1. THE RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN
LEARNING STYLES AND
ACADEMIC OUTCOMES IN
AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOOL
CHILDREN
By: John C. Thomas
Alabama A&M University
Department of Social Work, Psychology, &
Counseling
April 18, 2013

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 Thesis Chairperson- Dr. Everton McIntosh
 Thesis Committee- Dr. Fred Bigenho, Dr.
George Mamboleo, and Dr. Jitendra Kapoor
 Graduate Studies Office Family
 Mrs. Theta Warren
 Mr. Jerome Saintjones
 C.J. Donald Elementary School
 Alabama A&MUniversity

3. INTRODUCTION

4. Statement of the Problem
• African American students have scored lower on
standardized test than Caucasian and Asian
counterparts.
• The achievement gap has only closed minimally in
recent years.
• Education initiatives have been explored, but none
have closed the achievement gap.
• Some specialist believe students who lack middle
class educational resources are more prone to have
less educational outcomes.
• Regardless of economic status educational planners
have done a poor job of producing techniques that
cater to African Americans’ learning styles.

5. Statement of the Problem
(cont.)
• With more emphasis on the African American
community the assumption that other ethnicities
are better equipped academically can be
dissolved.
• The methods of generalizing instruction may be
the cause for these beliefs.
• The methods used today are not working for all
ethnicities.
• Individualized teaching strategies need to be
included in the educational realm.
• In order to revamp the public education system
thinking of students as individuals has to be
considered to enhance academic outcomes.

6. Need for Study
 School systems seem far removed from the powerful
early nineteenth century vision of the common school for
all.
 Most teachers don’t understand the learning needs of
African American students.
 The needs of African American students have been
ignored by educational planners, due to the delicacy and
complexity of these students’ learning needs and how
they store information.
 If more effort is placed on determining the needs of
African American students, it could possibly improve
students’ attitudes to learn and teachers’ enthusiasm
toward teaching.

7. Purpose of the Study
• To study the learning styles of African American
students enrolled in an urban Alabama school to
determine if using them could increase
standardized test scores
• The school could be considered struggling to
close the achievement gap between races.
• Donald Elementary School students scored lower
than state and national standards in reading and
math.
• The results on standardized test indicate there is
a must to improve test scores.

8. Definition of Key Terms
1. Achievement Gap- Refers to the disparity in
academic performance between groups of students.
The gap can be shown through grades,
standardized test scores, course selection, dropout
rates, and college completion rates among other
things (Education Week, 2011).
2. Learning Styles- The concept that individuals
differ in regard to what mode of instruction is most
effective for them (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, Bjork,
2008).
3. Standardized Test- A test that is designed to
assess individuals against a common standard
(U.S. Department of Education, 2012)

9. Proposed Hypotheses
• Hypothesis I: There will be no significant difference between African
American students who are visual learners and African American
students who are auditory learners.
• Hypothesis II: There will be no significant difference between
African American students who are visual learners and African
American students who are kinesthetic learners.
• Hypothesis III: There will be no significant difference between
African American students who are kinesthetic learners and African
American students who are auditory learners.
• Hypothesis IV: There will be no significant difference between the
pretest scores and posttest scores for visual learners.
• Hypothesis V: There will be no significant difference between the
pretest scores and posttest scores for auditory learners.
• Hypothesis VI: There will be no significant difference between the
pretest scores and posttest scores for kinesthetic learners.

10. REVIEW OF
LITERATURE

11. Learning Styles
• Learning styles refer to individual differences
in the way information is perceived,
processed, and communicated (Campbell,
Campbell, & Dickinson, 2004).
• Some students learn more efficiently by
reading (visual), some by listening (auditory),
and others by physical interaction
(kinesthetic).
• Characteristics that trigger concentration,
maintain it, and cause long-term memory is
the best style for an individual.

12. The Auditory Learner
 Depends on hearing and speaking as their
predominant way of learning
 Auditory learners like to read out loud, speak
in class, and also enjoy oral reports.
 Auditory learners learn best when listening to
recorded lectures, auditory CDs, repeating
facts out loud, and participating in group
discussions.

