A new set of learner classifications for CSET

Contribution: This research contributes a new understanding of classification of learners in a CSET classroom within a conceptual framework. We compared the grades for students in each classification for a few large classrooms. The results were sufficiently interesting to justify further empirical studies on the subject. Description: A particular set of classification of learners, drawn from Malcolm Gladwell´s book, The Tipping Point, seem to imply a different time to ¿tipping¿ for students within each category. Previous classifications such as the standard learning styles of Visual, Auditory and Tactile/Kinesthetic have been used to understand teaching methods, but are not indicative of learner ability. In initial research, the proposed categories of Connector, Maven and Salesperson seem to be predictive of the learning versus time curve in a typical entry level CSET class. We believe that further study of these classifications can lead to a greater understanding of the generation of a ¿tipping point¿ in the CSET classroom - by this we mean the necessary requirements to cause an exponential change in learning within large groups. The research presented here is a study of hundreds of students from Arts and Science, Engineering and non-Science backgrounds in their first or second course in Physics. Preliminary findings suggest that students from each of the three categories of Connector, Maven and Salesperson reach a tipping point in their learning of the concepts of physics at different times.