Is Computer-Based Learning Right for Everyone?

This study tests the hypothesis that a person's underlying learning style is a useful predictor of their attitude toward computer-based instruction and learning. Students in my undergraduate economics class participated in a learning style assessment based on the Gregorc Learning Style Delineator to determine their basic learning style: concrete or abstract, sequential or random. Students were also surveyed as to their attitudes toward the computer-based aspects of the class. Finally, correlation coefficients were computed to see whether or not certain learning styles were associated with positive attitudes toward computer instruction. According to the results, students with sequential learning styles use computerbased instructional techniques more frequently and prefer them to traditional instructional techniques when compared with students whose learning styles are random.