Learning Styles of Gifted Adolescents with In-School versus Out-of-School Accomplishments in Literature

Abstract

The learning styles of two groups of adolescents gifted in literature, one composed of subjects with high grade point averages in school in literature (n = 232) and one of subjects who had high scores on talented out-of-school accomplishments in literature (n = 192), were compared. Six of the 22 elements measured by the Learning Styles Inventory distinguished between the two groups. The out-of-school gifted group preferred to work with peers and felt comfortable learning in a variety of different ways. They tended to be less visual and more auditory learners and expressed a greater preference to learn by experiential or hands-on activities than the in-school gifted group. The implications for teaching and counseling gifted learners, differently defined, are discussed.