INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN STUDENT LEARNING ZACH HAMBRICK

How People Learn Forum, April 27, 2012

Cognitive Ability What constructs

underlie variation in cognitive ability?

Cognitive Ability Can we increase

cognitive ability by training these constructs?

Cognitive Ability Meaningful individual

differences—even in college classroom

Cognitive Ability

Cognitive Ability

More to the Story…

20%

80%

Cognitive Abil-ity

SAT for Overall GPA…r = .452 x 100 = 20%

Learning Styles The view that people

learn information in different ways, e.g., verbally vs. visually

Evaluation of the Evidence

Evaluation of the Evidence Existence of

preferences: People do express different preferences

Evaluation of the Evidence Meshing hypothesis:

Learning is best when learning style and instructional format match or “mesh”

Evaluation of the Evidence Meshing hypothesis:

Learning is best when learning style and instructional format match or “mesh”

Visual Format Auditory Format0

102030405060708090

100Visual LearnerAuditory Learner

Test

Sco

re

(1)Divide subjects into learning-style groups

(2)Randomly assign subjects to learning-style methods

(3)Give all subjects same achievement tests

(4)Observe a “cross-over” interaction…

Evaluation of the Evidence Meshing hypothesis:

Learning is best when learning style and instructional format match or “mesh”

Evaluation of the Evidence Evidence-based

education…