ABSTRACT
306People prefer to learn in many different ways. Furthermore, individuals have different cognitive abilities that influence the way effective learning takes place. Incorporating individual differences such as learning styles and cognitive abilities into education makes learning easier and increases the learner’s performance. In contrast, learners whose needs are not supported by the learning environment experience problems in the learning process. In this chapter, we introduce some cognitive traits that are important for learning and also discuss how to incorporate different abilities in educational systems. In regard to learning styles, some major approaches as well as possible strategies for involving learning styles in online courses are presented. In the next section, recent research dealing with identifying learning styles and cognitive traits based on the behavior of students during a course is presented. This information is necessary to provide adaptive courses. Finally, the relationship between cognitive traits and learning styles is discussed. This relationship leads to additional information and therefore to a more reliable student model.
