Learning Styles of Gifted and Nongifted Secondary Students in Hong Kong

Abstract

The learning activities and learning styles of 398 gifted and nongifted Chinese secondary students were assessed using the Chinese version of the Learning Styles Inventory (Renzulli & Smith, 1978; Renzulli, Smith, & Rizza, 1998). Dimensions of preferred learning activities common for gifted and nongifted students included factors interpretable as learning through verbal interaction, learning by role-play, and learning by doing. Comparing gifted and nongifted students, gifted students indicated significantly greater preferences for learning styles related to interpersonal verbal exchanges and autonomous learning. Although there were no significant gender differences in learning style preferences, the younger age group indicated significantly greater preference for learning styles related to structured activities and games than the older age group. Plausible reasons for the differences between the present findings and findings from non-Chinese settings regarding the learning styles of gifted students are discussed.