A Learning Style Perspective to Investigate the Necessity of Developing Adaptive Learning Systems

Learning styles are considered to be one of the factors that need to be taken into account in developing adaptive learning systems. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate if students have the ability to choose the best-fit e-learning systems or content presentation styles for themselves in terms of learning style perspective. In this paper, we aim to investigate these issues by using two versions of an educational game developed based on the sequential/global dimension of the learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman. The experimental results showed that the choices made by the students were not related to their cognitive process or learning style; instead, most students made their choices by intuition based on personal preferences. Moreover, the students who learned with learning style-fit versions showed significantly better learning achievement than those who learned with non-fit versions. Consequently, it is concluded that students preferring one game over another does not necessarily mean that they will learn better with that version, revealing the importance and necessity of developing adaptive learning systems based on learning styles.