Table 2.
Extract of Coffield et al.’s ( 2004 ) stability-taxonomy of learning styles theories
| Families of learning styles – descriptiona | Example theoriesb |
|---|---|
| 1. Learning styles and preferences are largely constitutionally based including the four modalities VAKT (visual, audio, kinesthetic, tactile) | Learning styles (Dunn and Dunn 1993) |
| Mind styles (Gregorc 1982; 1988) | |
| Hemisphere dominance (Torrance in Torrance et al. 1976) | |
| 2. Learning styles reflect deep-seated features of the cognitive structure, including ’patterns of ability’. | Perception styles (Witkin 1962) |
| Conceptual tempo (Kagan 1966) | |
| Intellectual structure (Guilford 1967) | |
| 3. Learning styles are one component of a relatively stable personality type | Personality types (Myers-Briggs in Myers and McCaulley 1985) |
| 4. Learning styles are flexible stable learning preferences | Learning styles (Kolb 1984) |
| Decision making styles (Kirton 1976) | |
| 5. Move on from learning styles to learning approaches, strategies, orientations and conceptions of learning | Approaches to learning (Entwistle 1988) |
| Approaches to learning & studying (Biggs 1987) | |
| Approaches to learning (Marton & Säljö in Bowden and Marton 1998) | |
| Learning styles (Grasha and Riechmann 1975) | |
| Learning styles (Vermunt 1998) | |
| Thinking styles (Sternberg 1988, 1997) |