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REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS ON STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES AND

THEIR LEARNING SATISFACTION

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I. Szakképzés és oktatás: Ma – holnap Konferencia Budapest, 2019. november 20 –21.
1st VET & Education: Today – Tomorrow Conference Budapest, 20 – 21 november, 2019

REVIEW OF THE EFFECTIVENESS ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING STYLES

AND THEIR LEARNING SATISFACTION

Phavadee Sounantha, sounanthabesss@gmail.com; sounantha@caesar.elte.hu

PhD Student in Adult Learning Program.
PPK, Eötvös Loránd University

Introduction
The learning styles are the uniqueness methods for one and another, while you may like
to read and in the same time your friends may like to listen. Every person has eyes, ears
and mouse but all are unique. We have the unique appearance of both physical and
mental, and the individual styles are absolutely different. Style defines as a particular of
doing or saying something, Stewart and Felicetti (1992) defined learning styles as those
“educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn.” Thus, learning
styles are not really concerned with what learners learn, but rather how they prefer to
learn. Learners’ needs include different learning styles which can influence learning
performance (Mitchell, 2000; Chen & Lin, 2002; Morris, Finnegan, &Sz-Shyan, 2005;
Hummel, 2006). The learning style is accepted by many researchers and educators as a
determining factor for individual learners’ perspective successes and failures in
schooling situations (Keefe, 1991; Keefe &Ferell, 1990; Lanuis, 1998; Lemire, 1996;
O’Neil, 1990). In another important thing, as we know that, the development of
curriculum in the education is depend up on the need and interest of the learners.
Likewise, what is the main factor to get to know the need and interest of the learner? It
is for reaching the demand of learners, and which way can we access the learner? That is
to focus on their learning style with conform techniques and their satisfaction through
comfortable way to learn. Apart from that, according to another supporting research
shown that, if the instructor can be able to organize the teaching-learning environment
conforms to the students’ environment, the record of study got higher than the group
which could not be able to conform to satisfaction environment of learners (Atsha,
1988). Due to Learning Styles are broad areas of technique, as we know “Every student
is unique in his or her strengths and challenges, and it is the job of the teacher to foster
highly individualized learning in response to the student-learners. David Kolb further
stated, “That the learning style of the students must comprise different abilities. To
enhance the effectiveness of learning styles, the learners should be able to combine at
least two abilities to form their learning styles.”
In many outcomes when instructor, teacher or lecturer understand learners and can
be able to use different teaching strategies with different learning styles of learners, the
good result of students outstanding, the satisfaction and self-esteem. The independence
of choosing by their own way and improve their own decision making after their
complete their academic life to getting their satisfaction career in their future.

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Purpose of Study
The main purpose of this paper aims at investigating the role of how important to know
students’ learning style and their satisfaction. The specific purposes are following:
- To present the concept of learning style.
- To acknowledge the importance of the inventory for analyze the students’ learning
style.
- To know how students’ satisfaction in their way of learning.
- To identify benefit of knowing students’ learning style and the effectiveness of
theories concerning by thesis and article review.

Definition of the key terms

The terms used throughout the current study are identified below to clearly
understanding and clarity:
Learning Style: The cognitive, affective, and psychological traits that serve as relatively
stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning
environment (Keefe, 1982).
Learning Satisfaction: The satisfied of emotional feeling of individual through the
learning. According to Arbaugh’s (2000), learning satisfaction includes the individual’s
feelings and attitudes towards the education process and the perceived level of
fulfillment connected to the individual’s desire to learn, caused by the learning
motivation.
Effectiveness: The degree to which objective are achieved and the extent to which
targeted problems are solved. Effectiveness means doing the right thing.

Methodology
This paper is descriptive in the nature and contains the theoretical review from
scientific literature on the students’ learning style on their satisfaction in learning and
the effectiveness. The data has been collected from secondary sources as well as the
website, journals, books and previous research papers which related to the models
which they have been mentioned.

