Investigating the Learning Styles Preferences of First-year B.Ed. Students Studying in a Public Sector University of Northern Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

In a student-centered teaching and learning environment, students' needs, potentials, and learning styles are considered crucial. Therefore, teachers need to understand what learning styles students prefer to teach effectively. In the current study, a quantitative research approach has been adopted in this study within it descriptive research designed was used. To determine the preferred learning styles of B.Ed. students, VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic) learning style model has been used. Since the data was collected using the VARK questionnaire, simple random sampling techniques were used. The reliability of the instrument was calculated through Cronbach α= 0.75. The sample of the study consists of 140 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) students of a Public Sector University located in Northern Sindh, Pakistan. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (percentages mean and standard deviation) to determine the most preferred style of learning of students. The results of the study revealed that 27.93% of the B.Ed. students have preferred aural learning style, 25.13% kinaesthetic learning style, 22.65% visual style of learning and 21.09% preferred read/write learning style respectively. To conclude that the majority of the B.Ed. students preferred aural learning style and the least preferred style of learning was read/write. Hence, B.Ed. students were driven towards an aural learning style. This study suggests that students learning styles are influenced by the teacher’s teaching style. Therefore, the teacher can determine his/her teaching style by using the score of the VARK questionnaire. The study recommends that another study can be conducted by the teachers to learn about the larger number of students’ preferred learning styles. The teacher can also address a mixture of learning styles. In the classroom, there are always diverse learners. In that case, the teacher can use integrated teaching style which can address all learners preferred teaching style.