Learning Style and Case-Based E-Learning 1 Running Head: LEARNING STYLE AND CASE-BASED E-LEARNING The Role That Students’ Learning Styles Play in Complex Problem Solving Over Time while Implementing a Case-Based E-Learning Environment in a Lecture-Oriented Anesthesiology Class

This study explores how students’ learning styles influence students’ learning performance in solving complex problems in an Anesthesiology class over a three-week period as a case-based e-learning environment is implemented in a conventional lectureoriented classroom in a dental school. Seventy students from an Anesthesiology class participated in this study. Five learning-outcomes tests and two course-satisfaction surveys were implemented during the case-based instruction using a blended approach (online and face-to-face). The results revealed that students’ learning styles seemed to influence their learning outcomes slightly at an earlier time during the case-based learning implementation; however, as time passed, learning styles no longer influenced their learning at all. Thus, learning styles may be considered only in the early stages of instructional implementation in order to facilitate the students’ transition to the new learning environment. Learning Style and Case-Based E-Learning 3