Engineering students at the Vaal University of Technology : Analysing learning style preferences

Abstract

What are the different learning style preferences of students at the Vaal University of Technology,and how is it possible to address all the learning styles simultaneously? Each individual has a distinctive preference towards combinations of certain learning styles. If the information received during an instruction session does not match the learner’s preferred learning style, his/her cognitive ability to retain this information will not hold and will thus cause him/her to under-perform. An empirical assessment of the preferred learning styles of 102 undergraduate Network Systems III students from the Engineering Faculty at the Vaal University of Technology was done through a modified questionnaire of Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles. This paper analyses the results of the questionnaire to determine the learning style preferences of students at the Vaal University of Technology and suggests ways to improve learning interactions.