INTRODUCTION
Cognitive style is composed of characteristics in individuals that influence how they respond and function in different situations. Cognitive style relates to basic differences in the individuals’ expectations of life, their relationship to other persons,and the way in which they seek solutions to problems (Saracho 1998). Cognitive style is an individual approach to organizing and representing information (Riding & Al-Sanabani 1998).
In recent years the study of cognitive styles has become a broad stream in cognitive psychology and math’s education. Individuals display their own personal cognitive styles and, that is, broad attributes that become evident in an individual’s response to various situations (Anastasi 1996).
According to Messick (1976), cognitive styles are information processing habits representing the learner’s typical mode of perceiving, thinking, problem solving, and remembering.
A large body of researches suggest that students with different cognitive styles ap¬proach processing of information and problem solving in different ways. (Alamolhodaei 2001; Johnstone & Al-Naeme 1991; Kempa 1979; Kogan 1976; Messick 1976; Witkin et al. 1977; Witkin & Goodenough 1981).
Styles regardless of their types, are different from ability which some believe to be a characteristic of intelligence. Whereas ability refers more to the content of cognition, cognitive styles help one predict how information is being processed by each individual (Messick 1976 & Witkin et al. 1977; Witkin & Goodenough 1981). One cognitive style may lead to more effective learning in one discipline but may be detrimental in another discipline. A student with an analytic cognitive style may succeed in a situation requiring analytical skills whereas a student with a global cognitive style may fail in the same situation (Saracho 1998). A widely used dimension of cognitive style in education is field-dependence/field-independence (FD/FI) which specifies an individual’s mode of perceiving, thinking, problem solving and remembering.