Learning Styles of Interior Design Students as Assessed by the Gregorc Style Delineator

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the preferred learning style of undergraduate students majoring in interior design. The Gregorc Style Delineator, a self–report instrument to determine learning style, was administered to 147 undergraduate interior design students enrolled in Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) accredited programs located within the Southwest Region of the United States. To determine the dominant learning style of undergraduate interior design students, frequency distributions were compiled. Overall, the most important finding in this study was the diversity of learning styles among interior design students. Not only were all learning styles represented in the sample, but 49% of students exhibited dominance in more than one style—unlike the results of previous studies with non interior design students. The most common learning styles found among interior design students are a logical and hands–on learning style, known as Concrete Sequential, and a combination of experimental, imaginative, and people–oriented learning styles, known as Concrete Random/Abstract Random. Diversity in student learning styles supports the argument for the need for instructors to have a repertoire of teaching methods. Instructors should be knowledgeable in learning style theory, should know their own learning style, and should be able to teach using a variety of styles.