Canfield's Learning Styles Inventory
This inventory gives you an opportunity to describe how you learn best. There are no right or wrong answers. Read the questions and rank (1, 2, 3, or 4) the responses according to how well they describe your reactions or feelings. 1 is the most preferred rank, 4 is the least preferred rank.
1. Rank the following in terms of how well they describe the classes you've liked most.
___a. I enjoyed the other students and we shared our ideas and feelings with each other.
___b. The course was well organized and the topics followed one another in a meaningful sequence.
___c. I more or less set my own goals and studied the things of most interest to me.
___d. I knew how my work compared with others and the best work was fairly recognized.
2. Number the descriptions of teachers from 1 to 4 in the order in which you normally prefer them.
___a. Teachers who are pleasant, friendly, and who take a personal interest in me.
___b. Teachers who provide specific and clear information about assignments and requirements.
___c. Teachers who give me the opportunity to decide what I want to study and how I want to do things.
___d. Teachers who impose high standards and make me do the work necessary to accomplish them.
3. Rank the following courses in terms of their general appeal to you.
___a. Mathematics and physical science.
___b. Language and literature.
___c. Household and craft repair skills.
___d. Interviewing and counseling.
4. Rank the following in terms of their general value to you as ways to learn.
___a. Listening to others talk about a subject.
___b. Reading what others have written about it.
___c. Seeing pictures, graphs, movies, etc.
___d. Handling or working with something tangible.
5. Rank the following grades to indicate how likely you are to receive them on a paper or report.
___a. Excellent or outstanding.
___b. Good or above average.
___c. Satisfactory or about average.
___d. Unsatisfactory.
6. Rank the following in the order in which they would be most helpful for improving your school experience in general.
___a. More group activities and opportunities to get to know other students.
___b. More class outlines and clearer statements about what the classes were all about.
___c. More opportunities to think through my capabilities and set goals for my performance.
___d. More objective and frequent information on how my performance compares with others.
7. Rank the following in terms of how accurately they describe the worst teachers you've ever known.
___a. They were more interested in the subject matter than in the students.
___b. They were vague about assignments and I was never sure what was expected of me.
___c. They were too restrictive in letting me do things on my own, coming to my own conclusions, etc.
___d. They were too easy and the students lost respect for them.
8. Rank the following in the order in which you enjoy doing them.
___a. Figuring out how things differ in cost.
___b. Writing a report or a letter.
___c. Building or repairing something.
___d. Carrying on a conversation with a stranger.
9. Classes typically involve the following kinds of teaching activities. Rank them in the order in which you generally prefer them as ways to learn.
___a. Lectures, audio tapes, and question-answer sessions.
___b. Textbook assignments and other readings.
___c. Movies, slides, graphics, charts, etc.
___d. Experiments or projects in the laboratory.
10. Imagine that you have just received your grade on the final exam in a course that you felt was pretty easy and that you got the lowest grade in the class. Rank the following as to how you'd most likely feel.
___a. Somebody made a mistake in grading the papers.
___b. I'd be quite surprised, because that doesn't happen very often.
___c. It would surprise me a little, but that sometimes happens.
___d. It wouldn't surprise me very much at all.
11. In most courses, student performance in evaluated on some basis. Rank the following in terms of how you feel about such evaluations.
___a. They sometimes create jealousies and hard feelings among the students.
___b. Sometimes they are unrelated to the supposed content and purposes of the course.
___c. They sometimes aren't very helpful in evaluating my progress or in helping me focus my study activities.
___d. Sometimes they don't really distinguish between those who are doing well and those not doing so well.
12. Rank the following in terms of their value to you in learning.
___a. Having a chance to visit informally and develop an effective relationship with the teacher.
___b. Having specifics on what courses include and what they require.
___c. Having the chance to adopt my own approach and to make some contribution of my own.
___d. Having scholarly teachers explain the material and direct my study in the most meaningful and useful direction.
13. If you were in a course that required everyone to visit a home for the elderly and you could do any of the following, rank them in the order of their interest to you.
