Pair students with complementary intellectual styles to compensate for weaknesses¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Sternberg recommends pairing learners whose preferred styles differ so that each compensates for the other's weak areas, since people benefit most from collaborators moderately unlike themselves in preferred level of processing. The article states "students with one preferred style can be paired with others who have different preferred styles." It also notes that with too little overlap in levels, a breakdown in communication can occur.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Partners must overlap moderately in preferred level of processing; no overlap risks communication breakdown, total overlap leaves functions ignored.

Constraints¶

• The recommendation is offered as a compensation mechanism when remediation of style weaknesses is not possible.

Target Learners¶

• Students in classrooms and collaborative groups

Target Learning Goals¶

• Flexibility in dealing with environment and narrowing gaps between weak and strong performance areas

Affordances¶

• Mental Self Government Intellectual Styles

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Presseisen, Barbara Z.; Sternberg, Robert J.; Fischer, Kurt W.; Knight, Catharine C.; Feuerstein, Reuven. (1990). Learning and Thinking Styles: Classroom Interaction. National Education Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED327322