Learning Styles in University Students: Types of Strategies, Materials, Supports, Evaluation and Performance. Case Study (original) (raw)

Learning Styles of University Students

2024

Individual differences exist in the way people learn at school. This is because day-in-day-out individuals experience the world in unique ways, and with that comes variations in the ways they learn best. Despite the abundance of learning styles research, however, there appears not much research on the characteristics and dominant learning styles of students enrolled in a degree in teaching and non-teaching programme at a public university in Ghana. This study, therefore, set out to investigate the learning styles of third-year students who are training to become teachers at the senior high schools and occupy non-teaching positions in any academic institution in a Ghanaian university. Descriptive survey research design was employed, and 94 students were randomly sampled. The findings revealed that the most dominant learning style of the students was kinaesthetic style followed by reading/writing style, the auditory style and the visual style. It was therefore recommended that lecturers in the department where the study was conducted should design their instructions and activities in ways that would engage their students more in hands-on and practical and or experiential learning (kinaesthetic).

Learning styles preferences and diagnostics at higher education level: A comparative perspective among three faculties

Review of Economics and Development Studies, 2019

This study aimed at exploring and comparing learning styles preferences among students of Management sciences, Social sciences and Languages. Homogenous purposive sampling technique was used to select sample of study comprising of 300 graduating students of the three faculties. Grasha-Reichmann Scale consisting of 60 five point likert scale statements was used to explore learning styles preferences of students on six variables namely; avoidant, collaborative, competitive, dependent, independent, and participant. Results based on One-way ANOVA and Post-hoc Tukey's test revealed that a statistically significant difference occurred among the learning styles preferences of students enrolled in three faculties. Management sciences students preferred competitive and independent learning style, social sciences students were mostly avoidant and dependent learners whereas languages students have adopted collaborative as well as dependent learning styles. It is recommended that teachers may require to bring variation in teaching learning process to cater to the needs of diverse learners. It is advisable for teachers to plan such learning activities which make them independent and self-directed learners. It is also recommended that situational factors such as nature of course requirements and motivation to attend the classroom could also have an impact on the preferred learning styles.

© 2002. "Reflections on different learning styles in higher education"

This paper address one of the fundamental concerns of educators, how do people learn? The answer to this question has implications for higher education in the broad sense, because the objective of every university teacher ought to be the ability to deliver a class where s/he not only shows the mastery of the subject matter but also can make learning happen. The challenge is to do it within a context of a mass higher education system, and be able to offer a quality education to an ever-increasing number of students. We now live in what might be called 'the knowledge society' which is characterised by constant change, so people must be prepared to update their knowledge by a life-long learning attitude. A teacher must try to understand the nature of learning, which is knowledge applied to something specific, and reflect upon the learning process of his/her students. However people learn in different ways, some researchers have attempted to classify learning. Teachers should be aware of the differences to try to match the different learning styles that may exist in a classroom. Some knowledge disciplines have learning styles that are more 'natural' -so to speakthan others, so by knowing the different available options used in different disciplines, such as design and management, a teacher may increase the success rate of delivering a class where the majority of willing students may learn.

The Investigation of the Learning Styles of University Students

2013

The subject of this study is to determine the learning styles of university students and to compare it with gender, and departments differences. In this study, McVay Lynch Learning Style Inventory was used. The learning style inventory ,which consists of 59 articles and which is 3Likert-Type scaled, includes three modes of learning called ‘visual learning style’, ‘auditory learning style’ and kinesthetic learning style’. According to the result of the study, it was seen that approximately half of the students learned visually. By observing the influence of the gender on the learning styles of the students, it was found out that, in visual learning, girls had obvious higher averages rather than boys in statistical terms. In addition, it was also noted that, neither the departments of the students nor the common effect of the gender nor the department doesn’t affect the learning styles.

VARIABILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENT`S LEARNING STYLES DEPENDING ON GENDER, COURSE, DEGREE AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

Sustainability, 2021

In higher education it is important to consider learning styles of students to facilitate the teaching–learning process. The aims guiding the research were to describe the learning styles predominating among students in the field of the social sciences, to analyse the results with respect to gender, year of study, degree course and institution, and to perform correlation analysis between these variables. The data analyses were carried out with non-parametric statistics with a confidence level of 95%. The sample was composed of 636 students at the Universities of Huelva (UHU), Cádiz (UCA), and Pablo de Olavide of Seville (UPO), who completed the Honey–Alonso Learning Styles Questionnaire and reported sociodemographic and educational data. The results showed a significant preference for the Reflector style. Significant correlations were found in most variables highlighting that the courses showed an inverse correlation with the learning styles, the Activist, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles being less preferred as they progressed in the career. It is worth noting the significant direct correlation between Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles, but the Activist style inversely correlates with all three. As a complementary contribution, a proposal for intervention in classrooms with a sustainable perspective is offered. It is important to attend to the evolution in the preference of the learning styles that students acquire as they advance in higher education courses in order to facilitate a more optimal and sustainable teaching–learning process.

