variables including cognitive style construct gaps and student demographic variables.

Objective four was accomplished using backward stepwise multiple linear regression

 For objective five, independent variables including cognitive style construct gaps,

student motivation, student stress and selected student demographic variables were used

to explain the dependent variable student engagement. Objective five was accomplished

using backward stepwise multiple linear regression.

 Population

 This study utilized nine purposefully chosen class groups in the College of

Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Florida. Since direction and degree of

cognitive style gap was dependent on the cognitive style of the faculty member, courses

were selected based on a faculty member's cognitive style: a) three faculty members with

similar adaptive cognitive style scores, b) three faculty members with similar cognitive

style score approximating 95, and c) three faculty members with similar innovative

cognitive style scores.

 Researchers have found little evidence that class size influences undergraduate

student achievement (Williams, Cook, Quinn & Jensen, 1985). However, Cuseo (2004)

found the optimum class size for student engagement at approximately 15 students with

no evidence provided in the literature to support a linear or asymptotic relationship. The

literature supports small class sizes for the retention of knowledge, student participation,

and critical thinking (McKeachie, Chism, Menges, Svinicke & Weinstein, 1994), but

there is no agreement on what number of students constitutes a small class. Most studies

consider 50 or more students as a large class (Cuseo, 2004). A sample size of 46 is

needed to attain a power of .70 (a=.05, R2=.20) with the use of four independent

variables (Ary, Jacobs & Razavieh, 2002). The researcher found from previous