spect to education level within the sample. Also, no significant differences in learning style with respect to the variables of undergraduate major, employment category, or sex
..-.-fnnnrl ."
w.r.
The overall reference ranking. for professional continu. ing education course format is presentcd in Table 2, which liitseach format's mean score within the possible rangeof 17, with 7 representing the strongest preference. Study participants preferred the seminar format most and the correspondence format least. Within the rank order, significant differences existed between all formats except laboratory and recitation. These results correspond closely to a similar format ranking conducted among a group of research scientists (2) Table 2.
Four hundred thirty-eight subjects responded to the open-ended question about learning environments. Frequencies of the most common categories of response are presented in Table 3. Data for the frequency of participation in professional continuing education courses are presented in Table 4. Fewer than half of the subiects reported involvement in any courses. Data for 621 different courses were reported by the 232 subjects who participated in one or more c&mes. Tables 5-8 contain data concerning the topics, formats, providers, and time spans of courses reported.-
Table 5.
Chemlsts' Preferencesfor Contlnulng Educatlon Course
Subject ot Contlnulng Educatlon Courses Reported
Subject
NO. of Courses (N= 621)
% of Total
Format
Mean Preference
Current Developments in Science and Technology Business and Management Computers Basic Science and Medicine Communications Law. Regulations, and Safety Foreign Languages Mher
(.
Seminar Laboratory Recitation Lecture
. Tutorial
3.81
3.70
Computer-Assisted InStruction Correspondence
3.05
2.90
2.32
.
6.57 (0.001)= 6.06 (0.001)=
'me fstatialowmpareadifterencein meanrank between llstedfamatmd~famst below n. b~w+talledpmbabilny significant at 0.05 level. '~wa-tailedpmbabiiii significant at 0.001 level.
Chemlsts' Preferred Learnlng Environments
Format of Contlnulng Educatlon Courses Reported
Format
NO.of Courses ( N = 620)
% of Total
CAI Correspondence Laboratory Lecturea Recitationb Seminarb Tutorial Combined Formats Other
9 9 57 219 120 104 10 69 2
1.5 1.5 9.2 35.5 19.4 16.7 1.6 14.3 0.3
3.73
Note: N = 476.
Table 3.
Table 6.
onered on videotape. within me recitation and ssminar formah, a total of nine c o w s were teken taleconfsrenca. WB(B
D ~ S C U S Jwith ~ O ~colleague^ Selfdirected study Reading professional literature Anending professional meetings Anending seminars On-the-job experience and research Nanseminar course formats (recitation. lab, lecture, CAI, etc.) Discussion~with experts and consultants Preparing papers Anending Gordon Conferences Teaching Sabbatical research Mher (Inventing, learning to use a microcomputer. program reviews, discussions wilh experts, etc.)
25.4 22.0 21.6 19.0 16.4 17.6 14.0 5.0 2.0 1.6 1.4 0.6 2.8
b
Table 7.
M
Supplier ot Continuing Educatlon Courses Reported
Supplier
NO.of Courses (N= 621)
% of Total
College or Univerrity Employer Vendor ACS Other Associations Consultant Mhar
Table 4.
322
Number of Courses Taken wlthln the Last Two Years Table 8.
