Study on learning styles of technology stream students in Sri Lankan University context

Abstract

―Learning styles‖ refer to the way in which different individuals learn. It is a Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic approach to learning something new. The introduction of the Technology Stream became the answer for the passion of youngsters towards the innovative and creative world. However, due to the complexity in their university curricula, the failure rate of the students at undergraduate level remains at around 65%. This study focused on identifying the appropriate means to facilitate learning among students. A questionnaire was circulated among undergraduates from all the Technology Faculties in Sri Lankan universities in all levels of their academic programme, where they could respond to questions about their interests in learning, their preferences while performing the learning activities and their levels of comfort with their relevant study programmes. Based on data collection, an analytical study was carried out by grading their responses under the three major learning style domains. From the survey, auditory and kinesthetic styles of learning appears to have a better response than the visual style. Data obtained shows that auditory and kinesthetic styles are preferred by 34.99% and 34.98% of the target group respectively. Nearly 30.03% of the target population claimed a greater level of learning by auditory and kinesthetic rather than visual styles. The study concluded that auditory and kinesthetic learning styles were greatly preferred by students. It could be inferred that the active involvement and their outlook towards learning is boosted by auditory and kinesthetic styles. Since the survey consists of a small target group which shows a remarkable response, it is clear that the results can be further validated with the entire population. It can be stated that the teaching and learning activities consisting of auditory and kinesthetic styles will result in a noticeable outcome for both the facilitators as well as the learners.