Learning Styles Theories

Style is the behavior of individual different, in term of learning styles refer to the
concept that individuals differ in regarding to what mode of instruction or study is most
effective for them (Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohere, Robert Bjoke. 2009).
Learning Style is defined as an individual’s inherited foundation, artidcular past life
experience, and the demands of the present environment that emphasize some learning
abilities over others (Kolb, Rubin, & McIntyre, 1974). The study by Fole (1999)
suggested the learning style preference of the students and to the teachers who have
taught student might improve student achievement. There are so many scholars and
educators since long time until now who accept the learning style and provide the

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different definition of learning style in their own perspective as well as learning styles
defined in terms of self-views (Combs, 1959), needs (Bills, 1959), personalities (Beard,
1970), individual attitudes (Gagne, 1977), differences (Keefe, 1979), processes (Kirby,
1979), temperaments (Keirsey & Bates, 1984), autonomies (Danis, 1988), modalities
(Barbe & Milone, 1989), aptitudes (Snider, 1990), values (Frtitz & Parker, 1991), ideal
environments (Theilheimer, 1991), personal touches (Bilderback, 1992), motivations
(Klein & Frietag, 1992), behavior sets (Jones, 1996), characteristics (Loo, 1996),
preferences (Wilcoxson & Prosser, 1996), patterns (McCarthy, 1997), nature and make-
up (Dillon-Black, 1998),

The important of knowing students’ learning styles

According to Fatt (2000), by using individual’s specific learning styles in the classroom,
teachers are promoting problem-solving skills, by promoting problem solving skills in
classrooms teachers are preparing students for real life situation. This is the key point of
the reason why we have to realize on students’ learning styles. Problem solving skill is
the critical key of achieving the goal of education that is how to apply what students
learn in classroom to their real life when they complete their education.

Review from findings on effectiveness of knowing students’ learning styles.

Ibrahim Yasar Kazu (2009) Suggested that students who have experienced on the
learning process and approach can get more successful and it’s the very good impact on
learning. By this success, the relevance between teacher and student should be matched
for individual learner’s preferred style to provide the range of input styles and learning
task which learner can get the task or assignment in their preferable, or some other
styles which can make them improve.
Frank Romanelli and his colleagues reviewed of the theory, application, and best
practices for learning styles (2009), has mentioned about the correlations between
culture and learning style, when the new knowledge has come out, which’s from the
culture is influenced the environmental insight. Not only that, culture can also take parts
in conditioning and reinforcing in learning styles.
T.A. Weerasinghe, et al, (2008), cited that the change of students’ attitudes towards
learning content and the environment slightly from negative to more positive implied
that they might have successfully designed learning material and environment in the
work of T.A Weerasinghe and his colleagues of Online Learning Environment (OLE)
designed for distance education program.
Sarwat Sultan, et al, (2011) in the work of finding comparison between students
learning individually and students learning collaboratively in effectiveness of learning
style is shown that, the collaborative learning would be more advantageous and
efficient, if the goal of development in terms of competency, confidence, social
interaction, creativity and cognition. Through both collaborative and individual learning
were discovered to be evenly efficient in acquitting academic knowledge and creativity.

Kolb learning style

Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of
experience (Kolb 1984, p. 38 & 41), For Experience Learning Theory defines learning as
“the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.

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Kolb’s experiential learning theory is best known in higher education regarding

educational theory. According to Kolb, knowledge results from the combination of
grasping and transforming experience. Regarding education learning theory model
showed that:
- There are 2 dialectically related modes of grasping experience like Concrete
Experience (CE) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC).
- And there are 2 dialectically related modes of transforming experience like
Reflective Observation (RO) and Active Experimentation (AE).
There are 5 versions of the Learning Style Inventory until now by David Kolb; version
were in 1971 & 1976, version 2 and 2a were in 1985 and 1993, version 3 and 3.1
changed the name from Learning Style Inventory to be Kolb Learning Style Inventory
was in 1999 and 2005.
Advantage of Experience Learning:
1. Accelerated Learning
2. Critical thinking
3. Problem solving
4. Decision making

