Learning styles and approaches to learning in excellent and average first-year university students

We assessed the learning approaches and learning styles of a sample of 148 excellent students selected from 11 degrees from nine centers of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), and we compared the results with those of a sample of 133 average students from the same centers. We found that excellent students took deeper approach than average students and that they preferred reflective and theoretical learning styles. Average students adopted a more surface approach, and they preferred active and pragmatic learning styles. Greater academic achievement was related to the deep approach and to the reflective and theoretical learning styles. Poorer academic achievement was related to the surface approach and an active style. University professors may reinforce the deep approach by placing high aims for students which go well beyond reproducing knowledge but use other complementary methods other than expository teaching: problem solving, case studies, designing projects, raising questions, discussion and negotiation in the classroom, etc. To accomplish this, teachers must encourage students to be committed, and these methods help do that. It also helps to introduce more demanding evaluation procedures which do not merely involve repeating what has been learnt, but include training guidance that offers students feedback.     

Exploring and enhancing spatial thinking skills: Learning differences of university students within a web-based GIS mapping environment

There is a dearth of research concerning the learning effects of web-based mapping tools on students with different learning characteristics. This study investigates the extent that different learning styles exert an influence on spatial thinking of students within a web-based GIS mapping environment. Thirty six sophomores utilized the tools over one semester in a course guided by a blended learning approach. A learning style inventory, a self-rating questionnaire and a survey were administered to these students to examine their learning styles, the development of their spatial thinking skills as well as factors influencing the enhancement of their spatial thinking skills. Results show that all learners have improved their spatial thinking skills after interacting with the GIS mapping tools. However, the visual and auditory learners have improved significantly more than the kinaesthetic learners (p = 0.024). The survey result from students shows that such differences may be attributable to the design of the web interface that matches the learning styles of the visual and auditory learners better than with that of the kinaesthetic learners. Our findings contribute to the current debate on students’ learning styles as well as to help instructional designers and educators optimize learning in spatial thinking through personalized learning design.     

Gaining Insight into Business Telecommunications Students Through the Assessment of Learning Styles

The assessment of student learning styles can be of significant value for developing and evaluating an appropriate mix of pedagogical techniques and activities. With this in mind, learning style preferences were collected from over 300 undergraduate business telecommunications students. These set of data show that a breadth of learning style profiles are exhibited by undergraduate business telecommunications students. Most importantly, this article demonstrates a process to evaluate whether or not the current course structure either favors or disadvantages any particular learning style profile. Because there are many learning style profiles present, the evidence that no single profile is disadvantaged gives the instructor confidence in the mix of pedagogical techniques and activities that are employed in this particular course.     

Course Format and Student Learning Styles: A Comparison of Political Science Courses

ABSTRACT

This study investigates whether differences in learning styles exist between students in online and face-to-face (FTF) sections of political science courses taught by three instructors. Some studies suggest that student preferences regarding online or FTF formats are influenced by their preferred modes of learning. Independent learners, for example, may prefer online courses since they provide individualistic opportunities to study outside of the traditional classroom. This study uses original survey data to assign students one of six learning styles in order to assess whether independent learners are more common in online courses. Our analysis finds no significant differences in independent learners when comparing the two formats. This finding runs counter to studies that argue that independent learners tend to prefer online courses. In fact, the only learning style where we observe a meaningful difference among online and FTF formats is among dependent learners. Contrary to expectation, students enrolled in online versions demonstrated a greater tendency toward dependent modes of learning. Further survey responses suggest that student lifestyle drove course format selection rather than learning style. These findings have important implications for universities that increasingly turn to online courses to address decreasing enrollments and attempt to remedy the high attrition rates associated with those courses.     

