Date of Award

12-1992

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. David Cowden

Second Advisor

Dr. Patrick Jenlink

Third Advisor

Dr. Linda Voit

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if matching student learning style and teacher teaching style w ill result in any difference in achievement of students in the classroom as measured by the number of students receiving credit in ninth-grade world history classes.

The study was conducted in a mid-size Macomb County, Michigan, school district. Two hundred fifteen ninth-grade students and four teachers participated in this study. World history classes were used because of their heterogeneous grouping and because i t was a required ninth-grade class.

Students were administered the Learning Style Profile (Keefe & Monk, 1986) from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) by building counselors. Teachers took the same test. The test determined the learning style of students and teachers on the auditory and visual components of the test. The fin a l grades for the class were collected on a ll students to determine whether they earned credit in world history.

Test scores were reported along a continuum divided into quartiles . A match was determined by teachers and students scoring in the same quartile.

The chi square was used to determine the relationship between the match/no match and pass/fail variables at the .05 level of significance. The data failed to support the hypothesis:

There is no difference in the proportion of those students who matched and those who did not match their teacher's score on the auditory, visual, or both components on the Learning Style Profile.

This study failed to support previous research. Possible reasons for the result might include not a ll components of the test were used in the study nor were all hours of the school day included. Also, there was no intervention program for students, and teachers participated in numerous s ta ff development programs during the study.

The reform initiatives of state and federal mandates for inclusion, Section 504, portfolios, child study planning committees, and a t-risk students allow programs to accommodate differing cognitive and affective learning styles of students. Further studies should explore these variables.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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