Synonyms
Cognitive style; Conceptual understanding; Learning style
Cognitive Preference is a particular form of cognitive style that has at times in the last 50 years been a significant component of aspects of research on science learning. It was particularly prominent in research in the 1960s and 1970s because of strong logical links between the construct and the changes in emphasis to conceptual learning that characterized the dramatic developments of science curriculum and curriculum projects in the late 1950s and 1960s in the Anglophone world.
“Cognitive Style” (or, sometimes, “learning style”) describes the notion that individuals have consistent patterns in the forms of information they seek and the ways they then gather and process this information. While there is continued debate about the extent to which any individual consistently behaves in this regard and as to the extent to which such consistency is a singular or multiple dimension of the individual’s characteristics,...
References
Brown SA (1975) Cognitive preferences in science: their nature and analysis. Stud Sci Educ 2:43–65
Heath RW (1964) Curriculum, cognition, and educational measurement. Educ Psychol Meas 24:239–253
Tamir P (1985) Meta-analysis of cognitive preferences and learning. J Res Sci Teach 22:1–17
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Gunstone, R. (2014). Cognitive Preferences. In: Gunstone, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Science Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6165-0_95-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6165-0_95-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6165-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education