Reliability of the Learning Style Inventory

Abstract

The Learning Style Inventory, based upon Kolb's experiential theory of learning, is intended to measure an individual's emphasis on each of four learning modes: Concrete Experience (CE), Reflective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC), and Active Experimentation (AE). Two primary dimensions (combination scores), AC-CE and AE-RO, categorize learners into four types, namely, the converger, diverger, accommodator, and assimilator. Test-retest reliabilities (31-day interval) for the four learning modes and two combination scores, derived from 50 U. S. students enrolled in foreign medical schools who participated in a 6-wk. basic medical sciences review course, were: Concrete Experience, .56; Reflective Observation, .52; Abstract Conceptualization, .59; Active Experimentation, .61; Abstract Conceptualization-Concrete Experience, .70; and Active Experimentation-Reflective Observation, .55. Although these Pearson product-moment coefficients might be reasonably satisfactory for employing the inventory in distinguishing between the means of two relatively small groups with a narrow range of difference, they are unsatisfactory for its use in reliably differentiating among individuals or between the means of larger, more disparate groups. It is felt, however, that the inventory is a potentially valuable instrument and that there are possibilities for improvement which might enhance its reliability, at the same time contributing to its validity.

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