The Relationship Between Learning Styles And Levels Of Cognition Of Instruction Of Horticulture Teachers

Abstract

The flexibility for learners to learn begins with the teacher's style of learning and the levels of cognition utilized in the classroom. Teachers have the basic capability to learn and teach; however, they are not all able to learn and teach effectively in the same exact way. The current study sought to determine the learning style and cognitive level of instruction of central Ohio horticulture teachers. The Florida Taxonomy of Cognitive Behaviors (FTCB) and the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) were used to assess the level of cognitive instruction (FTCB) and the learning style (GEFT). The results indicated that 44% of the teachers preferred the field dependent learning style and 56% preferred the field-independent learning style. Furthermore, 84% of the teaching occurred at the lower levels of cognition. The mean weighted cognitive score for the teachers was 23.03. The mean weighted score reflected a cognitive level of teaching concentrated near the cognitive level of translation. A moderate positive (r= .32) relationship was found between learning style and the weighted cognitive level of instruction. Correlation coefficients between GEFT scores and the seven levels of cognition ranged from a substantial negative association (r= -.53) to a moderate positive association (r= .41).

The Impact of Learning Styles on Learning Outcomes at FFA Camp: What Campers Retain Over Time

“…Several researchers in agricultural education have used the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) to assess students' preferred learning style (Cano & Garton, 1994;Cano & Metzger, 1995;Dyer & Osborne, 1996;Garton et al (1999). The GEFT classifies learners as fielddependent or field-independent, where fielddependent learners focus on the social environment and struggle with problem solving and field-independent learners prefer to perform activities independently and excel in solving problems (Oltman, Raskin, & Witkin, 1971).…”

The effect of teaching approaches on achievement and satisfaction of field-dependent and field-independent learners in animal science.

“…Several studies (Cano et al, 1992;Raven, et al, 1993;Torres and Cano, 1994;Cano and Metzger, 1995;Miller, 1995;Whittington and Raven, 1995) have been conducted with the primary aim of describing the learning styles of a particular population of agricultural learners. Most of these studies imply that knowledge of learning styles may be used by teachers to improve instruction.…”

Agriculture Teachers And Students: In Concert Or Conflict?

“…Relevant to agricultural education, researchers (Raven, Cano, Garton, & Shelhamer, 1993;C a n o & Garton, 1994;Whittington & Raven, 1995;Cano & Metzger, 1995) have studied the learning styles of teachers and preservice teachers of agricultural education. The studies concluded that teachers of agriculture differed in learning styles, personality styles, and preferred ways of teaching.…”