Influence of Learning Style Preferences on Written Communication Skills in a Blended Learning Environment

Authors

  • Gustavo Zurita-Alarcón Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Economía y Negocios Departamento de Control de Gestión y Sistemas de Información Av. Diagonal Paraguay 257 8330015 Santiago, Chile
  • Claudio Álvarez-Gómez Universidad de los Andes Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas Av. Monseñor Álvaro del Portillo 12455 7620001 las Condes, Chile

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2024.0001

Keywords:

Written Communication, Information Professionals, Higher Education, Discussion Forum, B-learning, Blended Learning, Learning Styles, Cognitive Styles, Skill Improvement, Comparative Study.

Abstract

Written communication is an essential skill for information professionals. Therefore, it is common to implement writing tasks to develop this skill in higher education. However, it is known that students' learning style preferences can influence improved written communication skills unequally among students, considering practice with writing tasks. This study examined how learning style preferences can influence the improvement of written communication skills in a blended learning environment for university students in information and management control engineering. Over seven semesters, 215 students participated in writing tasks supported by a discussion forum, and their learning style preferences were measured and analyzed using the Honey and Mumford model. Student performance on the online forum was repeatedly measured to determine the variation in written communication skills according to different learning style preferences and to identify which students benefited most from the intervention. The results indicate that although students' primary learning style preference influences their performance in written communication, these skills improve regardless of the learning style preference. Students with a primary "reflector" learning style preference were the most numerous and achieved the greatest learning gains. Students with a "theorist" learning style preference demonstrated medium-sized improvements in spelling and writing, and students with an "activist" learning style preference had small but significant increases in the quality of their justification and argumentation. Overall, the results suggest that learning style preferences are a relevant individual characteristic for personalizing electronic or hybrid learning environments in writing tasks.

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Published

2024-03-01

How to Cite

Gustavo Zurita-Alarcón, & Claudio Álvarez-Gómez. (2024). Influence of Learning Style Preferences on Written Communication Skills in a Blended Learning Environment. Profesional De La información, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2024.0001

Issue

Section

Research articles