Learning Style Theory and Learning Transfer Principles During Reference Interview Instruction

LEARNING STYLE THEORY, as i t i s understood by theorists in educational psychology, can be applied to the reference desk interview process by knowledgeable staff in order to facilitate more effective interactions. Learning styles are key elements to consider when matching staff responses to the instructional content of user assistance. This article will examine the applicable issues of learning styles and learning transfer for the reference interview. Just like adolescents separating from their parents, bibliographic instruction (BI) grew up in the reference desk household but “left home” to develop its own perspectives. A major influence on the development of BI has been educational psychology. Conceptual frameworks (Reichel, 1981) and question analysis (Oberman, 1983) exemplify this influence. Learning style theories and learning transfer principles are some of the recent issues to impact the instructional programs of libraries (Bodi, 1990). The impact of new information technologies upon libraries has caused renewed interest in teaching and learning for reference services. The reference desk staff has become acutely aware of instructional issues as they cope with users of online catalogs, CD-ROM systems, and locally mounted databases. This situation has driven the return of BI issues to traditional reference services. Randall Hensley, University of Washington, OUGL, DF-10, Seattle, WA 98195 LIBRARY TRENDS, Vol. 39, No. 3, Winter 1991, pp. 203-09 @ 1991The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois 204 LIBRARY TRENDS/WINTER 1991 Learning style and learning transfer theories offer insight to the reference interview process that can enhance staff abilities to provide quality instruction at the reference desk. They can contribute to the development of a library user’s information-seeking skills. Carl Jung (1923) identified four basic human functions: (1) the thinking function of organizing and analyzing in a logical fashion; (2) the feeling function of personal and emotional reactions to experience; (3) the sensation function of perceiving and reacting to immediate sensory information; and (4) the intuition function of imagination and abstract thought. Subsequent learning style models have focused on perception and communication as key indicators of style. A learning style is a pattern of these indicators. Individuals have the capacity to operate in all styles but prefer a particular style as being more natural or easier to manifest. The less preferred styles require more effort. The preferred style is most in evidence when interacting with other people and is the optimum form in which to communicate. Researchers (Mok, 1975) have also identified the phenomenon of preferred styles shifting under stressful or unfavorable conditions. A variety of models have been developed that include inventories for identifying and understanding an individual’s learning style configuration. David A. Kolb (1976), Paul P. Mok (1975), and Isabel Briggs Myers (1962) created perhaps the most widely known inventories. Labels have been developed for particular styles, typically four. Strong correlation is present between the inventories. For the purposes of this article the Mok labels will be used. There are characteristics associated with learning styles. ‘The “thinker” style is deliberative, objective, rational, analytical, unemotional, and serious. The “feeler” style is personalizing, emotional, empathetic, spontaneous, subjective, and impulsive. The I ‘ sensor” style is pragmatic, action oriented, competitive, focused on the tangible, efficient, and directive. The “intuitor” style is imaginative, idealistic, broad-gauged, conceptual, scattered, and probing. A style is i n evidence when these and analogous characteristics constitute a regular pattern of perception and communication. While no reference librarian will be able to administer a learning styles inventory at the beginning of each reference desk interaction, there are nonverbal and verbal cues that are indicative of an individual’s style (Gregorc, 1979). Sources of nonverbal cues are eyes, gestures, body placement and stance, and facial expression. Each of these sources can vary according to quality and quantity of action or movement. Verbal cues consist of quantity of words used during HENSLEY/LEARNING STYLE & TRANSFER PRINCIPLES 205 the interaction, vocal tone, verbal responsiveness, and types of words used. This last cue has four categories: authority words, action words, affect words, and conceptual words. When applied to the previous learning style labels, certain characteristics can be identified as common attributes. For the thinker style, the nonverbal attributes are stiffness and formality, and the verbal attributes are articulateness, definiteness, succinctness, and an emphatic quality. Individuals with this preferred style present their information need in a logical, relatively unemotional manner. They accept a large amount of responsibility for the outcome of their work in the library. They expect the librarian to be authoritative and knowledgeable, and they appreciate ranked alternatives from which they, the user, can choose. They avoid a personal or informal interaction, and place an emphasis on the details of any action to be taken or resource to be used. Printed instructions are likely to be consulted comprehensively. For the feeler style, the nonverbal attributes are expressiveness with connecting, informal gestures, and body stance. The verbal attributes are noted for an emphasis on affect and personalizing. Individuals with this preferred style present their information needs in a personable manner, obviously enjoying the opportunity to interact with another person. They of ten express anxiety, pleasure, or ignorance willingly as a means of enhancing the personal aspects of the process. For the sensor style, the nonverbal attributes are impatience and movement with an emphasis on tactile responses such as tapping a pencil, grasping handouts, or other gestures that indicate a desire to move to a conclusion quickly. The verbal attributes are noted for an emphasis on action words with practical or simplistic explanations about what is desired. For the intuitor styles, the nonverbal attributes are a distracted manner, often giving the impression that the individual is not paying attention or that the individual is engaged in an internal dialogue. The verbal attributes are noted for an emphasis on verboseness, an inability to focus the nature of the information need, and an ability to frame the need into broad categories. Often the connections between statements or questions are not clear. The person with a dominant thinker style learns through detailed analysis and logical ordering. A cautious, deliberative, comprehensive assessment of a learning situation is the preferred approach. Unlike the thinker style, the feeler style learns through personal interaction, placing emphasis on the acknowledgment of feeling, attitude, and involvement of the people engaged in the learning