Kolb's Learning Style Inventory-1985: Validity issues and relations with metacognitive knowledge about problem-solving strategies

This study aimed at investigating: (a) the psychometric properties of Kolb's LSI-1985 in a Greek sample of pre-service and in-service teachers (N = 338), (b) group differences in their learning styles and (c) possible relations between the participants' learning styles and their metacognitive knowledge about the frequency of using various problem-solving strategies. To assess metacognitive knowledge, participants were asked to estimate how frequently they use five general problem-solving strategies (brainstorming, analogy, etc.) in three different settings (interpersonal, practical and study problems). The results of the present study extend the critique regarding the construct validity of the LSI-1985. Moreover, in most of the cases no significant differences in the learning modes were found between the pre-service and the in-service teachers. Finally, few and rather small significant correlations were found between the learning modes and the metacognitive knowledge regarding the use of strategies in problem solving.