Learning Style Inventory (LSI)

The Learning Style Inventory will look at and diagnose the learning styles of individuals. It is a 104 question test that is self-reporting. (Self-reporting means that the student will determine the answer based on their self-observations, feelings and accomplishments.) The Learning Style Inventory is best used in grades three through twelve and will take about 30 minutes to complete.

The LSI also has a manual that is associated with it to address and prescribe suggestions for maximum learning and academic success.

The LSI will assess learner preferences in:

• The immediate environment – including sound, light, temperature, and design

• The emotional stimuli- including motivation, persistence, responsibility and structure

• The social side- including self, peers, pairs, team, adult or a variety

• The physical needs – including perception, intake, time and mobility

• The psychological stimuli – including global/analytical, impulsive/reflective

Dunn and Dunn (1978) claim that the Learning Style Inventory will:

• Allow students to self-identify their preferred ways of learning and how their responses are consistent

• Gives a summary of the preferences and learning style

• Provides a basis for how teachers and students interact that will provide for the best learning results

• Provides strategies for instructional alternatives to complement the student learning style 

• When the LSI is given in a group setting, the results will even be compiled to give a summary of the learning styles. 

Here are some sample questions from the LSI:

I study best when it is quiet.

I concentrate best when I feel cool.

I have to be reminded often to do something.

I like to mold things with my hands.

I study best at a desk or table.

Sources:

Dunn, R. & Dunn, K. (1978). Teaching Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles: A Practical Approach. Allyn and Bacon. 

Dunn, K., Dunn, R., & Price, Gary E. (1989). Learning style inventory. Lawrence, KS: Price Systems. 

Foley, A. (2014). Learning Styles Inventory: The different learning styles and how to determine what you are.

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By Tracy AtkinsonTracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Southwest with her husband and spirited long-haired miniature dachshunds. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and an EDS in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners and learning styles. She has published several titles, including MBTI Learning Styles: A Practical Approach, The Art of Learning Journals, Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.