Students' questions: building a bridge between Kolb's learning styles and approaches to learning

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of questions that students ask during the learning of chemistry; discuss the role of students' questions in the process of constructing knowledge, and investigate the relationship between students' questions, approaches to learning, and learning styles.

Design/methodology/approach

The questions raised by 100 first‐year chemistry students in Science and Engineering courses at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, were collected. These students were invited to complete Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) and were observed during diverse class activities. Ten of these students were then selected for interview.

Findings

The paper finds that the data enable the placement of students at different stages of learning development, at an “acquisition”, “specialisation” or “integration” phase. The ten interviews confirm the results of the LSI survey, and indicate that these students show either “deep” or “surface” approaches to learning, with evidence of a meso approach (intermediate between the two, with characteristics of both). The paper concludes that it is possible to relate students' questions to their learning styles and approaches to learning. Students, who show a surface approach and stay within the acquisition stage, tend to formulate low‐level questions. Students at the other end of this continuum seem disposed to ask higher‐level questions.

Research limitations/implications

The generalisability of the overall study is limited because of the few students involved in the interviews. However, there are some clear pointers here for the relationship between the level of students' question asking and increasing sophistication in learning.

Practical implications

Appreciating the diversity of learners, and their approaches to learning, enhances the possibilities of improving the quality of teaching at this level.

Originality/value

This paper expands on two congruent models that are frequently considered separate and distinct.

Citation

Pedrosa de Jesus, H.T., Albergaria Almeida, P., Joaquim Teixeira‐Dias, J. and Watts, M. (2006), "Students' questions: building a bridge between Kolb's learning styles and approaches to learning", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 2/3, pp. 97-111. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910610651746