Do thinking styles contribute to academic achievement beyond self-rated abilities?

Impactul stilurilor de gândire și stilurilor de învățare asupra performanței academice la adolescenți

In this study we examined a number of conceptual clarifi cations regarding learning styles, thinking styles and their impact on the academic performance of high school students. The study involved a sample of 60 urban students aged between 16 and 17 years old. Two tools validated on the Romanian population were applied to highlight learning styles and thinking styles. The academic performance of the students participating in the study was recorded through their general averages. The research also highlights the existence of positive correlations between students’school performance and refl ective and theoretical learning styles, on the one hand, and progressive, judicial, executive and legislative thinking styles on the other.

Effectiveness of successful intelligence training program: A meta-analysis

This study assessed Robert Sternberg's theory of successful intelligence (TSI) training in teaching and learning situations to improve academic achievement, triarchic (analytical, creative, practical) thinking, and socioemotional outcomes. The analyses included all references from several databases (Web of Science, ProQuest, Elsevier, Google Scholar, and bibliographies of related articles) from 1998 to 2019 that implemented the successful intelligence training program in a variety of ways. Possible moderators, selection criteria, subject areas, and grade levels were investigated. A total of 24 studies (19 articles) were included in the meta-analysis. The results revealed that successful intelligence training has a positive effect on students' overall achievement, g = 0.63, SE = 0.11, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.41, 0.85], k = 24, z = 5.98, p < .001, under a random-effect model. After adjusting for publication bias, the effect size (ES) g was 0.35, SE = 0.12, 95% CI [0.10, 0.60]. The ES was the largest for socioemotional outcomes, followed by triarchic outcomes and then achievement outcomes. High-IQ-based selected participants received higher ES than teacher-selected participants. Regarding subject areas, science and general triarchic training differed significantly. Among the grade levels, high-school level and primary level differed significantly. Moreover, intervention duration negatively moderated the ES significantly. Gender did not moderate the ES. All student participants benefited from the successful intelligence training program, and this benefit was greater for gifted and older students. This finding suggests that TSI training educators provide a more detailed, structured, and authentic problem situation to be more effective instead of academic problems.

Comparison of Learning Styles between Medical College Students and Professional Graduate Medical School Students

PURPOSE

The Professional Graduate Medical School (PGMS) was established in 2003 in South Korea to train doctors that had better humanities and various educational backgrounds. By comparing the learning styles between students of the Medical College (MC) and PGMS, we investigated the characteristics of these students.

METHODS

The Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) is used to determine learning preferences. It is composed of 12 statements on concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Six hundred nine students from all years of the 2 medical schools completed the Kolb LSI between June 1st and June 30th, 2008 (response rate: 91.4%).

RESULTS

MC students preferred Kolb's 'assimilator (56.3%)' and 'diverger (25.6%)', and PGMS students preferred Kolb's 'assimilator (61.2%)' and 'converger (19.3%)'. PGMS students showed a higher preference for abstract conceptualization compared with MC students (adjusted Odds Ratio=2.191; 95% Confidence Interval=1.115~4.306).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that the learning styles of PGMS and MC students differed. We can use this result not only in developing curricula and teaching strategies, but also in providing support to students.

A study on mental health of secondary school students in three metropolitan cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing

This article presents a study comparing the self-esteem and mental health of secondary school students in three metropolitan cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Before 1997, Hong Kong was under the sovereignty of the British government. After the unification, the city became one of the major economic and political centers corresponding to the other two major cities. In this study, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (SES) were used as measuring instruments. The subjects were junior and senior secondary school students: Hong Kong (N = 1,149), Shanghai (N = 1,987), and Beijing (N = 1,922). No significant difference was found between the self-esteem of students in Beijing and Shanghai, but the self-esteem in the students of both cities was higher than in those from Hong Kong (p <.001). The mental health of Shanghai students was the best among the three cities, followed by Beijing students (p < .001) and Hong Kong students (p <.001). The factors affecting students' self-esteem and mental health in the three cities are explored and the possible explanations for the differences discussed.

Contributions of thinking styles to vocational purpose beyond self-rated abilities

The present study predicted vocational purpose from thinking styles, a construct at the interface of intelligence and personality. 233 students majoring in history and computer science from a large research-oriented university in the People's Republic of China completed the Thinking Styles Inventory and the Iowa Vocational Purpose Inventory. The participants also rated their own analytical, creative, and practical abilities. In general, results indicated that thinking styles contributed to vocational purpose beyond self-rated abilities. Specifically, the more creativity-generating and complex thinking styles tended to contribute positively to vocational purpose, whereas the more conforming and simplistic thinking styles tended to contribute negatively to vocational purpose. This article points to the need theoretically for integrating the construct of thinking style into the definition of differential psychology. Practical data argue for a collaborative working relationship between teachers and vocational counselors in institutions of higher education.

Thinking Styles: University Students' Preferred Teaching Styles and Their Conceptions of Effective Teachers

In the present study, the author investigated the role of thinking styles in university students' preferences for teaching styles and their conceptions of effective teachers. Students (121 men and 134 women) from the University of Hong Kong responded to 3 self-report tests: the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised (R. J. Sternberg, R. K. Wagner, & L-F. Zhang, 2003), the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003c), and the Effective Teacher Inventory (L-F. Zhang, 2003b). Results indicated that even after age, gender, and academic discipline were controlled, particular thinking styles predisposed students to particular teaching styles. Moreover, as expected, students were open to more than just teaching styles that precisely matched their own thinking styles. Results also indicated that students' thinking styles made a difference in their conceptions of effective teachers. Discussions are focused on the study's contributions to both the style literature and the growing body of knowledge on characteristics of effective teachers.

Revisiting the Predictive Power of Thinking Styles for Academic Performance

The present study is a further examination of the contributions of thinking styles to academic achievement (see L-F. Zhang, 2001a, 2001b, 2002f; L-F. Zhang & R. J. Sternberg, 1998). Secondary school students in Hong Kong (N = 250; 131 from a Catholic boys' school and 119 from a Protestant girls' school) participated in the study. Students' scores on the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) were used to predict their academic achievement in 16 subjects after age, gender, school class level, and performance on the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (R. J. Sternberg, 1993) were controlled. Results indicated that the use of the hierarchical thinking style significantly contributed to better achievement in the social sciences and humanities and that the use of the judicial style uniquely contributed to better achievement in the natural sciences. The use of the monarchic thinking style significantly predicted students' achievement in design and technology. The results of this study suggest that thinking styles should be taken into account in school settings and that thinking styles that generate creativity should be cultivated in students.