___a. Help them compute their income taxes or balance their checkbooks.
___b. Write a letter or read to them.
___c. Help repair or replace something for them.
___d. Sit and visit with them about their feelings.
14. How do the following appeal to you as ways to find out about new occupations or types of work?
___a. Have someone in the field tell me about it.
___b. Read a recent study explaining it.
___c. Watch a classroom demonstration of the work.
___d. Trying to do the work itself.
15. Imagine that you have just turned in a paper to an instructor. Rank how you think it would be evaluated.
___a. Excellent
___b. Above Average
___c. Average
___d. Below Average
16. As a student, I feel it is my responsibility to:
___a. Cooperate with the other students and help them when I can.
___b. Ask the teachers questions when the course is confusing.
___c. Make my own decisions as to what I can accomplish
___d. Assess the ability of the other students and work accordingly.
17. Consider the following topics for teacher training and rank them in the order in which you think they would generally be most helpful to teachers.
___a. How to get along with students and maintain good relationships with them.
___b. How to inform students of requirements, rules, the basis for grades, etc.
___c. How to utilize independent study techniques so students can work more or less on their own.
___d. How to maintain classroom discipline and get students to do the assigned work.
18. Rank the following classes in the order in which they appeal to you.
___a. Formal logic and mathematics.
___b. Developing the plot and writing short stories.
___c. Operating a machine to make something.
___d. Human behavior and the "helping" occupations.
19. Rank the following in the order in which you would typically like to learn about the properties of a new plastic.
___a. Hearing a lecture.
___b. Reading a book or text.
___c. Viewing a movie or slides.
___d. Experimenting with a small sample.
20. Assume you are going to be in school next year; rank the following evaluations in the order in which you think you'd receive them.
___a. In the top 10% or so.
___b. In the top 25 or 33 percent.
___c. In the middle 50 percent.
___d. In the bottom 25 or 33 percent.
21. Rank the following in terms of how accurately they described the classes you have DISLIKED.
___a. There was a lot of arguing, bickering, or fighting among the students.
___b. The class was disorganized and I couldn't tell what topic was coming next.
___c. There was no opportunity for me to pursue my own special interests or branch off on anything.
___d. No matter how well or how much anyone did, the teacher just accepted it.
22. Rank the following in the order in which you feel they describe your most effective teachers.
___a. They like students and have a sincere desire to understand and help them.
___b. They leave no confusion about what is to be done and how it is to be done.
___c. They consider each person as an individual and let each student work to their abilities and interests.
___d. They control their classrooms and require everyone to meet some minimum requirements.
23. Club members are generally required to help; rank the following in order of your preference for doing the club duties.
___a. Keeping the books on income, expenses, and finances.
___b. Keeping the minutes of the meetings and doing the correspondence.
___c. Setting up the room and keeping club equipment in order.
___d. Greeting newcomers and helping everyone feel welcome.
24. Imagine you're taking an Ecology course. Rank the way you'd like to study the topic.
___a. Hear speeches by qualified people.
___b. Read reports and studies.
___c. Watch movies, TV, films, etc.
___d. Take field trips.
25. Rank the following in terms of how well they describe your feelings about your school performance.
___a. I've been at or near the top of my class.
___b. I've been better than average.
___c. I've been near the middle.
___d. I've been in the lower half.
26. Rank the following in their importance to you in the way classes are handled.
___a. There is an opportunity to develop friends and the students support one another.
___b. Class sessions are logically related to each other; topics follow in an understandable and meaningful sequence.
___c. Based upon the topic and my abilities, I can determine what areas I'll pursue.
___d. Students' grades and the evaluation of their performance give fair recognition and credit to those doing best.
27. Rank the following in terms of how likely they would be as a reason for you to dislike a class.
___a. The teacher was hostile, easily angered, or inconsiderate.
___b. There were vague standards and vague or frequently changing requirements.
___c. There was too little opportunity to determine my own activities.
___d. The teacher lacked the ability to direct and control the class.
28. Rank the following in terms of their interest to you as a general field of work.
___a. Mathematics, engineering, accounting.
___b. Language, writing, speaking.
___c. Building, installing, operating equipment.
___d. Interviewing, selling, teaching.
29. Rank the following class activities in the order in which they normally appeal to you.
___a. The teacher lectures and answers questions.
___b. I can read about the topic in a text or some outside reading.
___c. Pictures, movies, graphs, displays, etc., are used.
___d. I can experiment with or actually use the material.
30. Imagine that you've just received the results of a final exam in a very difficult course and your grade was the highest in the class. Rank the following in terms of how you would most likely feel.
___a. I'd have expected to do well so it wouldn't surprise me.
___b. I'd be surprised, but it could happen.
___c. I'd feel like I had lucked out and guessed a lot of the correct answers.
___d. I'd probably think that someone had made a mistake in grading the test.
