The association of methodology and student learning style on a student's perception of a collegiate leadership course

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of various learning activities between field-independent and field-dependent students in a collegiate leadership course. The design for this research was an ex-post facto design, with both correlational and causal-comparative elements. The sample for this study consisted of subjects registered for selected leadership labs conducted by the Department of Agricultural Education at Texas A&M University during the Fall Semester, 1995. Two instruments were used in this study. One was used to ascertain the student's learning style and the other was to look at the student's perceived effectiveness of the selected learning activities used in this course. SPSS statistical procedures NOVA, Pearson correlations, and t tests were used to analyze the data. The major findings of this study were as follows: 1. There was no relationship between learning style and perceived effectiveness of high involvement activities. 2. There were no differences between male's and female's learning styles. 3. There were some statistically significant differences between the students' perception Of facilitation effectiveness and real world application. 4. The majority of the participants in this study were field-independent learners. 5. There were no significant relationships between perceived effectiveness of specific instructional methodologies, student's age, gender and ethnicity, and student's learning style.