This book provides an accessible approach to teaching strategies that will improve the quality of student learning and behavior. The author advocates that the key to effective learning, and therefore the key to a successful school, is not complex management systems but good quality teaching. With this aim clearly in sight he incorporates recent psychological developments on individual learning differences with practical classroom applications. He presents new approaches in three key areas: processing capacity, cognitive style and understanding the structure of knowledge. These are central to the understanding of pupil differences. They affect our perception of how pupils can be helped to learn, why pupils find some aspects of their schoolwork difficult, and why pupils behave as they do. With simple explanations and practical activities this book will help both primary and secondary teachers to improve pupils learning and help them to manage behavior more effectively. The new insights into difficult behavior will also be of interest to counselors and educational psychologists.

This volume presents the most comprehensive, balanced, and up-to-date coverage of theory and research on cognitive, thinking, and learning styles, in a way that: * represents diverse theoretical perspectives; * includes solid empirical evidence testing the validity of these perspectives; and * shows the application of these perspectives to school situations, as well as situations involving other kinds of organizations. International representation is emphasized, with chapters from almost every major leader in the field of styles. Each chapter author has contributed serious theory and/or published empirical data--work that is primarily commercial or that implements the theories of others. The book's central premise is that cognitive, learning, and thinking styles are not abilities but rather preferences in the use of abilities. Traditionally, many psychologists and educators have believed that people's successes and failures are attributable mainly to individual differences in abilities. However, for the past few decades research on the roles of thinking, learning, and cognitive styles in performance within both academic and nonacademic settings has indicated that they account for individual differences in performance that go well beyond abilities. New theories better differentiate styles from abilities and make more contact with other psychological literatures; recent research, in many cases, is more careful and conclusive than are some of the older studies. Cognitive, learning, and thinking styles are of interest to educators because they predict academic performance in ways that go beyond abilities, and because taking styles into account can help teachers to improve both instruction and assessment and to show sensitivity to cultural and individual diversity among learners. They are also of interest in business, where instruments to assess styles are valuable in selecting and placing personnel. The state-of-the-art research and theory in this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and graduate students in cognitive and educational psychology, managers, and others concerned with intellectual styles as applied in educational, industrial, and corporate settings.

First Published in 1998. This book deals with what may well turn out to be the missing element in the study of individual differences - cognitive style. Its intention is to distinguish between, and integrate, the research attempts, particularly over the past half century, to make sense of style differences. In several respects this book is unique in that it contains material that is not covered in any other and draws together the various aspects of psychology relevant to the study of individual differences. It is in this sense both a textbook and a source of reference for many professionals working in a range of contexts. The content of the book has relevance for a wide audience.

This book provides an up-to-date, panoramic picture of the field of intellectual styles through describing, analyzing, and integrating the major theoretical and research works on the topic. Readers will gain a broad understanding of the field--its nature, origins, historical development, theories, research, and applications, as well as the interrelationships among major theoretical constructs proposed by different theorists in the past few decades. In particular, three major controversial issues in the field are addressed by both empirical findings and literature review: styles as better versus worse or as equal in merit; styles as traits versus styles as states; and styles as different constructs versus styles as similar constructs with different style labels. Educators will find ideas on how to improve their teaching and assessment of student performance. Student development specialists will be interested in the book because intellectual styles, as evidenced by recent studies, play a critical role in many aspects of student development including cognitive, affective, psychosocial, and career development. Psychologists will gain an understanding of an important facet of the field at the interface between cognition and personality. Managers in business will find the book relevant to such issues as effective supervision and staff training and development. The Nature of Intellectual Styles is intended for anyone--particularly researchers and students in the fields of education, psychology, and business management--who is interested in understanding intellectual styles and their effects on daily life.

The first volume in the series considers cognitive style, which may well prove to be the missing link in the study of individual differences. The purpose of the book is to reflect academic debate focusing on key models of style.

Sternberg presents a theory of thinking styles that aims to explain why aptitude tests, school grades, and classroom performance often fail to identify real ability.

This text effectively links the subdisciplines of cognitive psychology including learning in the content areas to form an integrated model of expertise for teachers and learners.