scholarly journals Learning styles, teaching methods, and student performance in industrial engineering at a University of Technology

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hester Jackson

Student success and throughput rates remain a challenge at South African higher education institutions (Strydom, Mentz and Kuh, 2010) and the results in Industrial Engineering at the Durban University of Technology are no exception. Statistics released by the Department of Management Information Systems at this university in November 2012 on the graduation rates of students registered for the National Diploma: Industrial Engineering from 2009 to 2011 bear testimony to this, as the average graduation rate is between 10% and 21%. This research study investigated the learning styles, teaching methods and student performance in Industrial Engineering at a selected university of technology in South Africa by examining the preferred learning styles of students, and lecturers’ preferred teaching styles at various levels. The Felder and Silverman Model (1988) which was specifically designed to capture significant differences in learning styles amongst engineering students, was employed as the framework for the study. Using a mixed-methods research approach, the target population for the study was the 200 students registered for the National Diploma: Industrial Engineering at the Durban University of Technology in 2013. The lecturers were identified through convenience sampling. The sample comprised five lecturers and 150 students. The participants were recruited by sending letters to inform them about the study and its purpose. Student participation was completely voluntary. The data was collected through questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The study used the ILS Questionnaire developed by Felder and Solomon to assess the four scales of leaning style preference among engineering students. The questionnaire was adapted to include some demographic information such as race and gender. After the lecturers were interviewed, direct observation took place in the class room in order to determine their teaching style. The researcher ensured validity of the data through triangulation and tested the reliability of the ILS questionnaire by running a pilot study. In order for the questionnaire to be reliable, the results should be the same on both occasions. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was used to analyse the data from the ILS questionnaire and the data from the interviews were analysed using NVivo™ software. After the learning styles and teaching styles were identified, the quasi experiment was used to determine if changes in the lecturers’ teaching methods had any influence on the students’ learning styles and performance. It was found that this was indeed the case. In some instances such as Engineering Work Study 1, changes in the teaching method had a positive effect on student performance, but in modules such as Costing 2 and Production Engineering 2, the changes negatively impacted student performance. The study therefore confirmed that teaching styles and learning styles influence student performance. This knowledge could be used by lecturers to familiarise themselves with their students’ learning styles and to match their teaching to these learning styles in a manner that benefits all students. Students also need to be aware of their preferred learning styles and to be guided on how to use these to improve their performance in each of their modules.

Author(s):  
Agustrianita Agustrianita ◽  
Didi Suherdi ◽  
Pupung Purnawarman

Lack of teachers’ understanding in students’ learning styles and their teaching could cause unfacilitated teaching methods for example through the use of traditional lecturing methods. This issue brings the importance of this research objective to investigate teachers’ perceptions about learning style, their teaching, and the applied methods in the classroom. This study uses a quantitative research approach that is the analysis of learning style types for different students at different grade levels. To find out the perceptions of English teachers in this study, information was collected through 20 closed questions with data analysis to find out how the learning style influenced the teaching learning process of 28 English teachers. The findings of this study suggest that teachers’ understand about students’ different learning styles, so they adopt their students’ learning styles to their teaching. The last, teachers agree to use group discussion rather than lecturing methods by integrating ICT. In conclusion, teachers’ perception on students’ learning styles can increase their awareness to design teaching methods that differentiate students’ learning styles. Abstrak Kelangkaan pemahaman guru mengenai gaya belajar siswa dan bagaimana cara mengajarnya yang tepat dapat disebabkan oleh metode mengajar yang tidak bersifat fasilitatif, misalnya masih berupa perkuliahan tradisional. Oleh karena itu, penting untuk meneliti persepsi guru mengenai gaya belajar, cara mengajarnya, dan implementasinya di kelas. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif yang fokus pada beragam gaya belajar siswa pada kelas-kelas yang berbeda. Infomasi diperoleh dengan memberikan 20 pertanyaan tertutup untuk mencari tahu bagaimana gaya belajar memengaruhi proses pembelajaran di kelas Bahasa Inggris (28 guru). Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa guru memahami keragaman gaya belajar siswa, sehingga mereka mengadopsi gaya belajar siswa dalam pengajaran mereka. Guru juga sepakat menggunakan kelompok diskusi ketimbang perkuliahan tradisional dengan mengintegrasikan Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi (TIK). Dapat disimpulkan bahwa persepsi guru terhadap gaya belajar siswa meningkatkan kepedulian mereka dalam mengembangkan metode mengajar yang beragam sesuai keragaman belajar siswa. Keywords: Students’ learning style, teaching style


