Publisher Description

Teachers often assume that student performance levels are based on the student's intelligence, effort, and motivation. This book argues that the difference in students' knowledge of course material may be nothing more than differences in intellectual styles of learning or thinking. Intellectual styles, an umbrella term for such constructs as cognitive styles, learning styles, teaching styles, and thinking styles, refer to people's preferred ways of processing information. This stimulating and provocative text integrates the most recent theories and research on intellectual styles. It distinguishes styles from other constructs, such as intellectual capacity or effort levels. It situates the field of styles within the large context of the psychological, educational, and business literatures. It presents perspectives on the controversial issues and emerging debates in the field. It provides concrete guidelines for practitioners to apply the concept of styles to educational and business settings.

Author Biography

Li-fang Zhang, PhD is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong, where she served as Associate Dean between 2007 and 2010. She is the author of nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters. Her two recent books (both with Robert J. Sternberg) are entitled "The Nature of Intellectual Styles" and "Perspectives on the Nature of Intellectual Styles." She serves on the editorial boards of "Educational Psychology and Educational Psychology Review." Her main research interests include intellectual styles, giftedness, personality, and student learnin

Table of Contents

PART I: MODELS; Chapter 1. A Duplex Model of Cognitive Style; Chapter 2. The Disposition to Understand for Yourself at University and Beyond: Learning Processes, the Will to Learn, and Sensitivity to Context; Chapter 3. Revisiting the Value Issue in Intellectual Styles; Chapter 4. How are Intellectual Styles Related to Creativity Across Multiple Domains?; Chapter 5. Re-affirming Style as an Individual Difference - Toward a Global Paradigm or Knowledge Diaspora?; PART II: APPLICATIONS; Chapter 6. Problem Solving, Creativity, and the Level-Style Distinction; Chapter 7. The Place of Cognitive Style in Pedagogy: Realising Potential in Practice; Chapter 8. Learning Styles Applied: Harnessing Students' Instructional Style Preferences.

Long Description

Teachers often assume that student performance levels are based on the student's intelligence, effort, and motivation. This book argues that the difference in students' knowledge of course material may be nothing more than differences in intellectual styles of learning or thinking. Intellectual styles, an umbrella term for such constructs as cognitive styles, learning styles, teaching styles, and thinking styles, refer to people's preferred ways of processing information. This stimulating and provocative text integrates the most recent theories and research on intellectual styles. It distinguishes styles from other constructs, such as intellectual capacity or effort levels. It situates the field of styles within the large context of the psychological, educational, and business literatures. It presents perspectives on the controversial issues and emerging debates in the field. It provides concrete guidelines for practitioners to apply the concept of styles to educational and business settings.

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