A little on Sternberg

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A little on Sternbergs theory of mental
self-governmentandThe learning styles in the
Danish Self-Assessment Learning Styles Inventory
(D-SA-LSI)
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Why learning styles within Sternbergs theory?

• Psychological style concept
• Learning and teaching styles in the same
  conceptual framework
• Broadness in style profile
• Plausible and usable profiles
• Styles are context-specific
• Styles can be developed

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Theory of mental self-government (Sternberg)
Danish adaptation
Thinking style A profile of styles describing
the individuals preferred ways of thinking i
specific contexts Learning style
Supervision style
Teaching style
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Learning, teaching supervision style

• A profile of thinking styles describing the
  individuals preferred ways of thinking in a
  specific learning teaching supervision context
• Ways of thinking represent different ways of
  perceiving and handling different types of
  problems/situations in the context

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The style profile 1

• Styles are preferences in the use of abilities,
  not abilities themselves
• Difference between style and strategy
• People have profiles (or patterns) of styles, not
  just a single style (always all 14 styles with
  differing strengths and flexibility)
• Styles are not, on average, good or bad its a
  question of fit with the specific context

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The style profile - 2

• Styles valued at one time may not be valued at
  another
• Styles valued in one place may not be valued in
  another
• We can confuse stylistic fit with levels of
  abilities

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The style profile - 3

• Styles are variable across tasks and situations
• Styles are socialized and can be affected (are
  learnable/teachable)
• Styles are measurable

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The 14 learning styles
Functional styles Level styles
Legislative Global
Executive Local
Judicial Scope styles
Form styles Internal
Monarchic External
Hierarchic Leaning styles
Oligarchic Conservative
Anarchic Progressive/Liberal
Democratic

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This means .

• The person with a strong XX style will be
  drawn/attracted to problems of the corresponding
  type (real)
• Or
• The person with a strong XX style will try to
  solve all problems as if they were of the
  corresponding type (perceived)

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Learners with different Functional styles prefer
to

• Legislative define the problem, set the goals,
  and plan the strategy
• Executive execute according to guidelines
• Judicial evaluate, analyze, and criticize ideas,
  processes and results

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Learners with different Form styles prefer to

• Monarchic seek to solve the problem
• Hierarchic seek to solve prioritized partial
  problems
• Oligarchic seek to solve several problems
  simultaneously
• Anarchic seek to solve self-defined/ramdom
  problems (avoiding established systems)
• Democratic seek to find the best common solution
  

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Learners with different Level styles prefer to

• Global conceptualize and work on an abstract
  level
• Local work with the pragmatics of a
  situation/problem on a concrete level

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Learners with different scope styles prefer to

• External to work with others and/or tasks that
  deal with people (to seek answers and information
  from others)
• Internal to work alone and/or use intellect in
  relation to things or ideas isolated from other
  people (to seek answers from within one self )

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Learners with different Leaning styles prefer to

• Progressive go for the unknown - to maximize
  change, to seek (or to feel comfortable with)
  ambiguous situations
• Conservative stick with the well known - To
  minimize change, to avoid (or to feel
  uncomfortable with) ambiguous situations

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The functional styles
The functional styles Summary of preferences Associated problem/situation types (real or perceived)
Legislative To create own rules and procedures, to create or use own methods, to create/build structure as well as content ? to define the problem, set the goals, and plan the strategy Self-structured and/or self-defined problems
Executive To follow rules and procedures, to use existing methods, to fill content into existing structure ? execution Pre-structured and/or pre-defined problems
Judicial To evaluate rules and procedures, to evaluate methods, to evaluate both structure and content ? to evaluate, analyze, and criticize ideas, processes and results Problems, demanding analysis/ evaluation/judgement
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The form styles
The form styles Summary of preferences Associated problem/situation types (real or perceived)
Monarchic Fulfillment of a single goal or need at a time ? to find the solution Problems which have an unequivocal solution
Hierarchic Fulfillment of a hierarchy of goals/needs of varying importance with a balanced and systematic approach ? to solve prioritized partial problems Problemes which require multiple prioritized (partial) solutions
Oligarchic Fulfillment of multiple goals/needs of equal importance with multiple (maybe competing) approaches en multi-systematic approach ? to solve several problems simultaneously Problems which are complex and where the parts are equally require complex solutions
Anarchic Fulfillment of multiple goals/needs of uncertain importance with an a-systematic approach ? to solve self-defined/ramdom problems Problems which require a break with existing path and methods for their solution
Democratic Fulfillment of own as well as the goals/needs of others through dialogue, due to the perception that these are equally important, ? to find the best common solution Problems/situations that demand a joint fulfilment of own goals and the goals of others.
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The level styles
The level styles Summary of preferences Associated problem/situation types (real or perceived)
Global To conceptualize and work in the world of ideas and on an abstract level ? can see the woods, but not always the tress within it General problems on a relatively high level of abstraction
Local To work with the pragmatics of a situation/problem on a concrete level ? can see the trees, but not always the woods. Concrete problems involving details in either perception or solution
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The scope styles
The scope styles Summary of preferences Associated problem/situation types (real or perceived)
External To seek answers and information from others, to be extroverted and socially and inter-personally more sensitive to other people than Internalists ? to work with others Problems which involve working with others or involve people in other ways so that the inter-personal interaction becomes a crucial part of the problem
Internal To seek answers from within one self, to be reserved and socially and inter-personally less sensitive than Externalists ? to work alone Problems which involve of world of objects or ideas where the intellect can be applied in relation to things or ideas isolation from other people
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The leaning styles
The leaning styles Summary of preferences Associated problem/situation types (real or perceived)
Liberal To maximize change, to seek (or to feel comfortable with) ambiguous situations, to seek out the unknown ? to go for the unknown Problems which require expansion or change of known principles or practice
Conservative To minimize change, to avoid (or to feel uncomfortable with) ambiguous situations, to seek out the known ? to stick with the well known Problems which can be solved with existing principles or practice
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