Revisiting the concept of 'style match'

Background Intellectual style, an encompassing term for such constructs as learning style, teaching style, teaching approach, and thinking style, refers to one's preferred way of processing information. For the past several decades, whether or not there is a need for a match between teachers’ teaching styles and students’ learning styles has been the focal point for debate among researchers, educators, and the general public. Aims The preliminary objective of this research was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Preferred Teaching Approach Inventory (PTAI). The research's primary objective was to re‐examine the concept of ‘style match’ through testing the predictive power of students’ thinking styles for their preferred teaching approaches. Samples Data were collected from two samples of university students, one each from Shanghai, mainland China (N = 236), and Hong Kong (N = 123). Methods Participants provided the required demographic information and responded to two self‐report inventories: the Thinking Styles Inventory – Revised II and the PTAI. Results Acceptable reliability and good validity were found for the PTAI. All of the eight multiple regressions indicated that students’ thinking styles significantly contributed to their preferences for teachers’ teaching approaches. These contributions varied by gender among the Shanghai students and by academic discipline among the Hong Kong students. Conclusions Students, especially Shanghai female students and Hong Kong natural science students, are open to teaching approaches that do not precisely match their thinking styles. The concept of ‘style match’ requires new understanding. Findings have implications for research and education.