13. The Visual Learner
• Characteristics of a visual learner are learning by
seeing and observing, thinking in pictures, and
enjoying doodling and drawing.
• Visual learners respond well to movies, television,
slides, posters, charts, diagrams, computer
graphics, and color coded materials.
• The environment that caters to a visual learner is
aesthetically pleasing, bright lights, and circular
seating patterns.
• A teacher’s demeanor should also exude
enthusiasm because visual students can feed off
visual nonverbal behavior.

14. The Kinesthetic Learner
 Kinesthetic intelligent students learn better by
involving muscular movement.
 They manipulate or experience what they
learn to understand and retain information.
 To accommodate, a classroom would allow
the ability to move and be active.

15. Learning Style of African American
Students
• More accepting of visually presented material
• Would rather interact with others as well as
remember information more in a social context
• Not only do African American students need to
see what’s going on but they also need to feel
what’s going on, not in a literal sense but a
psychological one (Gerow, Bordens & Blanch-
Payne, 2011).

16. No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
• NCLB was introduced to offset the
achievement gaps in test scores among
ethnicities’
• Also designed to help excel the endeavors of
students no matter their ethnicity and/or
economic background
• Concentrates on reading skills
• President Bush stated that this act was
necessary, “Because almost every other
subject is dependent on children’s abilities to
understand their text books and other reading
materials (Finn & Hess, 2004).

17. No Child Left Behind (Refuted)
• NCLB was created to close the achievement gap
between the majority and minority student.
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
provides no evidence for the effectiveness of the
federal NCLB of 2001 (Ravitch, 2009).
• Administration decided to place most of the
responsibility on state agencies, school districts,
principals, and teachers
• NCLB has an unrealistic demand that schools around
the nation lower state standards in order to be labeled
proficient.
• The purpose of the standardized test scores were to
help identify achievement deprived schools and
districts and place them under the watch of the
government.

18. The Obama Education Plan
• Major emphasis on early childhood education
• This focus can ensure that all students will have
mastered the basic skills that will equip them with
the knowledge to carry on in secondary and
higher education.
• Targets students before they reach grade school
• Proposes a reform of assessment, accountability,
and compensation
• Instead of punishing a school for not meeting
standards, the plan would offer assistance

19. African American Test Scores
 During the past 40 years, studies have shown
that African American students have scored
lower on standardized tests than Caucasian
and Asian students (Lee, 2004).
 20 point difference among African American,
Caucasians, and Asian students in the areas
of mathematics and language

20. Past and Present Trends
(Nationally)
• African Americans currently score lower than
European Americans on vocabulary, reading,
and mathematics tests, scholastic aptitude
and intelligence test (Jencks & Phillips, 1998).
• Nine year old African American students
scored 24 points lower than Caucasian
students in 2008
• In the area of mathematics, in 2008, the
achievement gap was 26 points
• Has only decreased only by 9 points in 35
years

21. Past and Present Trends (State of
Alabama)
 In Math, the state of Alabama ranks 49th
out of
50 states.
 In reading, the State of Alabama ranked 45th
out of 50 states.
 In 2007, Alabama ranked 43rd in best
educated states .

22. The Importance of Third Grade
• Third grade is the transition from basic
learning to advanced learning that will be used
for the future.
• Multiplication and division, are the building
blocks for higher caliber subjects such as
algebra.
• Not reading by third grade puts children at risk
of not graduating high school later (Richards,
2012).
• Less common for teachers to shepherd
students through assignments

23. Socioeconomics Factors in the
African American Community
 Sociologist Dalton Conley has noted that more than half
of all African American children under the age of six live
in poverty.
 These same students attend poorly funded public
schools and produce low standardized test scores.
 Socioeconomic factors influence the outlook of learning
for African American students.
 A lack of engagement felt by students from teachers
 Can cause disengagement from student
 Teachers may then label them lazy or unmotivated.
 Difficult students cause a decline in teachers and
deteriorate their motivation to teach.