What type of learner are your students? Preferred learning styles of undergraduate gross anatomy students according to the index of learning styles questionnaire

Students learn and process information in many different ways. Learning styles are useful as they allow instructors to learn more about students, as well as aid in the development and application of useful teaching approaches and techniques. At the undergraduate level there is a noticeable lack of research on learning style preferences of students enrolled in gross anatomy courses. The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in a large enrollment undergraduate gross anatomy course with laboratory to determine their preferred learning styles. The predominant preferred learning styles of the students (n = 505) enrolled in the gross anatomy course were active (54.9%), sensing (85.1%), visual (81.2%), and sequential (74.4%). Preferred learning styles profiles of particular majors enrolled in the course were also constructed; analyses showed minor variation in the active/reflective dimension. An understanding of students' preferred learning styles can guide course design but it should not be implemented in isolation. It can be strengthened (or weakened) by concurrent use of other tools (e.g., flipped classroom course design). Based on the preferred learning styles of the majority of undergraduate students in this particular gross anatomy course, course activities can be hands on (i.e., active), grounded in concrete information (i.e., sensing), utilize visual representation such as images, figures, models, etc. (i.e., visual), and move in small incremental steps that build on each topic (i.e., sequential). Anat Sci Educ 11: 358–365. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Learning style preferences: Vocational students and teachers

This study investigates, using the Learning Style Questionnaire, the learning style preferences of a group of vocational tertiary students and their teachers. It seeks to identify learning style differences, if any, between students in various stages of their course, between sexes and between “high” and “low” achieving students and their teachers. Furthermore, it examines the similarities and differences between the preferred learning style of the chosen sample of students and other tertiary vocational students. The major findings for the students, relevant to the above variables, and the teachers are discussed. As well, with respect to teachers and students, the implications of attempting to match teaching and learning styles are examined.     

Learning styles of deaf college students and instructors' teaching emphases

Six learning style dimensions of the Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) were examined in this study with 100 deaf college students. In addition, six corresponding scales of teaching emphases were administered to the 16 instructors of these students. Student mean scores were higher for the dependent, participative, collaborative, and independent dimensions than for the competitive and avoidant styles. The participative learning style correlated significantly with course achievement and course interest, which suggests that an emphasis on active learning may be desirable. For instructors, as with students, the mean scores for teaching emphases were found to be higher for the collaborative, dependent, participative, and independent dimensions. the similar patterns of results for students and teachers suggest a correspondence between the learning styles and the teaching emphases.     

Using learning styles theory in engineering education

Studies have shown that, while learning different concepts, people sometimes take different approaches (learning styles). Accordingly, their performance reflected differently in their academic studies. With the effect of globalisation to the educational environments, the influence of individual learning styles on educational performance is getting more significant. In this study, a learning style assessment tool was used to examine the relationship between students’ learning styles and their performance in engineering education programmes. At the beginning of the programme, 285 students’ learning styles were measured using a learning style assessment tool. Four years after the engineering education, their performance in the programme was compared with their individual learning styles. This study shows that most of the students are assimilators. Divergers and convergers follow the assimilators. The number of accommodators is very limited. The relationship between engineering students’ learning styles and their performance is found: assimilators and convergers performed better than the divergers and accommodators. The performance difference between assimilators and divergers is statistically significant. The results of this study show that the learning style theory is a potential tool for guiding the design and improvement of courses and helping students to improve their individual performance.     

Identifying the Learning Styles and Instructional Tool Preferences of Beginning Food Science and Human Nutrition Majors

ABSTRACT: :
Learning styles vary among individuals, and understanding which instructional tools certain learning styles prefer can be utilized to enhance student learning. Students in the introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition course (FSHN 101), taught at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were asked to complete Gregorc's Learning Style Delineator^TM, which identifies dominant learning style(s). In addition, students were asked to complete a survey that asked them to identify which instructional tools used in FSHN 101 they preferred and which they did not. All students, regardless of learning style, preferred the in-class lecture, outlined lecture notes, the WebCT site as a whole, lecture study guide questions, and example exam questions.     

