Learning Styles: The Journey From Greenwich Observatory (1796) to the College Classroom (1984)

Abstract

The study of individual differences has come a long way?from Greenwich Observatory to their uses in college and university teaching?from very auspicious beginnings to exciting and fruitful investigation. At Greenwich Observatory in 1796, the astronomer Mask elyne fired his assistant Kinnebrook for calibrating the observatory clock incorrectly?or, at least, for not calibrating it exactly as Maskelyne did. Although Kin nebrook had been given a few months to improve his skill, he apparently got worse instead of better and was dismissed. The process of calibrating the clock was quite complex and involved listening to its ticking while watching a star's path through the cross hairs of a tele scope. Kinnebrook's estimate of when the star reached the midpoint of the telescope's visual field varied from Maskelyne's by fiveto eight-tenths of a second. The er ror was serious for two reasons. The clock at Greenwich was used as a standard for all other observations and, as every employee since has discovered, persistent dis agreeing with one's boss is not wise.