Cognitive Styles and Classroom Learning.

Morgan, H. (1997). Cognitive Styles and Classroom Learning. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers (184 pp., $49.95 hb, ISBN-O-275-95684-9).

Cognitive style theory in education examines the relationships between learners and their environment, including the different learning patterns that individuals utilize in the acquisition of knowledge. Cognitive Styles and Classroom Learning provides a historical overview of cognitive style research from its philosophical origins to its impact on current classroom practice. By tracing this development, Morgan's goal is to provide educators, educational program administrators, psychologists, social workers, counselors and parents with an increased awareness of diverse cognitive styles and the individual preferences of learners.

The first two chapters examine the philosophical and theoretical foundations of cognitive style theory. Chapter 1 explores the influences of phenomenology and existentialism, stating that "the role of experience in the process of human development and learning, and a focus on the individual as the experiencer, establishes existentialism and phenomenology as important philosophical foundations for cognitive style theory" (p. 21). Chapter 2 considers several theoretical orientations that enrich current educational practice and contribute to cognitive style research. Included in Morgan's survey are Freudian psychoanalysis, neuroscience research, Gestalt psychology, Jungian psychoanalysis, and humanistic theory. Although Morgan's examination of philosophical frameworks is limited, exploring only phenomenology and existentialism, his account of theoretical contributions is more encompassing and facilitates an awareness of research that has enriched cognitive style theory.

The subsequent five chapters each contain a description of a cognitive style construct and an explanation of the concept's characteristics. Chapter 3 focuses on field independent/field dependent perception, describing this bipolar cognitive style and some of the instruments designed to assess them. He also underscores the importance of teachers and education administrators being aware that cognitive styles differ between children from different cultural backgrounds.

Chapter 4 centers on reflectivity and impulsivity as cognitive styles, and is framed within a historical account of terms such as impulsive and hyperactive to describe children who possess non-analytical cognitive styles. Morgan discusses the history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), focusing on previous diagnostic terminology and drug treatment therapy. Although he understates the importance of research supporting a neurological substrate to ADHD, Morgan does highlight many of the factors that are currently debated regarding ADHD. The chapter also examines the various instruments, such as the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), developed to measure impulsive and reflective cognitive preferences.

Chapter 5 focuses on cognitive styles of conceptualization. This construct deals with how individuals' perceptions of their environment influence how they interpret, or conceptualize, life's experiences. While several methods of studying conceptualization are highlighted, the discussion centers on the conceptual style of categorization.

Chapter 6 examines the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which is designed to provide insight into the cognitive preferences of individuals. Morgan's discussion centers on the value of the MBTI in helping educators, psychologists, and others appreciate individual's interpretations of learning experiences.

The final cognitive styles, discussed in Chapter 7, involve the concepts of leveling and sharpening. Following the decidedly psychoanalytic orientation of the book, Morgan traces the psychoanalytic roots of this cognitive style, and a related concept termed scanning. The book concludes with a discussion of the cognitive styles research of the past two decades.

Through Morgan's frequent insights into educating children from differing cultural backgrounds, this book makes an important contribution to education research. Morgan asserts that a culture's child rearing practices influence the emergence of varying cognitive styles among its children. Although the focus of Morgan's discussion is on African American and Hispanic American children, his references encourage an awareness of potential cultural differences in the learning styles of all children.

While Morgan discusses some implications of cognitive style research for classroom teaching, he fails to draw concrete connections between cognitive style research and the education of gifted students. Although gifted students are mentioned occasionally, the book is primarily directed toward general populations of students. Creativity and cognitive style research is only briefly discussed in the conclusion. Thus, Cognitive Styles and Classroom Learning will provide educators with a historical survey of cognitive style research, but its practical implications are limited.

Reviewed by Judith Margison, a MA student in Educational Psychology at Simon Fraser University, and Emery Hyslop-Margison, a PhD student in Curriculum Theory and Implementation at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.