Which Factors Affect Learner Achievement? Analysing the Role of Psychological, Surface Level, Environmental and Learner Effort Variables

Abstract

<p>The meshing hypothesis of learning styles suggests that matching teaching and learning styles<br />can promote learning experience. In this research, learning styles (psychological variable),<br />gender diversity (surface level variable), learning modes (environmental variable), and<br />learning time (learner effort variable) were integrated in a model in order to explore their<br />pedagogical impacts on learner performance. The investigated learning environments adopted<br />the traditional teaching approach of ‘one-size-fits-all’. Variables of 59 undergraduate students<br />were measured using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), an academic record, and a log file of<br />Moodle system. Based on the proposed model, the identified hypotheses were quantitatively<br />analysed. Surface level, environmental, and learner effort variables showed to have a<br />significant effect on learner performance. However, the meshing hypothesis could not be<br />proven. This suggests that other variables are more likely to influence achievement than<br />learning styles.</p>