A Comparative Analysis of Two Instruments Assessing Learning Style Preference

One of the most enduring concerns among academic educators in the University of Hradec Kralove is the enhancement of students' academic performance and consequently the improvement of the effective teaching and learning methods. The purpose of the presented research was to examine the outcomes of two instruments evaluating learning style preferences, namely ILS, Felder-Soloman´s Index of Learning Styles, and LCI, Johnston-Danton's Learning Combination Inventory, in a focus group of students from four difference study fields: Information Management, Applied Informatics, Tourism Management, and Sport Management. The main aim was to analyse our studentsíearning style diversity and study the outcomes and ways of learning styles assessment of two different learning style instruments. Based on a comparative analysis of the data obtained from the ILS and LCI, intersections and common features were monitored in terms of the individual learning style preferences and frequencies. The acquired results showed marginal differences between the outcomes of the two learning style assessment instruments. In comparison to Felder Soloman Index, where most of focus group students of Tourism Management proved to be sensing and visual, while Applied Informatics students were identified as predominantly reflective and intuitive , LCI data indicated Tourism Management students as Precise (targeted at accuracy, detail & information) while Applied Informatics students proved to be Technical Processing (problem solving, preferring relevance & autonomy). However, the results indicated also consistency and common features of both learning style assessing instruments data.

Differences and Relationships in the Learning Styles of Students

College of Business, JBLFMU-Molo Multidisciplinary Journal, 2017

Various perspectives on learning styles of students are available based on the results of different investigations. On one hand, the Barsch Learning Style Inventory (BLSI) that consists of 24 statements identifies three learning preferences, namely: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. On the other hand, the Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Styles Scale (GRSLSS) that consists of 60 statements determines six learning dimensions, namely: competitive, collaborative, avoidant, participant, dependent, and independent. This study aimed to determine the differences and relationships in the learning styles of students using the BLSI and GRSLSS. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) what is the reliability of the inventories as used in this study?, 2) is there a significant difference among the learning preferences of students based on the BLSI?, 3) is there a significant difference among the learning dimensions of students based on the GRSLSS?, and 4) are there significant relationships between one learning style to every other learning style described in the BLSI and GRSLSS? A sample of 192 students taken from the Bachelor of Science in Cruise Management at John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo, Inc. enrolled during the first semester of academic year 2013-2014 was considered in this study. Non-proportionate stratified random sampling method, stratified according to year level, was employed in this investigation. A significant difference was found in the learning preferences of the students based on the BLSI. The differences were found between kinesthetic and visual, and between kinesthetic and auditory. Results revealed that the students are both visual and auditory learners. Based on the GRSLSS, significant difference was also found in the learning style dimensions of the students. The differences were found between avoidant and every other dimensions, and between competitive and every other dimensions. Results revealed that the students are more of independent, collaborative, dependent, and participant than avoidant and competitive. Direct relationships exist between one learning style to every other learning style described in the BLSI. Also, direct relationships exist between one learning style to every other learning style described in the GRSLSS. Furthermore, direct relationships exist between kinesthetic and collaborative, and between kinesthetic and participant. Results seemed to suggest that the level of one’s being kinesthetic may describe his or her level of being collaborative and participant.

Learning styles: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in higher education

British Journal of Educational Psychology, 1998

Background. In his dissertation, Jan Vermunt (1992) proposed four different learning styles: a meaning directed, a reproduction directed, an application directed and an undirected style. Aims. In a cross-sectional and longitudinal design the development of these learning styles during students' stay at the university is studied, as well as the relation of these styles with academic success. A systematic relation between year of study and learning style is expected, namely that the application and meaning directed learning style scores would be higher in the later years and the undirected and reproduction learning style scores would be the highest in the early years. Results. In the cross-sectional study it was not found that the application and meaning directed learning style scores were higher in the later years, nor that the undirected and reproduction learning style scores were the highest in the early years. In the longitudinal study the means of the meaning directed and application directed learning style scores indeed increased over the years, while the means of the reproduction and undirected learning style scores decreased. For the score on the meaning directed learning style, this change was significant, though a marginal effect size was found.

The Effect of Learning Styles on Academic Achievement in Different Forms of Teaching

International Journal of Instruction, 2018

In recent years, researchers have shown an increased interest in learner styles as one of the key factors influencing learning generally. During the last decade we have also noticed rapid advances in the field of technology enhanced learning and growing trend towards its application in formal education. Introduction of different forms of e-learning (e.g. computer assisted learning, blended learning, massive online open courses (MOOCs), etc.) has become reality at most universities. The principal objective of the research presented in the study was to find out whether learning styles of students and the form of teaching generate interaction effects on their learning achievements. Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) inventory was applied to define the learner styles of the sample subjects and pedagogical quasi experiment was conducted within the period of one semester. The research used a convenience sample of 81 fifth year university students (pre-service English language teachers) split into control (n=55) and experimental (n=27) groups. The results of a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no significant findings. The results indicate that the learning styles and form of teaching have no effect on academic achievement.

Learning and Personal Attributes of University Students in Predicting and Classifying the Learning Styles: Kolb's Nine-region Versus Four-region Learning Styles

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2016

Developing effective study skills and learning habits is very important for university students, not only for getting a university degree but also for preparing themselves for their career. Students and their instructors should be aware of what attributes related to students' perceptions and habits influence their learning styles. Studies in literature have mainly used Kolb's four-region styles, and this study is one of the few that investigate Kolb's nine-region styles and the only study that compares the two with data from the field. This is the first study in literature that investigates the research question of how important the various learning and personal attributes of university students are in predicting and classifying the learning styles. The main contribution of this study is showing that the Kolb's four-region and the nine-region learning style can be explained through different attributes. This study is also valuable for discovering the relations of the students' personal attributes, the students' learning styles and perceptions about studying and learning. Study planning, active participation, and group studies are listed as the most desired learning activities. Making learners aware of their learning styles and how to accommodate this in the learning environment obtains significant benefits to learning outcomes.