TITLE:
Learning Styles and Preferred Learning Modalities in the New Normal
AUTHORS:
Reynaldo Abrea Cabual
KEYWORDS:
Learning Styles, Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic, Learning Modalities
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.8 No.4,
April
8,
2021
ABSTRACT: Learning is a never-ending process, and a process is an event that leads to a specific outcome. Understanding will not be accomplished if challenges will cause the learning process to be delayed or stopped. A successful learning plan will resolve these challenges, resulting in learning that is personalized to the learner’s needs. The mismatch will grow as a result of the ineffective use of approaches, techniques, and tactics with the learners. Successful teaching and student learning can be achieved by recognizing the learner’s style and preferred learning modalities. Each student has his or her own learning style and preferences. Some people discover their dominant learning style, while others use various learning styles in different circumstances. It contradicts Kolb’s learning style theory which claims that people are born with a preference for a particular learning style. The study relied on Neil Fleming’s VARK model of learning. This model emphasizes that students have different “preferred learning modes,” or ways of processing information. The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing Choice, and Kinesthetic learning styles. During the first semester of the Academic Year 2020-2021, this study sought to ascertain the various learning styles (visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic) and preferred learning modalities of second-year college students. Via the use of “Google Forms,” the students completed a personalized questionnaire focused on Fleming’s VARK Learning Styles and preferred learning modalities. The results of the responses were downloaded in spreadsheet format from Google Forms. A total of 199 students served as respondents to the survey. The vast majority are “visual and read/write.” The self-learning package (hardcopy of modules) and the teachers’ PowerPoint presentations are the chosen learning modalities. Students’ learning styles and preferred learning modalities are closely linked, but there are no substantial differences when classified by sex and area or major of specialization. It is recommended that teachers use the Fleming learning styles instrument at the beginning of the class to gain a solid understanding of what to teach and how to treat their students in terms of pedagogies in order to keep students involved in the teaching and learning activities. Furthermore, since the pandemic is still widespread across the world, face-to-face communication is forbidden. Teachers and students must adapt to the New Normal’s demands, despite the fact that it comes with financial constraints. School administrators must provide the necessary equipment so that teachers can deliver quality instruction in an effective and efficient manner.