2018 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 05082
Author(s):  
Lee Mei Ph’ng

Learner diversity that exists in the classroom plays a role in influencing the teaching and learning process in the classroom. It should be acknowledged in order for the teaching and learning process to be a meaningful and effective process. Thus, this study examined the learning styles preference of engineering students and the teaching styles preferences of their Technical Communication lecturers. The study also looked at whether the students’ learning styles preferences were influenced by their field of study, gender and ethnic backgrounds. Felder and Solomon’s Index of Learning Styles was administered to 588 engineering students while Grasha and Riechmann-Hruska’s Teaching Style Survey was administered to 10 Technical Communication lecturers. The findings revealed that the students have a marked preference for the visual learning style but balanced preferences for the other learning styles dimensions. The students’ field of study, gender and ethnic backgrounds did not seem to influence the students’ learning styles preferences. As for their Technical Communication lecturers, they seem to favour the student-centered teaching approach. All the data support the notion of adopting a balanced teaching approach in the Technical Communication classroom.


Author(s):  
Anshu Saxena Arora ◽  
Reginald Leseane ◽  
Mahesh S. Raisinghani

Students do not have homogeneous learning patterns, their learning styles and preferences vary, their cognitive abilities vary; similarly instructors employ different teaching methods. This research explores the linkages between learning and teaching styles by using the Felder-Solomon Index of Learning Styles and CORD’s teaching style inventories to match and expand the learning and teaching styles interpretation from the learners’ perspective. This research provides practical implications for educators to think about how their students learn and what would be the best instructional methods for their learners.


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
T.V. Lantseva ◽  

Research Problem. This article examines the practice and shows the theory and outcome of the study of whether there is a significant relationship of students' academic performance depending on their learning and teaching style, whether there is a significant difference in students' grades depending on their teachers' teaching styles, and whether there is a significant difference between students' academic performance. The purpose of the study focuses on gaining new knowledge about the relationship between the learning and teaching style of a university instructor and student's academic performance. The methodology, methods, and techniques of the study. This study used the Grasch-Richman Learning Styles Questionnaire, which includes tools to assess both learning styles and teaching styles. Our study was designed as a survey study (suitable for determining the existing situation without intervention) and used a quantitative research methodology. The study also used a teaching style inventory method. Results. The results of the study showed that student achievement scores did not change significantly based on their teaching styles; a significant difference was found between student achievement and the correspondence between faculty teaching style and student teaching style. Scientific novelty/practical significance. The new knowledge gained allows us to consider the implications of how emerging learning opportunities relate to student preparation in higher education and teacher level support. Conclusions and Recommendations. The results of our study confirm that learning, teaching styles, and student achievement are interrelated, but in examining these three variables, other variables such as the specific difficulties encountered in teaching a particular subject, the age group of students, and the context of the school must also be considered. There is no "bad" style of qualified teaching. It should not, however, interfere with a teacher's professional development. New knowledge about teaching/learning styles can be useful for beginning university teachers as well as for their students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-63
Author(s):  
Hadis Sourinejad ◽  
◽  
Fariba Haghani ◽  
Marjan Beigi ◽  
Elham Adibmoghaddam ◽  
...  