Advantage of Kolb Learning Style Inventory

Table1. 9 learning styles embedded in the learning cycle and their associated capabilities (Kolb
& Peterson, 2013).
Learning Style Style Description
Initiating Experimenting with a new
course of action to deal with
situations and experiences
Experiencing Finding meaning from deep
involvement in experiences and
relationships
Imagining Creating meaning by observing
and reflecting on experiences
and considering a range of
possible solutions
Reflecting Connecting experiences and
ideas through sustained
reflection
Analyzing Integrating and systematizing
ideas through reflection
Thinking Demonstrating the capacity for
Capabilities
­ Influencing
­ Opportunity-seeking
­ Taking an initiative
­ Committing to objectives
­ Embracing sensations, emotions,
and intuition.
­ Attending
­ Being mindful and present
­ Being in relationships
­ Possibility thinking, dreaming
­ Appreciating diversity
­ Empathy
­ Receptivity
­ Observation
­ Perspective-taking
­ Perceptivity
­ Planning systematically
­ Synthesizing
­ Understanding conceptual
structures
­ Testing assumptions
­ Quantitative analysis

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disciplined involvement in ­ Objectivity and neutrality

abstract reasoning,
mathematics, and logic
Deciding Using theories and models to
choose a single course of action
to solve problems and achieve
practical results
Acting Taking assertive, goal-directed
action that integrates people
and tasks
Balancing Weighing the pros and cons of
acting versus reflecting and
experiencing versus thinking to
assume any learning style
­ Focus on a single objective
­ Problems solving
­ Setting goals and priorities
­ Evaluating ideas and solutions
­ Decisions making
­ Acting to get things done
­ Leading work teams
­ Balancing technical knowledge and
relationships
­ Adapting
­ Considering all options
­ Assuming a holistic perspective to
find blind spots

In addition, Kolb’s Learning Style has acknowledged as supported for based-

experiential learning styles model as well as Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (2000), by
Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire. And Allinson & Hayes (1996), had
been pinned into 2 concepts like action and analysis. Style defined from Allinson &
Hayes is an individual’s characteristic and consistent approach to processing the
information, however, person’s style can be influenced by the culture, experience like
particular contexts he/she has been had. According to the work of Frank Coffield, David
Moseley, Elaine Hall and Kathryn Ecclestone (2004) accumulated that Kolb’s Learning is
the high productive approach, he produced bibliography of research on his experiential
learning theory and the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) which contains details of 1004
studies, in here 403 are in the fields of education, 207 in management, 104 in computer
studies, 101 in psychology and 72 in medicine like nursing, accounting and law.

Peter Honey and Alan Mumford

Based on the Kolb’s model in 1970s then Peter Honey and Alan Mumford had developed
the learning style system, which they developed an alternative instrument known as the
learning style questionnaire (LSQ). Learning Style Questionnaire has improved validity
and predictive accuracy compared to Learning Style Inventory by Kolb, which it was
devised by their own Cognitive Style Index (CSI). They identified into 4 distinct
preferences or 4 types of learners like activist, theorist, pragmatist and reflector. Activist
is the learner who learns primarily by experience, reflector is the learner who learns
from reflective observation, theorist learn from exploring associations and
interrelationship, the last is pragmatics is the learner who learns from doing or trying
things with practical outcomes. Honey & Mumford said that “our description of the
stages in the learning cycle originated from the work of David Kolb. Kolb uses different
words to describe the stages of the learning cycle and four learning styles and the
similarities between his model and ours are greater than the differences” Honey &
Mumford, (1992, 4).
Honey and Mumford determined that individuals have natural tendencies toward
one learning style or another, learners can expand and push outwards to develop

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additional forms of learning. In order to maximize each learning experience and

individual needs to know their style of learning and look for opportunities to use that
style within each opportunity. In additional, increased awareness to one’s learning style
encourages circumstances for self-reflection and improvement for more learning
experiences and different learning situations.

