Complex thinking and its relation to the preferred learning styles of gifted secondary school students in King Abdullah II schools for excellence in light of some variables

Abstract EN

This study aimed to identify complex thinking and its relation to the preferred learning styles among secondary school students in the King Abdullah II Schools of Excellence within the cities of Salt and Zarqa from 2013 to 2014 in light of the variables of sex and grade.

The sample consisted of (213) male and female students, while the complex thinking scale was developed and used to include three main domains.

The results of the study showed that the levels of complex thinking, and its domains were high among gifted students, with the critical thinking domain occupying the first rank followed by the reflective thinking domain then the creative thinking domain.

The results also indicated that the most favored learning styles to the sample were respectively the visual and the kinesthetic, which both came at high levels followed by the auditory style that came at an average level.

Finally, the study recommended diversifying teaching methods taking into consideration the three visual, kinesthetic and auditory learning styles, in addition to placing focus on the visual and kinesthetic activities while teaching the tasks that require complex thinking.