COGNITIVE AND

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DESC9099 HOW DESIGNERS THINK
COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES
By Ellina Yukhina
KCDC 2003
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TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED

• Individual Differences and
• Cognitive/Learning Styles
• Learner Characteristics, Styles, Traits
• Self-assessments
• Methods and tools
• Consequences/Implications

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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• Factors that define a person are
• Cognitive ability, imagery, intelligence
• Personality, motivation, attitude
• Knowledge, experience, achievement
• Gender, age
• Cognitive, learning style
• Ethnicity, culture

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COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES
Cognitive style may be defined as individual
variations in modes of perceiving, remembering
and thinking, or as distinctive ways of
apprehending, storing, transforming and utilizing
information. (Kogan, 1971) Learning is any
relatively permanent change in behavior that
occurs as a result of experience. Learning
styles are cognitive, affective, and
physiological traits that serve as relatively
stable indicators of how learners perceive,
interact with, and respond to the learning
environment. (James W. Keefe)

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COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES
Cognitive styles are relatively stable over
time, include the way that individuals acquire
and store information, it is a multi-dimensional
construct (e.g., visual-haptic, etc.) Learning
styles are derivative - based on cognitive styles
and personality traits
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THEORY OF STYLE - ORIGINS

• Flows from 4 areas of psychology
• Perception
• Cognitive controls and processes
• Mental imagery
• Personality constructs
• Plus considers the
• Role of Environment

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THEORY OF STYLE - PERCEPTUAL

• Individuals may have the following
  preferences/inclinations in learning
• Visual seeing words, pictures, directions
• Auditory listening to tapes, conversation
• words with music
• Tactile drawing, taking notes, doing
• experiments
• Kinesthetic getting fully involved in role
• plays and field trips

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THEORY OF STYLE - ENVIRONMENTAL

• Preferences during learning or problem solving
  related to the environment

• Dressed in formal or in informal clothing
• Desk, floor, bed
• Cool or warm room
• Light or darkened
• With music or in silence
• Something to eat or drink

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THEORY OF STYLE - COGNITIVE

• Cognitive Styles
• Serialist/Analytic Wholist/Global
• Verbal/Linguistic Visual/Spatial
• Field Dependent - Field Independent
• Impulsive - Reflective

http//scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/jte-v6n2/j
hansen.jte-v6n2.html
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THEORY OF STYLE - COGNITIVE

• Analytic (Serialist) Individuals
• They prefer structure, facts to concepts
• They learn more easily when they can study rules
  sequentially and apply step by step approach to
  problem solving
• They feel most comfortable when they dont have
  to risk error as they learn or resolve problems
• They may feel intimidated as they fear making
  errors

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THEORY OF STYLE - COGNITIVE

• Wholistic (Global) Individuals
• They learn best through concrete experience and
  by interacting with other people, prefer concepts
  to facts
• They learn more easily when they can have a
  general overview of the problem
• They welcome experimentation and risk as a part
  of their learning/problem solving
• They enjoy and benefit from communicating with
  others

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THEORY OF STYLE - COGNITIVE

• Visual/Abstract Individuals
• Mentally visualize data, to conceive ideas, to
  understand or believe that which one cannot see
  and which is formless to the senses
• Remember and understand best through watching
• Need visual stimulation
• Usually have a strong imagination

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THEORY OF STYLE - COGNITIVE

• Verbal/Concrete Individuals
• Encounter data thru the physical senses, grasp
  and mentally register data thru the direct use
  and application of the senses
• Remember much of what they read, like written
  information and communication
• Like to interact verbally, have inner dialogue
  which helps them remember and understand

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DESC9099 HOW DESIGNERS THINK
COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES
By Ellina Yukhina
KCDC 2003
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DESC9099 HOW DESIGNERS THINK
COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES
By Ellina Yukhina
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THEORY OF STYLE - PERSONALITY
Learning Personality Cognitive
Style Erasmatron 21 traits Timidity,
Dutifulness, Magnanimity, Gullibility, Loyalty,
Enviousness, Pride, Love-hunger, Insecurity,
Integrity, Lovability, Dominance, Competence,
Loquacity, Initiative, Greed, Libido, Sexiness,
Nurturance, Temper, Joviality Jung 4 Mental
Functions Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs.
Feeling 4 Attitudes Extraversion vs.
Introversion Judging vs. Perceiving (Implicit)
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THEORY OF STYLE - PERSONALITY
Learning Personality Cognitive
Style Erasmatron 21 traits Timidity,
Dutifulness, Magnanimity, Gullibility, Loyalty,
Enviousness, Pride, Love-hunger, Insecurity,
Integrity, Lovability, Dominance, Competence,
Loquacity, Initiative, Greed, Libido, Sexiness,
Nurturance, Temper, Joviality Jung 4 Mental
Functions Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs.
Feeling 4 Attitudes Extraversion vs.
Introversion Judging vs. Perceiving (Implicit)
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LEARNING STYLE CLASSIFICATIONS
Myers-Briggs (based on K.Jung ideas) Extravert
vs. Introvert, Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking
vs. Feeling, Judging vs. Perceiving explaned in
http//www.typelogic.com/ Keirsey character
sorter - based on the same theory Rational,
Idealist, Artisan, Guardian http//keirsey.com/ St
ernberg's Triarchic Model would yield 18
different combinations for mental preferences
http//www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/Learning/ste
rnb1.htm
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LEARNING STYLE CLASSIFICATIONS
Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Styles model
measures six learning styles Competitive,
Collaborative, Avoidant, Participant, Dependent,
Independent http//www.bergen.org/ETTC/courses/Lea
rningStyle/GRLSS.html Inventory with 44
questionsThe Index of Learning Styles (ILS) four
dimensions (active/reflective, sensing/intuitive,
visual/verbal, and sequential/global)
http//www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder
/public/ILSdir/ilsweb.html
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KEIRSEYS LEARNING STYLES
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KEIRSEYS LEARNING STYLES EXPLAINED