Figure 1: Honey and Mumford Learning Style Model

Concrete
Experience

Activist Reflector

(Accommodating) Pe (Diverging)
rc
ep
tio
Active n Reflective
Processing Continuum
Experimentation C Observation
on
Pragmatist tin Theorist
uu
(Converging) m (Assimilating)

Abstract
Conceptualizatio
n

Neil Fleming’s VAK/VARK model

One of the widely used categorizations of various types of learning styles is Neil
Fleming’s VARK model (sometime can say VAK in the old version, which it acronym for
Visual, Auditory and the Kinesthetic sensory modalities) which provides the learners
with a profile of their learning styles, based on the sensory modalities which are
involved in taking in information. Learning style is the style of individuals like or prefer
to use in their study and use it regularly that they feel comfortable with and understand
very well during their study time. Learners can learn through 3 sensations such as
visual, auditory and kinesthetic. However, human commonly have a preferred learning
style which may be a blend of all these three senses. Some people may have very strong
preference while others have an even mixture of two or three styles. So, when
individuals know their preferred learning styles, they can be able to understand type of
learning that can suit them, and they can choose which type or style can help or develop
their learning through the best.

Suggestion for the VAK learning styles

Visual learners Auditory learners Kinesthetic learners
­ Write things down ­ Record class notes and ­ Create models.
­ Jot down key points on then listen to the ­ Demonstrate a
recording, rather than principle.
­ post-it notes and
reading notes.
display around the ­ Practice a technique.
­ Use audiotapes for

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house learning languages. ­ Participate in

­ Copy what is on the ­ Remember details by simulations.
­ board or power point trying to hear previous ­ Engage in hands on
slide. discussions. activities.
­ Sit near the front of ­ Participate in class ­ Study in comfortable
classroom to see discussion and group position, not
instructor clearly activities. necessarily sitting in
­ Ask questions and chair.
­ Write key words
volunteer in class.
­ Create visual
reminders of auditory ­ Read out loud.
information. ­ Repeat facts with eyes
­ Use mind maps to closed.
summarize large tracts ­ Avoid auditory
of information distractions.
­ Take notes ­ Whisper new
­ Make a list information when
alone or describe aloud
­ Watch videos
what is to be
­ Use flashcards remembered
­ Use highlighters, ­ Put information into
underlining. rhythmic patterns, such
­ Have small notebook as a song or poem.
with pen in every ­ An auditory learners
where may also be benefited
by using the speech
recognition tools.

Table 2: VAK learning styles

Students’ Satisfaction:
In the concept of satisfaction of students may refer to what their expectation on their
learning, their interest and their experience toward the course(s) they take. The concept
of learning satisfaction has the disadvantage of lacking the sufficient consistency when
trying to define it. It is approached and intensively studied by few authors because,
perhaps, it is considered to be lacking a solid structure. In an attempt of finding reason
for this conception presumed that the learning satisfaction concept may be strongly
influenced by cultural aspects (Ioana Topala, Simona Tomozii, 2013), by their testing for
students’ satisfaction questionnaire on learning satisfaction: validity and reliability.
T.A. Weerasinghe, et al, (2008) worked on Online Learning Environment (OLE)
designed for distance education program found that, students’ satisfaction towards OLE
are gradually increased and students could use the OLE more efficiently in their studies
once they got acquainted with OLE.

Conclusion
Because of the uniqueness of human being, by understanding individual learning styles,
that is the best way for the teachers, researchers and educators for building individuals’
successfulness in their way of learning. It can help in effectiveness of their study by their
own way of their preference and satisfaction, learning style involved aspects such as
how students perceive, interact and respond to learning environment, Kazu IY. (2009).

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From findings of effectiveness in knowing students’ learning styles, through the their
experienced on the learning process and approach can get more successful and the
collaboration with the group themselves and the teaching-learning matching. By
studying about the theories, we can understand and put in proper way to get effective
for the further work in term of learning styles that can help to focus on how to adapt
many learning styles models which individual need and individual different, that is very
important for the teacher and design curriculum into various of activity in textbook, and
the way of teaching.

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