TY - JOUR
T1 - A study of the relationship between learning styles and cognitive abilities in engineering students
AU - Hames, E.
AU - Baker, M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 SEFI.
PY - 2015/3/4
Y1 - 2015/3/4
N2 - Learning preferences have been indirectly linked to student success in engineering programmes, without a significant body of research to connect learning preferences with cognitive abilities. A better understanding of the relationship between learning styles and cognitive abilities will allow educators to optimise the classroom experience for students. The goal of this study was to determine whether relationships exist between student learning styles, as determined by the Felder-Soloman Inventory of Learning Styles (FSILS), and their cognitive performance. Three tests were used to assess student's cognitive abilities: a matrix reasoning task, a Tower of London task, and a mental rotation task. Statistical t-tests and correlation coefficients were used to quantify the results. Results indicated that the global–sequential, active–referential, and visual–verbal FSILS learning styles scales are related to performance on cognitive tasks. Most of these relationships were found in response times, not accuracy. Differences in task performance between gender groups (male and female) were more notable than differences between learning styles groups.
AB - Learning preferences have been indirectly linked to student success in engineering programmes, without a significant body of research to connect learning preferences with cognitive abilities. A better understanding of the relationship between learning styles and cognitive abilities will allow educators to optimise the classroom experience for students. The goal of this study was to determine whether relationships exist between student learning styles, as determined by the Felder-Soloman Inventory of Learning Styles (FSILS), and their cognitive performance. Three tests were used to assess student's cognitive abilities: a matrix reasoning task, a Tower of London task, and a mental rotation task. Statistical t-tests and correlation coefficients were used to quantify the results. Results indicated that the global–sequential, active–referential, and visual–verbal FSILS learning styles scales are related to performance on cognitive tasks. Most of these relationships were found in response times, not accuracy. Differences in task performance between gender groups (male and female) were more notable than differences between learning styles groups.
KW - Tower of London
KW - cognitive performance
KW - learning styles
KW - matrix reasoning
KW - mental rotation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84924260446&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03043797.2014.941338
DO - 10.1080/03043797.2014.941338
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84924260446
VL - 40
SP - 167
EP - 185
JO - European Journal of Engineering Education
JF - European Journal of Engineering Education
SN - 0304-3797
IS - 2
ER -