A Quantitative Analysis of Student Learning Styles and Teacher Teachings Strategies in a Mexican Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Research on learning processes has shown that students tend to learn in different ways and prefer to use different

teaching resources. The understanding of learning styles can be used to identify, and implement, better teaching and

learning strategies, in order to allow students to acquire new knowledge in a more effective and efficient way. In this

study we analyze similarities and differences in learning styles among students enrolled in computing courses, in

engineering and social sciences programs at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). In addition, we

also analyze similarities and differences among the teaching strategies shown by their corresponding teachers. A

comparative analysis on student learning profiles and course outcomes, allow us to suggest that, despite academic

program differences, there are strong similarities among the students learning styles, as well as among the teaching

styles of their professors. Seemingly, a consistent pattern of how these students learn also exists: Active, Sensitive,

Visual and Sequential. At the end of the paper, we discuss how these findings might have significant implications in

developing effective pedagogic strategies, as well as didactic multimedia based materials for each one of these

academic programs.