Matching Cognitive Styles to Computer-based Instruction: An Approach for Enhanced Learning in Electrical Engineering

An approach aimed at enhancing learning by matching individual students' preferred cognitive styles to computer-based instructional (CBI) material is presented. This approach was used in teaching some components of a third-year unit in an electrical engineering course at the Queensland University of Technology. Cognitive style characteristics of perceiving and processing information were considered. The bimodal nature of cognitive styles (analytic/imager, analytic/verbalizer, wholist/imager and wholist/verbalizer) was examined in order to assess the full ramification of cognitive styles on learning. In a quasi-experimental format, students' cognitive styles were analysed by cognitive style analysis (CSA) software. On the basis of the CSA results the system defaulted students to either matched or mismatched CBI material. The consistently better performance by the matched group suggests potential for further investigations where the limitations cited in this paper are eliminated. Analysing the differences between cognitive styles on individual test tasks also suggests that certain test tasks may better suit certain cognitive styles.     

Coping with mismatched courses: students’ behaviour and performance in courses mismatched to their learning styles

Although learning styles are considered as an important factor in education, students often have to learn in courses that do not support their learning styles. A challenge for technology facilitated learning is therefore to assist and help students to cope with courses that do not match their learning styles by training and developing their less preferred skills. In this paper, the interactions between students’ learning styles, their behaviour, and their performance in an online course that is mismatched regarding their learning styles were analysed. The results show which learners need more help in mastering mismatched courses, help in getting a better understanding about how students with good performance record and poor performance record learn with respect to their learning styles, and provide information about how to identify learners who might have difficulties in learning based on their behaviour.     

Towards Inclusive Teacher Education: Sensitising individuals to how they learn

Higher education has struggled to acknowledge and translate into better teaching and learning practices that sizeable literature base suggesting a link between cognitive style, learning preferences, and performance. Research is reported in which 80 undergraduate students on a primary education degree were studied to examine the relationship between their cognitive style, their learning preferences, and perceived impact on their teaching practices. All students completed the CSA measure of cognitive style, the ASSIST, two further questionnaires exploring learning preferences and perception of good teaching during the course, and an evaluation at the end of the teaching unit. Significant differences were found between the three cognitive styles investigated: wholist, intermediate, and analytic. In terms of learning preferences, using ANOVA statistically significant differences were found between the three styles with wholists being most concerned about speed of delivery and least liking computer‐assisted learning. In addition, wholists preferred less structure than analytics in their teaching and claimed to use more images while analytics claimed to use more speech in their teaching. Intermediates demonstrated a greater preference for tangential approaches to teaching and were least happy with the nature of the teaching they had received while at university. Many of the differences reported in the literature between the different cognitive styles were not evident in this study. However, the interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics of wholists and analytics, respectively, were evident and perceived to impact on planning and delivery in the classroom. While further school‐based research involving greater numbers is required, interest in learning styles remains especially relevant if one intends to offer a truly inclusive education for all learners.     

Gender differences and styles in the use of digital games

This paper reports work in progress investigating gender differences and styles in the use of digital games amongst advanced level biology students. It is an elaboration on previous work exploring the relationship between cognitive style and academic performance in Maltese students taking biology at advanced level. In this previous work the cognitive style of 581 (212 male and 369 female) advanced biology students was correlated with their academic performance in five different subjects. Pearson's correlation showed that the wholist–analytic dimension, the verbal–imagery dimension, and gender were not correlated. Regression analysis showed that none of the style dimension combinations had a significant effect on performance in any of the subjects. However, gender proved to be a stronger determinant of performance. These results were interpreted from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Numerous studies have consistently found gender differences in language and visuospatial skills. Female superiority is seen on tests of both receptive and productive language, and on more complex tasks such as making analogies and creative writing. Males have an advantage in visuospatial reasoning, being more adept at performing disembedding and internal spatial transformations. In view of these results and the constantly reported gender difference in the use of digital games, this paper describes the initial stage of an investigation about gender‐determined propensities to digital media. Different studies claim that males dedicate more time than female students to playing digital games. A marked emphasis on the use of particular game genres by the different sexes is also reported. This reported phenomenon is investigated within the context of Maltese students taking advanced biology. Through a questionnaire, data were collected about the time students spend playing digital games, their preferred platform, and their preferred games. Data were analysed to establish gender differences in the time spent on playing digital games, the preferred platform, the most popular digital games amongst males and female students, and the preferred game genre. The results are interpreted from neurocognitve and psychosocial perspectives. Suggestions are made for possible integration of digital games in learning.     

