Learning Styles and Perceptions of Self

Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory is one of the most commonly used instruments to identify a learner’s style. This paper attempts to find out whether our own perception of our learning style matches other people’s perception of our learning style. We have used a 360-degree technique to measure an individual’s learning style as perceived by others. A Mean Learning Style and a Learning Style Vector are defined to represent a collective perception of an individual learning style. The results show consistent differences between our own and others’ perception of our learning styles. These differences are analysed and validated using a placebo method and found to be accurate descriptions of perception. The results suggest that a learning styles inventory test, used in this manner, could be a measure of public and private perceptions of self.