Griggs and Dunn 2 - Hispanic-American Students and Learning...

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Hispanic-American Students and Learning Style
Authors: Griggs, Shirley and Dunn, Rita
Source: Emergency Librarian ; Nov/Dec95, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p11, 6p, 6 Black and White
Photographs
Abstract: Focuses on the learning styles of Hispanic-American students. Definition of
learning style; Identification of cultural values; Counseling and teaching of
Hispanic youth.
ISSN: 03158888
Accession Number: 9511291097
The purposes of this article are to:
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define learning style,
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identify the cultural values that impact on the learning process among Hispanic-
Americans,
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review the research on the learning styles of this population, and
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discuss the implications of these findings for counseling and teaching Hispanic youth.
American educators face tremendous challenges now and into the next millennium. There are
demands for our schools to prepare students to compete successfully in a technological, global
society Concurrently, educators are confronted with an unprecedented number of culturally-
diverse students in our classes, particularly in urban schools. The low academic achievement of
some ethnic minority youth, including Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans, is a major
problem nationally that must be addressed.
Analyses of the learning styles of non-achieving students have revealed that, as a group, such
students learn in a style and with instructional strategies that differ significantly from those of
youngsters who perform well in school ( Dunn & Griggs , 1988, 1990). High-school dropouts are
more likely to be black, Hispanic, and Native American rather than white or Asian-American, and
they are over-represented in vocational and general tracks and in special education (Oakes,
1985).
An expanding body of research affirms that teaching and counseling students with interventions
that are congruent with their learning-style preferences results in their increased academic
achievement and more positive attitudes toward learning ( Dunn & Griggs , in press). Findings of
a meta-analysis of 36 quality-rated experimental studies based on data from 3,181 participants
and using the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Model showed that overall academic
achievement of students whose learning styles have been matched can be expected to be 3/4
of a standard deviation higher than that of the students whose learning styles have not been
accommodated. This effect size held irrespective of socioeconomic level, ethnicity and regional
location ( Dunn , Griggs , Olson, Gorman, & Beasley, in press).
Understanding Learning Style
The concept of learning styles has been expanded substantially during the past three decades.
It currently focuses on the way in which each learner begins to concentrate on, process, and
retain new and difficult information. The Dunn and Dunn Model identifies 21 elements, including
environmental (sound, light, temperature and design), emotional (motivation, persistence,
responsibility [conformity versus nonconformity] and structure), sociological (learning alone, in a
pair, with peers, with a teacher and/or in a variety of social patterns), physiological (perception,

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