An experimental comparison of the flexibility in the use of thinking styles in traditional and hypermedia learning environments

The objective of the instructional experiment was to examine if the use of thinking styles is flexible in traditional and hypermedia learning environments, and if a hypermedia learning environment possesses obvious advantages than a traditional environment in adapting to students with different thinking styles. The participant university students from Shanghai, P.R. China took the General Psychology course taught by one psychology teacher. One hundred and seven science students and one hundred and thirty-one social science students were assigned into traditional and hypermedia instructional groups, respectively. The results indicated that the use of the hierarchical, executive, conservative, and monarchic styles was increased, while the use of the local style was decreased due to the traditional instructional environment. The use of the judicial and liberal styles was increased, while the use of the legislative style was weakened due to the hypermedia environment. Moreover, significant effects of discipline differences in the use of particular thinking styles were found in the traditional instructional environment. Specifically, within the context of traditional learning environments, the use of the hierarchical style increased among the science students, while the use of the local style decreased among the social science students. The study did not support the view that a hypermedia learning environment is clearly better than a traditional environment in accommodating students with different thinking styles. Implications for learning and teaching are discussed.     

音体美学生英语学习风格调查

学习风格是影响学习者学习效率和学习成绩的一个重要个体因素。本文以长江师范学院的二年级音体关学生为调查对象,采用Reid的学习风格倾向问卷（PLSP）,研究艺体类学生的一般性学习风格、专业与学习风格、性别与学习风格的关系和风格与英语成绩的关系。调查表明,二年级的音体美学生最倾向于小组型学习风格,性别与学习风格的听觉型有显著关系,但是,学习风格与成绩的相关性不大。     

Development of a personalized educational computer game based on students’ learning styles

In recent years, many researchers have been engaged in the development of educational computer games; however, previous studies have indicated that, without supportive models that take individual students?? learning needs or difficulties into consideration, students might only show temporary interest during the learning process, and their learning performance is often not as good as expected. Learning styles have been recognized as being an important human factor affecting students?? learning performance. Previous studies have shown that, by taking learning styles into account, learning systems can be of greater benefit to students owing to the provision of personalized learning content presentation that matches the information perceiving and processing styles of individuals. In this paper, a personalized game-based learning approach is proposed based on the sequential/global dimension of the learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a role-playing game has been implemented based on the approach; moreover, an experiment has been conducted on an elementary school natural science course. From the experimental results, it is found that the personalized educational computer game not only promotes learning motivation, but also improves the learning achievements of the students.     

Learning Environments and Learning Styles: Non-traditional Student Enrollment and Success in an Internet-based Versus a Lecture-based Computer Science Course

Colleges and universities are increasingly using information technologies to enhance the learning environment. Many educational institutions offer Internet-based on-line courses in an effort to meet the educational needs of students. The primary goal of this research was to determine if there is a relationship between students' preferred learning environment (i.e. face-to-face or on-line) and their learning style. The secondary goal was to determine if there were any differences in the academic success of students in the face-to-face versus on-line sections. Participants were adult (ages 22+ years), non-traditional computer science students given the option to take a face-to-face lecture-based or an on-line Internet-based computer science course. Results revealed that computer science students in the face-to-face learning environment were more likely to have the Assimilator learning-style, whereas computer science students in the on-line Internet-based learning environment were more likely to have the Converger learning-style. Student academic success did not reliably differ as a function of learning environment selection. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of learning style characteristics of computer science students, learning styles and gender differences and implications of student academic success in on-line vs face-to-face environments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.