Background: Identifying the factors that contribute to learning is one of the most important research goals. Learning style is one of these important and effective factors. The predominant learning styles of students in different universities of Iran are different. Objective: This study aimed to review the learning styles of midwifery students in Iran based on Kolb’s learning theory. Materials and Methods: In this review study, a search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, and MagIran databases on articles published during 2000-2020 by using the keywords: Learning styles, midwifery students, and Kolb’s theory in Persian and English. Out of 28 eligible articles, 9 articles were finally reviewed. Results: Learning in midwifery students is usually done by using different styles, the most common of which was convergent style followed by assimilative style. Conclusion: The predominant learning styles of midwifery students in Iran are convergent and assimilative styles. While considering individual differences, educational planning and selection of teaching method should be done in a way that is appropriate for different learning styles of midwifery students and a variety of new and innovative teaching methods should be used.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yang

English has been a subject in the university classroom since the 1980s. This subject helps produce more excellent talents in economics, politics, and culture who are proficient in English language in China, and enable our country to better integrate with the global economy. At the same time, the relationship between our country and the international community has become closer. However, the social environment is constantly developing and changing. The traditional teaching methods can be said to be ineffective and associated with many shortcomings. Traditional teaching methods were used in the English lessons. Under this teaching mode, students were the passive subjects on the receiving end of what have been taught. The teacher was always talking in the classroom and the students were listening. This teaching style also affects the effectiveness of learning. Compared with traditional teaching, interactive teaching method has its unique advantages. It is a new teaching mode and under this teaching mode, students can actively communicate with teachers in the classroom to complete learning tasks. The initiative to perform self-directed learning is also greatly improved, and the students’ English proficiency can be improved.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-284
Author(s):  
MARIA GUADALUPE LOPEZ MOLINA ◽  
GABRIEL ATRISTAIN SUAREZ

An educational case implementing a SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) teaching method with results that measure the participating student’s perception is reported. This method significantly reduces training time and increases knowledge retention as a result of an improvement aimed at shortening the learning cycle of industrial engineering students learning about lean manufacturing tools. This study was conducted with a hundred students who are the population of industrial engineering in a small college.


Author(s):  
Anders Berglund

Student learning is built on native ability, prior preparation and experiences but also by the compatibility of his or her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style. Past research (Kolb, 1984; Felder & Silverman, 1988; Baillie & Moore, 2004; Biggs & Tang, 2007; Crawley, Malmqvist, Ostlund, & Brodeur, 2007) indicate mismatches between engineering students’ common learning styles and traditional teaching styles. This paper addresses a transition from a teacher centered approach to a collaborative student centered approach. A longitudinal study of bachelor thesis redesign is described by following the progression in three parallel courses over four consecutive years. Moving beyond the traditional practices of individual thesis writing, a strict individual assignment has been transformed where roughly 50% now originates from collective work efforts. Findings show support to a collective approach when working with bachelor thesis writing as work groups become self-governed, attached with a creative disposition, pursuing functioning knowledge, key generic skills of industrial relevance, and collectively supporting deep level learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-354
Author(s):  
Guilherme Luz Tortorella ◽  
Rogério Miorando ◽  
Diego Fettermann ◽  
Diego Tlapa Mendoza

PurposeThis article identifies the association between two methods for teaching lean manufacturing (LM): problem-based learning (PBL) and classroom lectures, and students' learning styles of a postgraduate course.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from graduate students LM courses that present different teaching approaches. Thus, students' learning preferences were gathered through the application of the Index of Learning Style questionnaire, and their performance assessed after each course.FindingsResults indicate that learning styles are indeed associated with LM teaching approaches, and comprehending interaction effects between learning style dimensions is essential for properly adapting the teaching method. However, these interactions have different extensions.Originality/valueAlthough teaching LM has significantly evolved over the past decades, the single application of traditional teaching methods jeopardizes learning effectiveness of graduate students because of the practical nature of LM. This study provides evidence to better understand the effect of complementary teaching methods and their relationship with students' preferences, empirically examining that there is not one best approach for understanding LM.


2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1117-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilknur Pekkanli Egel

Foreign language learning styles are aimed at facilitating students' learning and therefore the teaching style used is important in terms of matching learners' styles to their educational needs. The present study was aimed at investigating several dimensions of primary school students' language learning styles and the ways in which certain styles are shaped and favored by teachers' teaching styles. The primary aim was to find out whether or not the measures taken by the Turkish Ministry of Education regarding rectifying the shortage of teachers of English as a foreign language have had an effect on the learning styles of primary school students. The secondary aim was to examine the varying learning styles of EFL students in two primary schools and to establish whether or not there has been a change in these learning styles. Finally, the researcher examined whether or not the economic conditions of the schools had an influence on the students' learning styles.


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