Academic achievement in students with field dependent/independent cognitive styles

Subject Areas : روان درمانگری

Mehran Azadi ¹ (Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch)

Received: 2015-06-05 Accepted : 2015-06-05 Published : 2008-12-21

Keywords: Academic Achievement, cognitive style, field dependentindependent, teaching method, problem solving, lecturing,

Abstract :

This research compared the effects of two teaching methods on the academic achievement of female students with different cognitive styles (field dependent/field independent). Based on a Quasi experimental design, 105 students from Islamic Azad University, responded to Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test (witkin et al, 1971) and a researcher-devised test that measures the participant's discrimination between the figure, and background and their academic achievement. During the academic semesrer following the administration of the questionnaires, the same course was taught to experimental group (n=43) by problem solving method and the control group (n=62) was taught by lecturing. In the post-test, the same tests were again administered to both groups. Findings showed the similar effects of different teaching methods on students' cognitive style scores, and suggested that problem solving method did not influence the academic achievement of experimental group with different cognitive styles (field dependent/independent).