A Psychometric Study of the Index of Learning Styles©

Abstract

A study was conducted on the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles © (ILS) to assess reliability, factor structure, and construct validity as well to determine whether changing its dichotomous response scale to a five-option response scale would improve reliability and validity. Data collected in this study had internal consistency reliability ranging from 0.55 to 0.77 across the four learning style scales of the ILS. Factor analysis revealed that multiple factors were present within three of the learning style scales, which correspond to known aspects of the scale definitions. The factor analysis and direct feedback from students on whether they felt their scores accurately represented their learning preferences provide evidence of construct validity for the ILS. Changing the response scale improved reliability, but it did not change the factor structure substantially nor did it affect the strength of the evidence for construct validity based on student feedback.

Unseen Influences on Student Performance: Instructor Assessment Styles

“…Learning styles describe how individuals receive, perceive, process, and understand information. 1,3,4 These interactions with information are essential components of problemsolving, and thus, suggest that learning styles may be a valuable lens through which to evaluate our methods for developing students as problem solvers. We used the Felder-Silverman model specifically because of its historical application in engineering, and its multidimensional nature allowing for two preferences in each of four dimensions (active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, sequential/global) with subsequent strengths (strong, moderate, balanced) for each preference.…”

A Cross-institutional Study of the Case Study Teaching in the Sciences Method

“…between engineering students and biology students. Felder's assessment is popular among engineering education studies [21][22][23] . Students were also given a pre-laboratory quiz and instructional preferences survey.…”

Spatial Visualization Ability and Learning Style Preference Assessment Among Construction Related Undergraduate Engineering and Technology Students

“…These dimensions in the ILS draw from other well-known learning style models such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Kolb learning style index 27 . The ILS has a substantial history of use and has been proven to provide consistent and valid results in numerous evaluative studies [27][28][29][30][31] . Reliability tests yielded Cronbach alpha results greater than 0.5 and consistent in all the ILS scales; while Pearson's correlation and factor analysis tests conducted also indicated that the different dimensions were indeed distinct -with a mild association found between the sequential global and sensing initiative scales 26,29 .…”

“…The ILS has a substantial history of use and has been proven to provide consistent and valid results in numerous evaluative studies [27][28][29][30][31] . Reliability tests yielded Cronbach alpha results greater than 0.5 and consistent in all the ILS scales; while Pearson's correlation and factor analysis tests conducted also indicated that the different dimensions were indeed distinct -with a mild association found between the sequential global and sensing initiative scales 26,29 . Testing in various samples over time also showed support for the notion that the constructs being assessed by the ILS were valid 28,30,31 .…”

“…29,17 Independently, spatial skills and learning styles have been linked with the ability of students to do well in various fields 32 . High spatial ability would infer that an individual would have a better mental cognition, while the tailoring of curriculum to suit the needs of a student's learning style would typically result in better outcomes 12 .…”