Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles and Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire: How do they compare and do they predict academic performance?

Abstract

Samples of engineering and business students at undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience levels at two UK universities completed the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) (N 5 284) or the (Learning Styles Questionnaire LSQ) (N 5 182) and a biographical data questionnaire.Broad psychological aspects of the two learning style instruments are examined and compared. Psychometric properties of the instruments, including factor structure, internal reliability and inter-scale correlation are analysed. Potential limitations are commented on, in particular those related to the construct validity and relatively low internal reliability of the ILS scales (alpha 5 0.41 to 0.65). These compare with alphas of 0.59 to 0.74 for the LSQ. Relationships between the scales are discussed and a circumplex arrangement of the LSQ is proposed. Proposals for augmenting the circumplex are made.Academic performance results and scores on each of the two instruments are compared. The general lack of signi cant correlations between learning style scores and performance in these samples is discussed.Conclusions are drawn about the disappointing psychometric robustness of the measures, the activity-centred nature of learning styles and the advantages of viewing styles as a circumplex. Background to the Study

Gender and Syllabus Based Study Approaches and Academic Performance

“…'Strategic' learning approach correlated positively, and 'surface' approach correlated negatively with achievement. Van Zwanenberg et al (1999) did not report relationships between academic performance and learning styles. Spicer (2004) has underlined the importance of providing the opportunity to students to explore individual cognitive style and learning approaches.…”

Learning Style Construct in Student’s Learning

“…ILS had low internal reliability and also failed to predict, ILS found mixed with cognitive and learning style characteristics and measures absolutely none of both. They advised not to execute its application beyond engineering students for whom it was intended (Zwanenberg, Wilkinson & Anderson, 2000).…”

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

“…However due to the interacting nature of the dimensions, varying sample sizes, and lack of representation of all the ILS dimension grouping combinations, it is out of the scope of this research to determine the veracity of this assertion. The ILS could not be used to predict spatial ability, much in the same way it could not be used to predict success or failure rates in academic performance 25 .…”

“…Learning preferences have been extensively studied in the past, in an attempt to enhance student learning and effective teaching 17 . These various tests and indexes have been used as a basis to evaluate learning and teaching styles 18,19 , in order to propose changes to traditional classroom practices to improve student learning 20,21 ; diversify teaching approaches and assessment methods 22 ; enhance online learning experiences 23 ; and to determine links between learning styles and performance 24,25 .…”