24. METHODOLOGY

25. Participants
• The experiment was conducted at C.J. Donald
Elementary School.
• Public school in Fairfield, Alabama
• 360 students total and has 13 students to 1 teacher
ratio
• Most of the students come from lower socio-economic
situations.
• 92 percent of students are eligible for free lunch
• The experiment consisted of 30 third grade students.
• All African American students tested
• School chosen for the experiment because it can be a
clear representative of struggling schools that are
aspiring to close the achievement gap

26. Instrumentation
• The learning style assessment that was used
is a 14 question assessment, designed by
Jonelle Beatrice.
• Comes from her book Le arning to Study
Thro ug h CriticalThinking
• The highest number of responses are the
primary mode of learning.
• The pretest and posttest were math and
language booklets made by Discovery
Education.
• Considered a predictive standardized

27. Research Design & Procedure
• The instructor of the given class taught the
normal lesson plan.
• The first assessment was done without exactly
knowing each student’s learning style.
• Pretest scores diagnosed how effectively the
first lesson was received by each student.
• After determining the students’ efficiency with
the instructor’s lesson, a learning styles
assessment was given.

28. Research Design & Procedure
(cont.)
• The students were grouped according to their
learning style that had been determined (visual
learner, auditory learner, or kinesthetic learner).
• The second time students were taught according
to their learning style.
• A second assessment was given, using the same
standardized test from the first assessment.
• Data was compared to the first assessment and
determine whether, there was an increase or
decrease in performance before and after
determining students learning styles.

29. Reliability and Validity
• Internal validity was controlled by using the same
test during the pretest and posttest procedures.
• The pre-test posttest procedures reliability was
assured by using inter-rater reliability.
• The reliability of the learning styles assessment to
be use has not been established (Direct
Communication, Beatrice).
• Assessment currently being used at Youngstown
State University in the Center for Student
Progress
• The face validity of the learning styles
assessment is established by experts such as
Beatrice developing the assessment.

30. Statistical Analysis
 Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were analyzed by the
Analysis of Variance and by the Independent
Groups’ t-tests.
 Hypotheses 4, 5, and 6 was analyzed by
Repeated Measures t-tests.

31. RESULTS

32. Descriptive Statistics
 The experiment was conducted at C.J. Donald
Elementary School.
 Comprised of 360 students
 97.1 percent African American
 92 percent of students are eligible for free
lunch
 Experiment consisted of 30 third grade
students

33. Descriptive Statistics (cont.)
 17 students tested to be visual learners
 6 students tested to be kinesthetic learners
 7 students tested to be auditory learners

34. Descriptive Statistics (cont.)
Mean N Standard Dev.
Pretest 19.15 17 6.48
Posttest 22.19 17 7.53
Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations of Pretest and Posttest Results for Visual
Learners.

35. Descriptive Statistics (cont.)
Mean N Standard Dev.
Pretest 18.86 7 5.53
Posttest 19.71 7 5.98
Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations of Pretest and Posttest Results for
Auditory Learners.

36. Descriptive Statistics (cont.)
Mean N Standard Dev.
Pretest 16.50 6 4.17
Posttest 19.75 6 4.20
Table 3. Means and Standard Deviations of Pretest and Posttest Results for Kinesthetic
Learners.

37. Testing of Hypotheses
 Hypothesis one states that there will be no
statistically significant difference between
pretest and posttest scores for visual learners.
 A repeated measure t-test was computed.
 The t-test indicates a statistically significant
difference between pretest and posttest scores
for visual learners, t(16)=2.83, p<.05.
 Visual learners did have significant differences
between their pretest and posttest scores.
 The null hypothesis is rejected.

38. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
N Mean
Std.
Dev.
Std.
Error
Mean
t df Sig.
Pretest 17 19.15 6.48 1.11 2.83 16 0.007
Posttest 17 22.29 7.53 1.29
Table 4. Repeated Measures t-test for Pretest and Posttest Scores for Visual Learners
The t-test indicates a statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest
scores for visual learners, t(16)=2.83, p<.05.

39. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
 Hypothesis two states that there will be no
statistically significant difference between
pretest and posttest scores for auditory learners.
 A repeated measure t-test was computed/
 The t-test indicates no statistically significant
difference between pretest and posttest scores
for auditory learners, t(6)=0.72, p>.05.
 Auditory test improved only marginally.
 The null hypothesis is retained.

40. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
N Mean
Std.
Dev.
Std.
Error
Mean
t df Sig.
Pretest 7 18.86 5.53 1.18 0.72 6 0.480
Posttest 7 19.71 5.98 1.60
Table 5. Repeated Measures t-test for Pretest and Posttest Scores for Auditory
Learners
The t-test indicates no statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest
scores for auditory learners, t(6)=0.72, p>.05.

41. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
 Hypothesis three states that there will be no
statistically significant difference between
pretest and posttest scores for kinesthetic
learners.
 A repeated measures t-test was computed.
 The t-test indicates a statistically significant
difference exists between pretest and posttest
scores for kinesthetic learners, t(5)=10.66,
p<.05.
 Kinesthetic learners improved their performance
at posttest.
 The null hypothesis is rejected.

42. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
N Mean
Std.
Dev.
Std.
Error
Mean
t df Sig.
Pretest 6 16.50 4.17 1.20 10.66 5 0.0001
Posttest 6 19.75 4.20 1.21
Table 6. Repeated Measures t-test for Pretest and Posttest Scores for Kinesthetic
Learners
The t-test indicates a statistically significant difference exists between pretest and
posttest scores for kinesthetic learners, t(5)=10.66, p<.05.

43. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
 Hypothesis four states that there will be no statistically
significant difference between African American
students who are visual learners and African American
students who are auditory learners.
 Hypothesis five states that there will be no statistically
significant difference between African American
students who are visual learners and African American
students who are kinesthetic learners.
 Hypothesis six states that there will be no statistically
significant difference between African American
students who are auditory learners and African
American students who are kinesthetic learners.

44. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
 A one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
computed.
 There is no statistically significant difference
between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
learners at pretest, [F(2,27)=0.459, p=0.637].
 There is no statistically significant difference
between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
learners at posttest, [F(2,27)=0.539, p=0.589].
 The null hypotheses were retained at pretest as
well as at posttest.

45. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
Source DF SS MS F P
Treatment 2 32.008 16.004 0.459 0.637
Error 27 942.276 34.899
Total 29 974.284
Table 7. One Way Between Groups Analysis of Variance for Pretest Scores (Visual,
Auditory, Kinesthetic).
There is no statistically significant difference between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
learners at pretest, [F(2,27)=0.459, p=0.637]

46. Testing of Hypotheses (cont.)
There is no statistically significant difference between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
learners at posttest, [F(2,27)=0.539, p=0.589].

47. DISCUSSION

48. Discussion
 The focus of this study was to evaluate
learning styles of third grade African American
students.
 Past research has shown over the years, a
difference in the achievement gap amongst
Caucasian and African American students.
 The current study tested variables which could
be used to incorporate future education
initiatives that primarily involve African
American students.

49. Discussion
 Hypothesis one states that there will be no significant
difference between pretest and posttest scores for visual
learners.
 Hypothesis one was rejected.
 Assessment scores were higher at posttest.
 This reassures that visual learners learn best by seeing .
 Introducing a room that is aesthetically pleasing is the optimal
situation concerning learning for a visual student.
 During the course of the experiment, slides, posters, and
diagrams were used during lessons after the visual learners
in the class were determined.
 Visual learners performed better at posttest because visual
teaching techniques preferred by the students were
introduced.

50. Discussion
 Hypothesis two states that there will be no significant
difference between pretest and posttest scores for
auditory learners.
 Hypothesis two was retained.
 Students did not score significantly higher at posttest
(the posttest scores did increase).
 Previous research shows that auditory learners depend
on hearing and speaking (Kostelnik, Soderman, &
Whiren, 2004).
 During the study the auditory learners read out loud and
repeated what the instructor said out loud.
 Differences between means for the pretest and posttest
were still not significant.

