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.published_or_final_versio

Do age and gender make a difference in the relationship between intellectual styles and abilities?

This article reports two studies that aim at further distinguishing intellectual styles from abilities by taking into account the confounding effects of age and gender on the relationship between these two constructs. Two independent groups of secondary school students responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised and took the Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (Level H). Both sets of results suggested that although statistically significant relationships could be identified between thinking styles and abilities, when age and gender were put under control, styles and abilities became fundamentally independent. Implications of this finding for students and teachers are discussed. © Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Lisboa, Portugal and Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.published_or_final_versio

Thinking Styles and the Big Five Personality Traits

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between thinking styles and the big five personality traits. One-hundred-and-fifty-four (mean age 20 years) second-year university students from Hong Kong participated in the study. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI, Costa & McCare, 1992). Although significant relationships were identified between particular thinking styles and certain personality traits, it was concluded that it is premature to claim that a personality measure, such as the NEO-FFI can be used to measure thinking styles.published_or_final_versio

Thinking styles and modes of thinking: implications for education and research.

The author investigated the relationship of thinking styles to modes of thinking. Participants were 371 freshmen (aged 18 and 19) from the University of Hong Kong. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternnberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Style of Learning and Thinking (Youth Form; E. P. Torrance, B. McCarthy, & M. T. Kolesinski, 1988). A major finding was that creativity generating and complex thinking styles were significantly positively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking but significantly negatively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking. Thinking styles that denote the tendency to norm favoring and simplistic information processing were significantly positively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking and significantly negatively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking. In a preliminary conclusion, it appears that the thinking style construct overlaps the mode of thinking construct. Implications of this finding for teachers and researchers are delineated.published_or_final_versio

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

This research identifies individual differences in academic achievement attributable to thinking styles over and above what can be explained by self-rated abilities. Participants were 209 university students from Hong Kong and 215 university students from mainland China. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (Chinese version) that is based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government (R. J. Sternberg, 1988). They also rated their own analytical, creative, and practical abilities on a 10-point scale based on R. J. Sternberg's (1985) triarchic theory of human intelligence. Participants' academic achievement scores were also used. The prediction that thinking styles statistically predict academic achievement was supported by data from both Hong Kong and mainland China. Academic achievement and thinking styles are related differently in the two groups. Implications of these findings for both teaching and research are discussed.published_or_final_versio

Thinking Styles: their relationships with modes of thinking and academic performance

This study aimed at investigating the nature of thinking styles as described in the theory of mental self-government. Two-hundred-and-twelve US university students responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and the Styles of Learning and Thinking. Results from convergent statistical analysis procedures indicated that thinking styles and modes of thinking share certain common variance in the data. It was evident that the more creativity-generating and more complex thinking styles are significantly related to a holistic mode of thinking, and that the more norm-conforming and more simplistic thinking styles are significantly related to an analytic mode of thinking. Furthermore, multiple-regression analyses showed that both thinking styles and modes of thinking statistically contributed to students' self-reported grade point averages beyond what was explained by their self-rated ability scores. These findings are discussed in terms of practical implications for educators.published_or_final_versio

Are Thinking Styles and Personality Types Related?

The relationship between thinking styles and personality types is investigated within the contexts of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and Holland's theory of personality types. A total of 600 university students from Hong Kong responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI) and the Short-version Self-directed Search (SVSDS) that was specially designed for the present study. A major finding of this study is that thinking styles and personality types overlap to a degree. A secondary finding is that the SVSDS is sufficiently reliable and valid for assessing Holland's personality types. Implications of both findings are discussed.published_or_final_versio

Thinking styles and cognitive development

Using R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of thinking styles and W. G. Perry's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the author investigated the nature of thinking styles as they relate to cognitive development. Eighty-two Hong Kong university students (44 male, 38 female) responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory (L. F. Zhang, 1997). Statistical analyses provided varying degrees of support for the prediction of an overlap between the thinking style and cognitive development constructs. In general, students who reasoned at a higher cognitive developmental level tended to use a wider range of thinking styles than students who reasoned at a lower cognitive developmental level. Implications of results are discussed in relation to education and research.published_or_final_versio

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.published_or_final_versio

Styles of thinking as a basis of differentiated instruction

We consider how to differentiate instruction using a theory of thinking styles as a basis for differentiation. The article opens with a consideration of why styles are important. Then it considers some general characteristics of styles, presents the theory of mental self-government, considers issues of measurement, and presents data supporting the theory. Next, it discusses application of the theory in the classroom. Finally, it draws conclusions.published_or_final_versio