Variances on Students’ Blended Learning Perception According to Learning Style Preferences

Abstract

Blended learning, particularly the use of online-based technologies provides teachers and learners opportunities for a more flexible teaching-learning environment based on individual learning preferences. This paper investigates on the variation of the learners’ perception on blended learning in terms of their learning styles. One hundred thirteen (113) students enrolled in Statistics during the second trimester of the school year 2012-2013 participated in the study. A blended learning environment (BLE) questionnaire was designed to determine the students’ blended learning perception and the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Style (ILS) measures the students’ learning styles. Additional data were gathered from interviews and focus-group discussions to record students’ reactions to BLE.  Using SPSS, the data from each instrument was described and analyzed. Students’ views on blended learning revealed moderate to very high perception on items related to the ease-of-use and accessibility, quality of contents, usage and purpose, and general outcome. On the ILS, active-reflective dimension reported 55% active learners; sensing-intuitive dimension reported 61% preference on sensing learning; visual-verbal dimension revealed 47% visual learners and; sequential-global dimension showed 58% sequential preference. Overall, results revealed that students’ perception on blended learning differ among active-reflective and visual-verbal learners whereas learners classified as sensing-intuitive and sequential-global do not significantly vary in blended learning perception. It appears that teachers should still consider students’ learning style in the design, implementation and evaluation of blended learning. The study concluded with several future research directions in terms of the impact of teaching and learning styles on blended learning and evaluation of e-learning styles.

Keywords: blended learning, blended learning perception, learning styles, Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Style (ILS)