• Artisans are most at home in the external
  world of solid objects that can be made and
  manipulated, and of real-life events that can be
  experienced in the here and now. Artisans have
  keen senses. No chance is to be blown, no opening
  missed, no angle overlooked -- whatever or
  whoever might turn out to be exciting,
  pleasurable, or useful is checked out for
  advantage. Consistent with this view Myers
  described SPs as "adaptable," "artistic," and
  "athletic" -- as very much "aware of reality and
  never fighting it" -- as "open-minded" and ever
  "on the lookout for workable compromises" -- as
  knowing "what's going on around them" and as able
  "to see the needs of the moment" -- as "storing
  up useful facts" and having "no use for theories"
  -- as "easygoing,"

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KEIRSEYS LEARNING STYLES EXPLAINED

• Guardians are sensible, down-to-earth people
  who are the backbone of institutions and the true
  stabilizers of society. They believe in following
  the rules. Thus for SJs (Myers), everything
  should be in its proper place, everybody should
  be doing what they're supposed to, everybody
  should be getting their just deserts, every
  action should be closely supervised, all products
  thoroughly inspected, all legitimate needs
  promptly met, all approved ventures carefully
  insured. And so Myers described the SJs as
  "conservative" and "stable" -- as "consistent"
  and "routinized" -- as "sensible," "factual," and
  "unimpulsive" -- as "patient," "dependable," and
  "hard-working" -- as "detailed," "painstaking,"
  "persevering," and "thorough."

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KEIRSEYS LEARNING STYLES EXPLAINED
Idealists believe that friendly cooperation
is the best way for people to achieve their
goals. They dream of removing the walls of
conflict and selfishness that divide people. On
the introspective side, Myers had NFs as friendly
to the core in dreaming up how to give meaning
and wholeness to people's lives. Conflict in
those around them is painful for NFs, something
they must deal with in a very personal way, and
so they care deeply about keeping morale high in
their membership groups, and about nurturing the
positive self-image of their loved ones. Thus
Myers, an INFP herself, saw her fellow NFs as
"humane" and "sympathetic" -- as "enthusiastic"
and "religious" -- as "creative" and
"intuitive" -- and as "insightful" and
"subjective." Again this is a distinct
picture of attitude and action.
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KEIRSEYS LEARNING STYLES EXPLAINED
Rationals. Whatever their field, Rationals
set out to comprehend the natural world in all
its complexity. Also on the introspective side,
Myers had NTs as tough-minded in figuring out
what sort of technology might be useful to solve
a given problem. To this end, NTs require
themselves to be persistently and consistently
rational in their actions. So Myers described the
NTs as "analytical" and "systematic" -- as
"abstract," "theoretical," and "intellectual" --
as "complex," "competent" and "inventive" -- as
"efficient," "exacting" and "independent" -- as
"logical" and "technical" -- and as "curious,"
"scientific," and "research-oriented."
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LEARNING STYLES GREGORC
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LEARNING STYLES GREGORC
Concrete-Sequential Learners -gt prefer an orderly
approach to organizing information, like order,
logical sequence, following directions,
predictability, and getting facts. They like to
learn in a structured environment and apply ideas
in pragmatic ways, and be faced with predictable
situations
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LEARNING STYLES GREGORC
Concrete-Random Learners are intuitive,
independent thinkers who learn by trial and
observation. They like experimenting to find the
answers, and tend to take risks. They learn best
when they are able to use trial-and-error
approaches. They are able to compete and like
being given the opportunity to work through a
problem by themselves.
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LEARNING STYLES GREGORC
Abstract-Sequential Learners -gt prefer verbal
information and tend to be analytical and
logical. They like to have their points to be
heard. They tend to apply logic in solving or
finding solutions to problems. They learn best
when they have access to experts or references,
are placed in stimulating environments, and are
able to work alone.
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LEARNING STYLES GREGORC
Abstract-Random Learners function best in an
unstructured learning environment offering a
highly visual presentation of information. They
like to listen to others, bringing harmony to
group situations, establish healthy relationships
with others and focus on the issues at hand.
Abstract-Random Learners learn best in a
personalized environment, when they are given
broad or general guidelines. They are able to
maintain friendly relationships and like to
participate in group activities.
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TAXONOMY OF LEARNING STYLES
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DESC9099 HOW DESIGNERS THINK
By Ellina Yukhina
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CONCLUSION
By gaining a better understanding of different
personalities, abilities, and learning styles, we
can better understand and predict the behavior of
ourselves and others
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