No. Courses
NO. of Respondenh ( N = 506)
% of Total
0 1 2 3 4 5 or more
270 51 75 43 26 39
53.4 10.1 14.8 8.5 5.5 7.7
Journal of Chemical Education
Time Frame for Contlnulng Educatlon Courses Reported
Length
NO. of C o u w s ( N = 621)
% of Total
1Day 2-6 Days 1-5 Weeks 6 Weeks or Mare
62 243 66 230
13.2 39.0 10.6 37.0
Dlscusslon The survev research nroiect nrovides a renresentative nrofile of ACS members as learners. Such data were not pieviouslv available. In addition. this research renresents the first learning style profile of an entire profession. Chemists as learners are more alike than different. This finding is consistent with a shared disciplinary interest and the process of self-selection to pursue chemistry as a profession. Of special interest is the fact that male and female chemists were found not to have significantly different learning styles. Kolb's (4) initial research and other learning style studies (3)have indicated that such a difference, based on sex, does exist. However, those studies were not designed to minimize the nossible confoundine factors of exnerience. education, and'career. The tighter controls, both design and statistical. within this research studv nrofessional chem. of . ists have eliminated the confounding factors mentioned above. Experiential learning theory presents learning as an integrative process that requires some aspect of each of the four learning modes: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Chemists generally fall into a category known as convergers. As such, they tend to favor active experimentation more than reflective observation and abstract conceptualization more than concrete experience. Possible strategies are available for chemists to profit from this information: (1)Working with others whose learning styles complement, rather than duplicate, their own. For example, a converger can learn to communicate ideas better by working with others who are more concrete and people oriented. (2) Selectine learning environments and &re& opportunities that tak;! advantage of their learning mode strengths. (3)Develo~inga more balanced learning style by themselves in noithreatening learning environments that require use of concrete experience and reflective observation learning modes. For educators and counselors, this learning style profile information can be helpful. For example, students who do not learn well using active experimentation and abstract conceptualization learning modes, that is, those who are not convergers, may find a career in chemistry less than fulfilling. Also, successful students who have chosen chemistry in spite of a nonconverger learning style may enjoy nontraditional chemistry career options such as sales and marketine or advertising, those options being more amenable to concrete experience and reflective observation learning modes. In designing wurses fur nonmajurs, educators might also help stndents who are not convergers by including at~i\.ities that appeal to all four of the learning~modes.Such an approach provides students with opportunities for using their learning style strengths, as well as opportunities to strengthen their nondominant learning styles.
. " .
The course formats preferred by the study participants are consistent with a converger learning style. Kolb describes the converger as "best at finding practical uses of ideas and theories" and one who has "the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions and problems" (8). Seminar, recitation, and lahoratory formats, those most preferred by subjects in this study, are consistent with this approach to learning. Chemical educators may wish to use these more participative formats to help future chemists take advantage of their learning style strengths. The lecture is not a preferred format since it does not encourage the active involvement characteristic of chemists' learning style. This study indicates that many chemists rely heavily on nonconrse learning environments for their continuing learning. For many, gaining access to relevant literature and exchanging ideas with c&eagues are a t least as important as attending a formal organized course. This is consistent with the converger's drive to find solutions to his or her own questions and prohlems. Undergraduate experiences that require self-directed learning, such as independent literature review and research projects, will prepare students to use these noncourse environments as professionals. The finding that fewer than half of the sample took even one continuing education course over a two-year period may be cause for concern. If those not participating in courses are not keeping up with the latest developments in their fields in other ways, they are risking professional obsolescence. Additional research t o understand more fulls this seeminalv .. . low Irvel of participation in courses seems warranted. Exrrapola~ionufthe participation data from thesample to the t'ull ,\CS membershio reuresents 13.000 courses taken bv chemists each year. ~ a i gkhered a from this study s h o u i help course developers more closely tailor these courses to chemists as learners. Acknowledgment 'The author wishes to thank Marshall Mead, Harry Walsh, Fred Basolo, and Robert Nakon for their assistance and encouragement in undertaking this study and Robert Orwoll for his review of the manuscript. Llterature Clted Eurich. N. corporota c1osvooms: The Learning Businzss: Princeton university: Princeton. NJ. 1985. 2. Sarners, B. 'Cognitive Style and ~ o t i v a t i o nin continuing mueation": find repon to the National Science Foundation on Grant SED-7919945; Cooper & Co.:Stamford, 1.
5. 6. 7. 8.
...",.",..
Kalb, D. A. Learning StykInuantory Technical Manuat McBer: Boston. 1978. SPSS. Ine. SPSSx User's Cuidr; MeCraw-Hill: New York, 1983. Kolh, D. A , unpublished rssu1ts. Kolb, D. A. L~orningStyle Inusnfory. Self-aeorig I n v e n l o ~and Inferprefolion Booklet: McBer: Bmton, 1985.
Volume 64 Number 4
April 1987
323
