Why isn the inductive-deductive dimension of the original learning styles model assessed on the ILS?
Since Linda Silverman and I developed the model on which the ILS is based, I have come to believe that while inductive and deductive are indeed different learning preferences and different teaching approaches, the “best” method of teaching–at least below the graduate school level–is inductive, whether it be called problem-based learning, discovery learning, inquiry learning, or some variation on the same theme. On the other hand, the traditional college teaching method is deductive, starting with “fundamentals” and then proceeding to applications. The problem with inductive presentation is that it isn’t concise and prescriptive–you have to take a thorny problem or a collection of observations or data and try to make sense of it. Many or most students would say that they prefer deductive presentation, as in “Just tell me exactly what I need to know for the test, not one word more or less.” Barbara Soloman and I don’t want instructors to be able to give our instrument to students, fin
