develop their students in the three domains.
In 1972, Carl Jung developed a theory of personality types (Perini, Silver and Strong, 1997).
The theory states that individual learners have differences in perception, interaction and decision making. Jung identified four pairs of contrasting dimensions of learning styles that are found in learners. The dimensions are: extraversion versus introversion, sensation versus intuition, thinking versus feeling and judging versus perceiving. Table 2.1 shows the
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dimensions of the learning styles (as suggested by Carl Jung) and the characteristics of the learners that fall under each of the dimensions.
Table 2.1: Carl Jung's dimensions of learning styles and the characteristics of the learners in each learning style dimension
Learning style dimension
Characteristics of the learners
Extravert learners
Learn through direct experience
Enjoy group-work
Always willing to participate and give opinions
Jump into implementation of ideas
Do not consider of the pros and cons of their actions Introvert
learners
Enjoy solving problems on their own
Generate ideas from internal forces like brain storming
Use personal reflections
Think before taking a decision
Listen, observe and reflect Sensate learners Focus on the present
Are practical and they use reasoning
Use experience and common sense when solving problems
Enjoy observing the practical world Intuitive
learners
Work in small sessions instead of finishing the work at once
Enjoy new challenges and experiences
Use theories and abstract ideas in solving problems Thinking
learners
Enjoy discovering patterns and logic behind actions
Do not use emotions in making decisions
Use logic and reasoning in making decisions Feeling learners Enjoy getting people’s feelings
Make decisions on their present feelings
Generate excitement and enthusiasm in group settings Judging learners Make firm decisions
Are organised and structured
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Follow rules as they are without criticising Perceiving
learners
Make impulsive decisions
Can change decisions when they get new information
Flexible in decision making
Have problems in making decisions
Jung’s theory of personality types states that any learning process requires perception and judgement (Mctighe & Silver, 2019). Perception refers to how the learner finds out about the things around him or her. Judgment refers to how the learner processes, evaluates, makes decisions or judges what he or she perceives. According to Jung in Mctighe and Silver, perception occurs through sensing or intuiting, while judgment occurs through thinking or feeling. The preference for sensing or intuiting is independent of the learner’s preference for thinking or feeling. This means a learner can perceive new knowledge by sensing and then judge the knowledge by either thinking or feeling. The same happens to a learner who perceives new information by intuiting. Figure 2.1 illustrates the learning process as suggested by Carl Jung.
Figure 2.1: Illustration of the learning process as suggested by Carl Jung
Jung’s work inspired numerous researchers who then developed interest in understanding specific differences in human learning. Several studies on learning differences were carried
new knowledge
sensing
thinking
feeling
intuiting
thinking
mmnthinkingnmth
feeling
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out and different learning style models were developed. Some of the followers of Carl Jung who developed learning style models were David Kolb, Mathew Perini, Harvey Silver, Richard Strong, Alan Mumford and Peter Honey. The learning style models developed by these theorists formed the backbone of this study. The next session analyses the learning style models that were developed by these scholars.