Using Traditional Versus Naturalistic Approaches to Assessing Learning Styles in College Teaching

Authors

  • Tony Grasha University of Cincinnati Author

Abstract

Most of us take for granted the observation that people differ. However, this fact of human behavior was not always so well understood. For example, it was not until the early part of the 19th century that the implications of individual differences were recognized. Boring, in his book A History of Experimental Psychology (1950), suggests that the Dutch astronomer Bessel and his work on developing the "personal equation" provided a key turning point. Bessel recognized that individuals' responses to the same stimuli differed. By calculating the difference between two observers on a task, it was possible to correct the scores of one person relative to another by either adding or subtracting this difference. Thus, according to Boring, the formal study of individual differences began in psychology and education.

Published

2024-03-23