A comparison between learning style preferences and sex, status, and course performance

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Learning Style ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Exercise Physiology ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
The Other ◽  
Statistical Association ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
Post Hoc

Students have learning style preferences that are often classified according to their visual (V), aural (A), read-write (R), and/or kinesthetic (K) sensory modality preferences (SMP). The purposes of this investigation were to compare student perceived and assessed SMPs and examine the associations between those SMPs and status (i.e., undergraduates vs. graduates), sex, and course performance. Students from the fall 2009 APK 3110 and APK 6116 Exercise Physiology courses were asked to indicate their perceived SMPs and complete the standard VARK SMP assessment. There were 64 student respondents: 50 undergraduates and 14 graduates (40 women and 24 men). According to the perceived SMP results, the largest number of respondents chose V (36%), followed by R (28%), K (19%), and A (17%). In terms of assessed SMPs, the largest number of respondents were classified as VARK (37%), followed by R (14%), AK (11%), K (8%), VK (6%), ARK (6%), A (5%), VAK (3%), RK (3%), V (2%), AR (2%), and VRK (2%). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents correctly matched their perceived and dominant assessed SMP. There was no statistical association between SMP and status. There was a very nearly significant relationship between sex and both perceived (χ2= 7.18, P = 0.06) and assessed (χ2= 17.36, P = 0.09) SMP. Finally, there was a significant relationship between perceived SMP and course scores ( P = 0.01 by ANOVA). Post hoc tests revealed that the K group scored significantly lower than the other three modality groups.

Learning style preferences and course performance in an undergraduate physiology class

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 308-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Visual Learning ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Course Performance ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Physiology Students

Learning styles may be classified according to the sensory modality that one most prefers to use when internalizing information. The four major sensory modalities are visual, aural or auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between preferred learning style, gender, and course scores in an undergraduate physiology class. Students from the fall 2008 and spring 2009 Applied Human Physiology courses completed an online questionnaire in which they were asked to both provide descriptive information about themselves (e.g., gender and major) and self-assess their preferred sensory modality. A total of 901 students completed the questionnaire, 75% of which were female and 25% were male. The results from a χ2-analysis (χ2 = 9.59, P < 0.05) indicated that females and males had significantly different learning style preferences. Females most preferred visual learning (46%) followed by aural (27%), read/write (23%), and kinesthetic (4%). Males most preferred visual learning (49%) followed by read/write (29%), aural (17%), and kinesthetic (5%). There was also a significant relationship ( P < 0.05 by ANOVA) between preferred sensory modality and course scores. The mean overall course scores were 83.53 ± 8.25, 85.58 ± 8.18, 84.98 ± 7.78, and 76.70 ± 7.92 for those that preferred visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic modalities, respectively. These results support the findings of Wehrwein et al. ( 18 ): that female and male physiology students have different sensory modality preferences and that they provide the first step in determining if sensory modality preferences impact final course scores.

scholarly journals PowerPoint presentation in learning physiology by undergraduates with different learning styles

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roopa B. Ankad ◽  
Shashikala GV ◽  
Anita Herur ◽  
Manjula R ◽  
Surekharani Chinagudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Style Preferences

PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) have become routine in medical colleges because of their flexible and varied presentation capabilities. Research indicates that students prefer PPTs over the chalk-and-talk method, and there is a lot of debate over advantages and disadvantages of PPTs. However, there is no clear evidence that PPTs improve student learning/performance. Furthermore, there are a variety of learning styles with sex differences in classrooms. It is the responsibility of teacher/facilitator and student to be aware of learning style preferences to improve learning. The present study asked the following research question: do PPTs equally affect the learning of students with different learning styles in a mixed sex classroom? After we assessed students' predominant learning style according to the sensory modality that one most prefers to use when learning, a test was conducted before and after a PPT to assess student performance. The results were analyzed using Student's t-test and ANOVA with a Bonferroni post hoc test. A z-test showed no sex differences in preferred learning styles. There was significant increase in posttest performance compared with that of the pretest in all types of learners of both sexes. There was also a nonsignificant relationship among sex, learning style, and performance after the PPT. A PPT is equally effective for students with different learning style preferences and supports mixed sex classrooms.

scholarly journals Perceptual Learning Style Preferences of English Major Libyan University Students and their Correlations with Academic Achievement

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Muftah Hamed ◽  
Abubaker Almabruk
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
University Students ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Perceptual Learning Style ◽  
English Major ◽  
Style Preferences

Exploring perceptual learning style preferences and their relationships with academic achievement is important to success in teaching and learning language. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the perceptual learning style preferences of Libyan EFL University students majoring in English at Omar Almukhtar University and to check whether there is a significant relationship between students’ perceptual learning style preferences and their academic achievement. A total of 75 fourth year English major students were participated in this study. A self-reporting learning style questionnaire developed by Kinsella (1994) was used to collect data and final semester examination scores were used to determine the average academic achievement for each participant. The findings showed that tactile style was the most dominant learning style among the students followed by auditory style while kinesthetic style was the least favoured learning style. The findings also revealed that there was a significant relationship between students’ learning style preferences and their academic achievement; the strongest correlation (r=0.30, P<.01) was found between the auditory learning style and academic achievement. The findings are discussed in this study with implication for university instructors to identify their students’ perceptual learning style and match them with their teaching style to influence students’ achievement, and deliver their lectures by using different approaches and techniques to ensure that the learning process is effective and efficient for a great number of their students. This study contributed to the EFL field in Libya by providing clear information on students’ learning style preferences and their correlation with academic achievement.

