| The purpose of this study was to investigate the reason so many students at a university in south central U.S. have had to retake First-Year Composition. Using research of teaching and learning styles, this study sought to discover if there was a mismatch of teaching and learning styles because of a cultural difference of faculty and students. Analysis of the data revealed the faculty was meeting the majority of their students' cognitive needs---the way an individual processes information. Field Independent learners are more analytical, more competitive and can learn in isolation. Field Dependent are more global, less competitive, more social, and can learn in groups (Ming and Patty 183; Goodenough 6; Griggs and Dunn 14). The teachers were addressing their students' Field Dependent needs in the manner they conducted their classes. According to Jimenez, after Hispanic immigrants have been in America several years, they begin to become Americanized and develop into a Field Independent student as are most Anglo/European Americans. Although many of the students who must repeat First-Year Composition, according to some faculty, were truly irresponsible and lazy, a large portion of the repeaters may actually be "in between" or Field Intermediate (Meng and Patty 183) students who, because not yet fully Field Independent, were no longer Field Dependent, but were not yet fully Field Independent. When the teacher teaches to her Field Dependent class, she no longer meets the needs of the "in between" student who cannot handle the mismatch of teaching style to the student's changing learning style. This was the cause of the high repetitive rate for First-Year Composition at this University. |
