Learning styles and teacher in-service education

The investigation sought to provide additional empirical data as to whether or not in-service education planners could make programs more effective if teacher learning style for (1) time of day, (2) auditory perceptual learning, and (3) kinesthetic perceptual learning preferences were considered in the planning and implementation of in-service activities. State-certified K-6, elementary teachers in a Southeast Tennessee public school area were the participants in this investigation.

Learning styles were assessed. Incomplete forms and forms which indicated no strong preference for the learning styles under investigation was dropped from the study. The final sample was 166. Once learning style data was obtained, teachers were assigned to in-service training sessions resulting in matched and mismatched learning style preference conditions.

In-service participants were taught an instructional strategy during their training session, given a four-week period in which to possibly use the strategy then asked to respond to a follow-up instrument to determine teacher attitude and actual classroom implementation. The Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test was used to analyze the data from the follow-up instrument.

The research design and questions sought to answer whether or not the implementation and attitude scores of teachers matched for learning style in the in-service activity were significantly higher than the same scores of teachers who were placed in a mismatched learning style in-service activity. Analysis of the data indicated that the matching of time and perceptual preference with in-service activities resulted in a significant, .05, difference in classroom implementation and attitude toward the teaching strategy taught during the in-service training session. Analysis of the data revealed further that classroom implementation scores were more affected by matching technique than by matching time. Also, analysis of the data showed that reported attitude scores were more affected by matching time than by matching technique. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that in-service planners would do well to match teachers' learning style preferences for time of day and perceptual learning preferences.