scholarly journals Student Profiling as a Tool for Inclusive Instructional Design: A Case of a 3rd Year Biotechnology Class, University of Namibia

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. p12
Author(s):  
Timothy Sibanda ◽  
Nchindo R. Mbukusa ◽  
Ezekiel G. Kwembeya
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Style Preferences

Massification of Higher Education (HE) has made it difficult for teachers to design instructional strategies that are responsive to the diverse student needs. We here argue that student profiling is a handy tool that the HE teacher can use for inclusive instructional design by thoughtfully selecting learning and teaching strategies, and materials and supports that will maximise student achievement. We designed a student-profiling instrument focusing on capturing students’ biographical information, learning preferences, anticipated learning outcomes, personality traits, and learning related skills-set and administered to students in a 3rd Year Biotechnology class at the University of Namibia. The data on learning style preferences was analysed using the VARK Questionnaire (version 8.01) while a Chi-square (?2) test of association (SPSS software version 24) was used to determine whether there was a relationship between students’ preferred learning styles and the other variables. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the students had multimodal learning preferences while 25% were unimodal for kinesthetic learning style. No students preferred visual or auditory learning alone. The ?2 test revealed no significant relationship between students’ preferred learning styles and any of the other variables including age, place of origin, home language, home setting, residence during school semester, pre-course anticipation, skills set, and personality traits (P > 0.05). We conclude that profiling students’ learning preferences prior to teaching and learning helps HE teachers to tailor their instructional strategies to students’ learning style preferences, maximises epistemological access, as well as enhance inclusivity, equality and equity.

The sensory modality used for learning affects grades

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz U. Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Learning Style ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Question Type ◽  
Student Outcome ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Simple Arithmetic ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Multiple Comparison Test ◽  
Sensory Learning ◽  
Style Preferences

Second-year undergraduated students from 2008, 2009, and 2010 cohorts were asked to respond a questionnaire to determine their learning style preferences, the VARK questionnaire (where V is visual, A is aural, R is reading-writing, and K is kinesthetic), which was translated into Spanish by the author. The translated questionnaire was tested for wording comprehension before its application in the actual study. Using the results of the VARK questionnaire, students were classified as unimodal or multimodal and according to the first preferred sensory modality used for learning as V, A, R, or K learners. Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and problems that required simple arithmetic calculations (arithmetic-type questions) were applied to the students. The relation between the main sensory modality used for learning and the grades obtained in each question type was analyzed both in unimodal and multimodal students. It was found that R unimodal students performed significantly better in arithmetic questions than A and K unimodal students ( P < 0.001 by a Bonferroni multiple-comparison test after ANOVA). R unimodal students also performed better than R multimodal students in arithmetic questions ( P = 0.02 by a Mann-Whitney U-test). However, no differences were observed after MCQs in either unimodal or multimodal students with different first sensory modalities used for learning. When MCQ scores between unimodal and multimodal students were compared, no differences were detected. It was concluded that the sensory learning style used for learning affects student outcome when students receive arithmetic questions but not when MCQs are applied.

Does gender influence learning style preferences of first-year medical students?

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill A. Slater ◽  
Heidi L. Lujan ◽  
Stephen E. DiCarlo
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Male Population ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Modality Combinations ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
First Year Medical Students

Students have specific learning style preferences, and these preferences may be different between male and female students. Understanding a student's learning style preference is an important consideration when designing classroom instruction. Therefore, we administered the visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic (VARK) learning preferences questionnaire to our first-year medical students; 38.8% (97 of 250 students) of the students returned the completed questionnaire. Both male (56.1%) and female (56.7%) students preferred multiple modes of information presentation, and the numbers and types of modality combinations were not significantly different between genders. Although not significantly different, the female student population tended to be more diverse than the male population, encompassing a broader range of sensory modality combinations within their preference profiles. Instructors need to be cognizant of these differences and broaden their range of presentation styles accordingly.

Learning Style Preferences of Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tonderai Washington Shumba ◽  
Scholastika Ndatinda Iipinge
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing Students ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
Style Preferences

This study sought to synthesise evidence from published literature on the various learning style preferences of undergraduate nursing students and to determine the extent they can play in promoting academic success in nursing education of Namibia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on electronic databases as a part of the systematic review. Although, kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learning styles were found to be the most dominant learning style preferences, most studies (nine) indicated that undergraduate nursing students have varied learning styles. Studies investigating associations of certain demographic variables with the learning preferences indicated no significant association. On the other hand, three studies investigating association between learning styles and academic performance found a significant association. Three studies concluded that indeed learning styles change over time and with academic levels. The more nurse educators in Namibia are aware of their learning styles and those of their students, the greater the potential for increased academic performance.

An Active Learning Approach to Teaching Social Determinants of Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 266-273
Author(s):  
Jeanita W. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
The Impact

This active learning exercise is designed to deconstruct the impact of social determinants through the assumption of randomly selected personas. As an active learning exercise, it provides opportunities for discussion, problem solving, writing, and synthesis, while incorporating multiple learning style preferences. Part 1 involves assessing the individual social determinants at work. Part 2 involves exploring ways said determinants can enhance community health through collaboration. Assumption of personas unlike one’s own facilitates an open discussion of social position and ranges of factors influential to health without potentially evoking a sense of defensiveness associated with personal privilege (or the lack thereof).

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