Authors : Nahid Zarifsanaiey, Mitra Daneshvar, Bahareh Omrani and Rita Rezaee
Abstract: Factors affecting learning are broad and diverse and it is imperative to identify these factors with a view to proffering a panacea to the problems and failures in the education system. One of the identified factors is the individual�s learning style. The general objective of this research is to study the learning styles of virtual and conventional education students in the University of Shiraz and its relationship to their academic attainment. This is a quantitative research study with an application that is in tandem with its objectives. It incorporates a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design as regards the method of data collection. The study population consists of all in-person and virtual students of the University of Shiraz. A total of 101 participants from the study population were selected using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used in this study was Kolb learning style inventory. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS Software and descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results revealed that the dominant learning style of learners were converging (59.8%), assimilating (25.5%), accommodating (6.9%) and diverging (7.8%), respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the learning styles of online education and traditional education students in Shiraz University (p = 0.01). The dominant learning style of the virtual education group was converging and that of the traditional education group was assimilating and converging. There was no significant relationship between learning styles and academic achievement of students who responded to the questionnaire. However, there was a significant relationship between learning styles and age of the study subjects (p = 0.01). It was observed that those who were younger mainly had assimilating style. There was no significant relationship between learning styles and other demographic variables. In general, instructors in universities should use various teaching techniques to furnish all students who have adopted disparate learning styles with learning experience opportunities.
Nahid Zarifsanaiey, Mitra Daneshvar, Bahareh Omrani and Rita Rezaee, 2016. A Comparison of Learning Styles and its Relationship to Academic Achievement of Students in Shiraz University: Online Learning vs. Conventional Education. The Social Sciences, 11: 6572-6577.