Learning style preferences: an examination of differences amongst students with different disciplinary backgrounds

Abstract

The context of this study is of students with backgrounds in a variety of engineering and social science disciplines, and from first degrees in different countries, coming together to study Project Management. Tailoring teaching to all individuals’ learning styles is not possible, but, in an attempt to learn how to teach better in ways that fit students’ different needs, the preferred learning styles of engineering and humanities students are measured by use of the Memletics Learning Styles Quiz. Individual scores are normalised, and individual students’ preferences for one style over another are calculated. Statistical analysis shows that the engineering students express a significantly stronger preference for a logical learning style over visual, verbal, aural, physical or solitary learning styles, and for a visual learning style over both verbal and aural learning styles, whereas students with a social science background expressed significantly stronger preferences for a social learning style than for a logical learning style. Additionally, the learning style preferences of groups of engineering students in the UK and in Malaysia are compared, showing stronger preferences among the UK students for logical and social learning styles, and among the Malaysians for a solitary learning style.