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The Implications of Cognitive Style to Adult Distance Education

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International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the implications of the cognitive-style dimension of field independence/dependence for adult learners in distance learning environments. Chinien and Boutin (1992–93) suggest a student’s repertoire of cognitive skills can serve to facilitate or debilitate a student’s performance in a learning task. Cognitive skills also determine if a student performs cognitive tasks in a self-directed or independent manner. The cognitive style dimension of field independence/dependence refers to a student’s manner of processing information on a continuum between globally or analytically. The implications of this construct on learner achievement depends on three elements: (a) the nature of the learning task; (b) the effectiveness of the teacher in adapting the learning material to suit the learner; and (c) the capacity in assisting the learner to adapt to different learning requirements (Witkin et al., 1977).

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  1. Learning Assistance Centre, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

    Cindy Marie Isaak-Ploegman & Chris Chinien

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  1. Cindy Marie Isaak-Ploegman
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  1. International Centre for Education, UNESCO-UNEVOC, Gorresstr. 15, 53113 Bonn, Germany

    Rupert Maclean

  2. University of Toronto, Canada

    David Wilson

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Isaak-Ploegman, C.M., Chinien, C. (2009). The Implications of Cognitive Style to Adult Distance Education. In: Maclean, R., Wilson, D. (eds) International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5281-1_176

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