Matching/Mismatching of Teaching and Learning Styles; and Its Effect on Students’ Academic Achievement at Tertiary Level

Abstract

The overall purpose of the study was to explore the effect of matching/mismatching of teaching and learning styles on academic achievement in higher education. The study was causal comparative in nature to study the cause and effect relationships between matching/mismatching of teaching learning styles and students’ academic achievement. The sample for this study, selected through multistage sampling design, consisted of 120 teachers and 240 students of BS-4 year program in four disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Mathematics) from six public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Felder-Solomon Index of Learning Style (FSILS) was used for the identification of   learning styles of students while Teaching Style Instrument developed by Letele et al. (2011) was used to identify teachers’ teaching styles. These styles of students and teachers were then analyzed to see if they matched or mismatched.  The results showed that Visual learning style was the most favorite learning style followed by Balanced and Sensing learning style. Teaching style analysis showed that Visual teaching style was the most favorite style followed by Abstract and Sequential teaching styles. Group statistics indicated 42.75% matched cases and 57.25% mismatched cases. T-test for independent samples revealed that the students with matched learning styles performed significantly better than students with mismatched learning styles. In the light of these results, recommendations were forwarded for teachers, students, educationists, researchers and policy makers.

Keywords: Matching, Mismatching, Teaching Style, Learning Style, Academic Achievement