Another learning styles concept is to differentiate between abstract versus concrete learners. The idea put forward here is that concrete learners need concrete entities and examples for successful learning whereas abstract learners enjoy abstract rules and representations. However, a much better way to look at individual differences is to take their prior knowledge and expertise into consideration. Doing so, makes clear that novices often use concrete steps and examples because they simply don’t have the knowledge yet to extract abstract rules or understand more abstract information. Thus, the concrete-abstract dichotomy is less a trait within a learner, but rather describes a state of a learner on her way to obtain more and more expertise on a topic. An and Carr rightly notice that “this transition will not occur if the teacher matches the instruction to the learning style and makes no effort to move the students to a more abstract representation” (p. 4).

Not impulsive versus reflective styles, but general cognitive processes and personality

Another learning styles concept categorizes students into impulsive versus reflective learners. Impulsive learners solve problems fast, but inaccurately whereas reflective learners tend to solve problems slowly, but accurately. The authors of this review explain that this dichotomy is flawed from the get go because the other combinations of speed and accuracy are definitely valid options, e.g., fast and accurate, slow and inaccurate. Experts, for example, are characterized by fast and accurate problem-solving. The reason for this is that experts can rely on well-connected and systematically organized knowledge structure that allows fast retrieval of required information. Novices, however, may elaborate for a long time on a problem without finding a solution. Furthermore, the impulsive-reflective dichotomy may stem from completely different sources that help understand learner’s needs much better than what is offered through the learning styles framework. Plus, entirely different recommendations are in place depending on what the nature of impulsivity is. The authors mention that one source of impulsivity could well be an Attention Deficit Disorder and consequently an emphasis on increasing self-regulation should be in place. An example for increased reflection is perfectionism. Perfectionism has been linked to positive, but also to negative consequences – namely if perfectionism hinders completion of tasks.