Learning Styles Inventory - FAQ

What does The Kaleidoscope Profile® measure?

The Kaleidoscope Profile® inventories a person's learning and working styles. An outgrowth of the PLS graduate course, Teaching Through Learning Channels™, The Kaleidoscope Profile® combines three research-backed learning styles inventories into one.

Sensory Style:

While everyone uses all of their senses in the learning process, most people learn best through a particular sense. For example, when learning something new, would you rather hear it, see it, do it, or feel it? The answer to this question is just the start in determining your sensory style preference.

Perceptual and Organizational Styles:

Your brain processes and organizes sensory information in a variety of ways giving you a perceptual and organizational style preference. Do you prefer getting the "big picture" before beginning a project, or is a step-by-step process the best way for you to begin? Do you prefer working with concrete objects or do you gain satisfaction focusing on thoughts and ideas?

Personality Style:

The unique way you learn is inextricably woven into the fabric of your personality. One way your learning personality is expressed is through the values you prefer. For example, which is most important to you: to become your authentic self, to be competent, to serve and be useful, to be free and spontaneous?

How does The Kaleidoscope Profile® work?

Print format:

You receive a folder and two pages of colorful stickers. Stickers are printed with well-researched phrases that address specific learning or working styles. You peel off the stickers with the phrases that hold meaning for you and apply them to your personalized folder. Stickers are color-coded, so tallying the results is a snap. The folder becomes part of your learning portfolio. It can be upgraded and retaken at any time.

An interpretation is provided with helpful hints about how you can improve your learning and working environment.

Online format:

You will see colorful tiles on screen with short phrases on each tile. The phrases address specific learning or working styles. Simply click on the phrases that hold meaning for you, and your selected tiles will move to a new column.

Once completed, the computer will tally the results and you will learn your preferred learning and working styles. An interpretation is provided with helpful hints about how you can improve your learning and working environment.

How is it different from other surveys?

Most learning styles inventories or personality profiles require quite a bit of time to complete. They rely on word associations and comparisons that are often confusing and narrowly based.

The goal of PLS was to create a profile that had the following elements:

• Easy to administer and score.
• Instantly meaningful results for those administering and taking the profile.
• Matched to current brain research.
• Relevant to prior research and profile development.
• Applicable to educators and students as well as the general population.

With the development of The Kaleidoscope Profile®, PLS has succeeded in meeting its goal. Over 400,000 people have taken The Kaleidoscope Profile® with exceptional results. For information about the development and validity studies for each of the profiles, call PLS at 800-506-9996.

How many versions of The Kaleidoscope Profile® are there?

There are four different versions of The Kaleidoscope Profile®: one for educators; two for students, depending on grade level; and one for the workplace.

The Kaleidoscope Profile® for Educators:

Anyone who teaches anyone else can take The Kaleidoscope Profile® for Educators. Educators in an entire school or district who take The Kaleidoscope Profile® can significantly improve their teaching and their ability to work with others. A common language is shared, communication is improved, and teamwork is enhanced. Profiling teachers helps them understand their own teaching and learning styles and increases their ability to reach all students.

The Kaleidoscope Profile® for Students:

The Kaleidoscope Profile® can be used with all students — it crosses gender, culture, grade levels, and disciplines. There are two versions of The Kaleidoscope Profile® for Students from grade 3 to grade 12. Adult learners should take The Kaleidoscope Profile® for the Workplace.

Grades 3-6

Geared for grades 3-6, this profile can also be taken by younger children if they can read or if an adult reads it to them. It is also appropriate for special education students who function at a grade 3-6 level.

Grades 7-12

This profile for grades 7-12 is also appropriate for college students who have not yet held a job. It can also incorporate sixth graders in middle, intermediate, or junior high schools.

The Kaleidoscope Profile® for the Workplace:

This version reveals both the learning and the working styles of adults with work experience in the public or private sector. This includes managers, employees, blue and white-collar workers — anyone who works in an environment where they also need to learn. It is the version that can be taken by administrators, staff, or other noneducators in a school environment. Parents benefit substantially from this survey as they learn about their children's styles as well as their own. It is also the appropriate version for college students who have held jobs.

Is The Kaleidoscope Profile® accurate?

The validity of The Kaleidoscope Profile® was determined by comparing results four ways:

• The Profile results were compared to what those taking it believed was an accurate picture of their learning styles. This was done with at least 350 students or adults for each of the four versions of The Kaleidoscope Profile® grades 3-6, grades 7-12, Workplace, and Educator.
• A comparison of results over time was done for each profile. The Kaleidoscope Profile® was administered to subjects in September and the following June. The results matched.
• The results were compared to predicted numbers of the particular learning styles in the general population. For instance the Auditory preference is held by about 10 to 15 percent of the general population. The general results of The Kaleidoscope Profile® should be the same. This required that a large number of randomly picked individuals be inventoried.
• The results of The Kaleidoscope Profile® were compared to other inventories targeting the same kinds of learning styles. For instance, Kiersey and Bates Temperament Sorter was used to compare participants' scores on that inventory to their results with The Kaleidoscope Profile®. The results were matched very closely.

An additional note: Two thousand participants were used in select groups to test the following related issues:

• Did the sticker colors influence choices?
• Did allowing the students to talk while taking the profile adversely affect the results?
• Did students and adults actually choose stickers because of the color patterns created on the folder?
• Were different ways of defining answers provided by the teacher more effective than letting students just chose their own meanings?
• Did such differences affect the profile results?
• Did various cultural backgrounds and community environments affect the profile results?

Can I get a copy of the validity reports?

For a copy of the full validity report see "Download the Validity Reports" above.