JAMES W . KEEFE AND BARBARA G . FERRELL Developing a Defensible Learning Style

R ecently, school reform efforts have moved the issue of effective instruction to the forefront of ed ucation, and researchers and practition ers alike have renewed their interest in learning style. Learning style assessment can provide the basis for a more person alized approach to student advisement and placement, instructional strategy, and evaluation of learning. Style assess ment, however, must be based on a defensible theoretical framework. In 1982, a task force of the National Association of Secondary School Prin cipals (NASSP) began to construct a learning style paradigm and to de velop a psychometricaUy sound instru ment to assess style. The task force first embarked on a comprehensive review of learning styles theory and research.