For many years a great debate has existed in the field of education. Teachers and educators have attempted to uncover the best method for teaching students. The majority of evidence available suggests that multiple factors influence a student's ability to achieve in the classroom, none the least of which is learning styles and preferences. There is ample evidence supporting the notion that intelligence aside, most students have a learning preference related to their cognitive style of thinking that is ingrained or innate.

Because of this students will react to material presented to them in the classroom in different ways. It is vital that teachers begin recognizing the significance of these individual learning differences and uncover methods for coping with and addressing learning style differences and preferences within the classroom. Only then will all children be afforded the opportunity to learn equally and achieve to the best of their ability within the classroom.

Individual Learning Differences and Learning Needs

There are many different styles of learning individuals adapt, which can affect their aptitude for information, their willingness to participate in the classr

Intelligence Differences Learning Process

The outstanding body of research currently available in the field of education and cognitive development suggest that learners have different styles and preferences for learning. Some students for example may prefer to learn via visual verbal cues, others may acquire knowledge through oral instruction and still others must engage in kinesthetic activities in order to gain the most from an instructional environment. Each of these different aptitudes for learning can be describe by cognitive style theories, which support the idea that individuals have different preferences and styles of learning.

Intelligence is often linked with cognitive development within the mainstream classroom (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1999). The very idea of learning suggests that intelligence is necessary for success in the classroom. It is important however to understand that individuals from varying cultural backgrounds and even socio economic classes may not ascribe the same importance to mental or cognitive functioning as described by intelligence or achievement tests like the IQ (Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1999). Rather for them intelligence is more measured by ones performance in the classroom.

Teaching Every Child in Today's Classroom

These differences may affect how a learner assimilates information or whether they assimilate information and affects the skills and content acquired by learners. It is vital that educators including teachers become sensitive to individual learning preferences so that learning can be more effective and applicable to the needs of different learners (Grabowski & Jonassen, 1993).

oom and even the preferences they express when learning (Grabowski & Jonassen, 1993). The ability of a student to construct meaning from information and apply it to settings and situations as well as a student's ability to perform varying tasks depends on their learning style. The academic environment that students reside in must among other things support learning in a "comprehensible and effective" manner for the learner (Grabowski & Jonassen, 1993). Teachers must understand the individual learners style to facilitate this process.

Cognitive styles refer to individual differences in the way people organize and process information and experiences (Morgan, 1997). These styles are expressed through different methods of organizing and remembering information and represent "consistencies in the manner or form of cognition" subsequently displayed b cognitive performance (Messick, 4; Morgan, 3). There are varying cognitive styles psychologists have defined including field dependent and field independent (Morgan, 1997). Field independent persons can more easily select objects from surroundings that might hide them from v

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