51. Discussion
 Absence of significance may have occurred because of the
difficulty to provide instruction to auditory learners.
 Maybe the use of all auditory learning styles techniques were
not implemented
 Auditory learners were not able to really grasp concepts in
mathematics (mathematics was taught first during
experiment).
 They were not able to conceptualize what was being written
on the board.
 This intimidation may have been carried over to the language
portion of the experiment, due to the math portion being given
first.
 Close attention needs to be paid to auditory learners because
they may have a hard time internalizing information (Spark
Box, 2012).

52. Discussion
 Hypothesis three states that there will be no significant
difference between pretest and posttest scores for
kinesthetic learners.
 Hypothesis three was rejected.
 Kinesthetic learners scored significantly higher on
assessments at posttest .
 Results indicated that kinesthetic learners learn most
effectively when muscular movement is involved
(Gardner, 2011).
 To accommodate the kinesthetic learners in the
classroom, a large space was made at the front of the
classroom to allow them to move, be active, and
perform in front of the class.

53. Discussion
 Hypotheses four states that there will be no
significant difference between African American
students who are visual learners and auditory
learner.
 Hypothesis five states that there will be no
significant difference between African American
students who are visual learners and kinesthetic
learners.
 Hypothesis six states that there will be no
significant difference between African American
students who are auditory learners and
kinesthetic learners.
 All three of these hypotheses were retained.

54. Discussion
 There was no statistically significant difference
between all three learning styles.
 Each student’s preferred learning style was
effective to his or her learning.
 Each learning style has the ability to enhance
learning in the classroom.

55. Implications for Clinical
Research
 There are strong possibilities for all learners to have
an equal chance of learning effectively.
 The study showed that all three learning styles
improved test scores at posttest.
 Visual and kinesthetic learners improved
significantly, while auditory learners improved
marginally.
 All three learning styles can contribute in the
classroom.
 More time needs to go into the training of instructors
to utilize all three learning styles.
 An increase in learning capabilities could possibly
increase test scores in all minority communities.

56. Implications for Clinical
Research
 There was improvement in auditory learners
posttest scores, but not statistically
significant.
 Other methods of conveying information to
auditory learners should be explored.
 For example, perhaps language should be
taught first to auditory learners, instead of
mathematics.
 Teaching language first may be easier for
auditory learners to conceptualize and in turn

57. Conclusion
 This experiment evaluated the use of African
American students’ learning style to improve
their academic achievement on standardized
tests.
 Sample consisted of 30 third grade African
American males and females from an urban
elementary school
 Findings were significant for African American
visual learners.

58. Conclusion
 Significant differences were found for
kinesthetic learners
 No significant differences were found for
auditory learners
 Posttest scores did increase for auditory
learners
 Findings support that students increased their
academic achievement when there instruction
matched there learning styles preference

59. REFERENCES
 Campbell, L., Campbell, B., & Dickinson, D. (2004). Teaching and learning through multiple
intelligence. USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Finn, C, & Hess, F. (2004). Leaving no child behind? options for kids in failing schools. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 32.
 Gerow, J., Bordens, K., & Blanch-Payne, E. (2011). General psychology: With a spotlight on
diversity. (3 ed.). Pearson Learning Solutions
 Jencks, C., & Phillips, M. (1998). The black-white test score gap. The new york times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/j/jencks-gap.html.
 Kostelnik, M.J., Soderman, A.K., Whiren, AP. (2004). Developmentally Appropriate
Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education (3rd ed.). Columbus:
Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.
 Lee, J. (2004). Multiple facets of inequity in racial and ethnic achievement gaps. Peabody
Journal of Education , 51-73.
 Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., &Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and
Evidence. Psychological science in the public interest, 9 (3), 115-119.
 Ravitch, D. (2009). Time to kill No Child Left Behind'. 28(36), 4-6.
 Spark Box. (2012). Learning types. Retrieved from http://www.sparkboxtoys.com learning/types.

60. VITA
John C. Thomas was born in Birmingham, Alabama on May 25, 1988,
the son of Belinda Hill and John D. Thomas. After completing his work
at Fairfield High School, he went on to Alabama A&M University where
he studied Community Planning & Urban Studies and received his
Bachelor of Science in May 2010. For the next three years he worked
diligently in the Graduate Studies Department, while pursuing his
Masters of Science degree in Psychology, finishing May 2013.

61. THANK YOU