Estilos de aprendizagem e solução de problemas: um estudo com pré-escolares

The objective of this study has been to examine the relation between learning styles and problem solving, verifying which situation of musical stimulus could promote a better performance on preschool children at a given task. A sample of 22 children between five and six years old participated in this study, replying aloud to a learning style inventory read to them by the experimenters, and solved three puzzles under different conditions of musical stimulus. The results certified that participants had a score above average in all learning style dimensions evaluated. The problem-solving situation accompanied by soft music was the one that favored a highest frequency of correct answers, being significantly higher than the remaining situations (e.g., exciting music or no music at all). It has been observed that, when adequately used, musical stimulus could be a facilitating element in facing problem-solving situations, independently of the child’s learning style. Keywords: learning strategies; music; cognitive styles.