NCJ Number
168468
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 1-18
Date Published
1997
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article illustrates how learning-style data collected from students in criminal justice classes can be used to plan multimedia approaches that will meet the learning needs of the majority of criminal justice students.
Abstract
The first part of the article discusses the importance of learning styles in planning multimedia approaches, followed by a short review of prior learning-styles research in criminal justice and a review of the theory behind the learning-style instrument used in this study. The study itself involved 136 students enrolled in criminal justice classes, who were primarily male (59 percent). Students were administered Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, a widely used instrument that allows learners to be classified according to their preferred learning style and corresponding learning environment. Possible learning styles as described by Kolb (1977) are the "converger," who prefers abstract conceptualization and active experimentation; the "diverger," who favors both concrete experience and reflective observation; the "assimilator," who prefers learning through abstract conceptualization and reflective observation; and the "accommodator," who favors concrete experience and active experimentation. Study results show that the preferred learning environment for this sample of criminal justice majors is the one best suited for "assimilators." Using these study results, the authors suggest that methodologies and media approaches can be planned to meet the learning needs of the majority of criminal justice students. 2 figures, 3 tables, and 70 references