Preferred Learning Styles among Students with Learning Disabilities

Joseph Awwad Bawalsah,Amer Hani Haddad

doi:10.5296/ije.v12i3.17265

Joseph Awwad Bawalsah, Amer Hani Haddad

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5296/ije.v12i3.17265

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Abstract

Students with learning disabilities (LD) can benefit more in school contexts when they are allowed to learn according to their preferred learning style. The purpose of this study was to identify preferred learning styles in 10th-grade students with LD and to determine whether these styles differ according to gender and Grade Point Average (GPA). A quantitative design through questionnaires and personal interviews were applied, 184 students completed self-report questionnaires for defining their learning style, and were interviewed for LD diagnosis. Results revealed that 45 students of them were at risk of having LD, and that kinesthetic and auditory learning styles were the most preferred styles among them, and these styles were correlated to gender between males and females, and correlated to GPA as students with higher achievement prefer kinesthetic and auditory learning styles respectively. The presence of LD managed to predict the preferred learning style according to gender and GPA, as males with LD preferring the auditory learning style managed to have better GPA compared to other students with LD, while females with LD who preferred kinesthetic learning style managed to have a better GPA compared to other females with LD. Findings were discussed according to the current educational practices adopted by teachers in schools compared to desired practices that should be compatible with preferred learning styles.

Highlights

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are increasingly facing a variety of academic challenges during their attempts to achieve properly in their schools; these challenges include but not limited by: short attention span, poor memory, difficulty following directions, inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or sounds, poor reading and/or writing ability, eye-hand coordination problems; poorly coordinated, difficulties with sequencing, and/or disorganization and other sensory difficulties (Maki & Adams, 2020)
This study aimed to identify preferred learning styles among a sample of 10th-grade students with LD, in what follows, the results of this objective and related sub-objectives set for this study are presented
This study aimed to identify the prevalence of learning disabilities among a sample of 10th-grade students and their preferred learning styles; the results showed that 45 students were at risk of being diagnosed with LD with a percentage of (24.5%) of the respondents, and (3.22%) of the total population

Summary

Introduction

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are increasingly facing a variety of academic challenges during their attempts to achieve properly in their schools; these challenges include but not limited by: short attention span, poor memory, difficulty following directions, inability to discriminate between/among letters, numerals, or sounds, poor reading and/or writing ability, eye-hand coordination problems; poorly coordinated, difficulties with sequencing, and/or disorganization and other sensory difficulties (Maki & Adams, 2020). Psychologists and teachers were concerned about how to help those students to have better opportunities to use their potentials for better academic achievement (Aparna & Mahto, 2018). These efforts came as a response to an assumption that students with LD might be able to learn in different ways compared to their peers without LD, and as a result, a need emerged for modified teaching approaches and learning means that might be appropriate to the needs of those students (Maki & Adams, 2018). Learning arrangements changed from teacher-centered to student-centered approaches, and this changed the traditional question of “What to Teach” to “How to Learn”, and what is the most important now is the acknowledgment that individuals learn in different ways or styles (Willingham et al, 2015)

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