PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLES PERCEPTUAL LEARNING STYLES OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION STUDENTS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

AT TRAT TECHNICAL COLLEGEAT TRAT TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Presented by Mr. Nattawut Matluang, Student Number: 53631521, Email: eric.nattawut@gmail.com

Department of Applied Arts, Faculty of Industrial Education, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL)

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS

CONCLUSION

DISSCUSSION

SUGGESTION

One of the significant languages in the world is definitely English language (Hou, 2009).

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

English is official language in more than 50 countries (CIA, 2012)

Educational Improvement in the 2nd Decade of Education Reform (2011-2018) on English ability (OEC, 2011)

Student should be aware of their learning styles which teachers need to guarantee this (Pask, 1977)

Teachers need to assess the learning styles of their students

Knowing students' learning styles is significant in learning.

Only Nimmanpisood (1992) and Buranarek (2002) studied the learning styles in English language on certificate vocational students.

No research emphasized on diploma vocational students'perceptual learning styles in Thailand

Research QuestionsResearch Questions

What are the perceptual learning styles of vocational

education students in six programs at Trat Technical

College?

Are there any differences between the perceptual learning

styles of vocational education students from different

programs?

Objectives of the StudyObjectives of the Study

To compare the perceptual learning styles of vocational education students from different programs at Trat Technical College.

To investigate the perceptual learning styles of the vocational education students in six programs at Trat Technical College.

CurriculumCurriculum for the Diploma of Vocational Education

Literature ReviewLiterature Review

Principlesskilled workersoccupational competenciesan opportunity for the business sector

Objectivesto produce and develop skilled workers with

knowledge, vocational skills, morals, ethics, disciplines, attitude, personality, and intelligence.

Learning styles qualified as cognitive, affective, and psychological behavior which show how learner perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment (NASSP 1979).

Definition of Learning StylesDefinition of Learning Styles

Learning styles refer to “stable, pervasive characteristics of individual, expressed through the interaction of one's behaviors and personality as one approaches a learning task” (Reid 1987)

Related ResearchesRelated Researches

Willing (1988) conducted a research with respect to the learning styles in adult migrant education

- Impossible for statistically valid cross-comparisons

- There were cultural differences with respect to the learning style preferences of the learners.

International Related Researches

Reid (1987) conducted a research with respect to the learning style preferences of ESL learners.ESL learners strongly preferred kinesthetic and tactile

learning stylesMost groups showed a negative preference for group

learning

Stebbins (1995) replicated Reid’s (1987) study to obtain more information about the similarities and differences in learning styles between ESL learners and Native English Speakers (NESs).Results paralleled with Reid’s resultsKinesthetic and tactile learning styles were strongly

preferred by ESL students when compared to NESs

- Boonsuk (2008) surveyed 433 Pondok schools students. Most students preferred the group learning styles.

Domestic Related Researches

- Simsek (2005) explored 134 secondary school students. Most students preferred kinesthetic style.

- Nimmanpisut (1992) surveyed 1,181 certificate students. They used visual, auditory, group and individual learning styles at the moderate level

- Banbang (2010) surveyed 232 undergraduate students. Engineering preferred visual learning styles the most while Applied Science preferred kinesthetic the most

METHODOLODYMETHODOLODY

The population was 477 diploma students who were learning English as a foreign language at Trat Technical College, Thailand.

The samples were 170 second-year diploma students enrolled in Developing Skills for English Communication 2 in the first semester of academic year 2012.

Population and samplesPopulation and samples

The samples were six programs; Building Construction Technology, Mechanical Technology, Electrical Power Technology, Electronics Technology, Accounting, and Marketing.

To determine students' learning styles using Perceptual Learning Styles Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ)

Questionnaires

PLSPQIndividual

demographic

information

To measure six learning styles; visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, group and individual learning styles

METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY

InstrumentInstrument

Perceptual Learning Styles

1) Visual Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through visual perception.

2) Auditory Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through auditory perception.

3) Kinesthetic Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through whole-body movement.

4) Tactile Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through touch and hand-on activity.

5) Group Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through working with others.

6) Individual Style: Tendency to learn more effectively through working alone.

Levels of Learning Styles Preferences

Level of Learning Styles Preference Score

Major 38 to 50

Minor 25 to 37

Negligible 0 to 24

The Meaning ofLearning Styles Preferences' Average Mean Scores

Frequency Average

The Highest 4.50 to 5.00

High 3.50 to 4.49

Medium 2.50 to 3.49

Low 1.50 to 2.49

The Lowest 1.00 to 1.49

Data Analysis and Statistical Procedures

Analysis of Research toolsAnalysis of Research tools

Validity and reliability of the research tools

Descriptive statistics

- The instrument validation value calculated by IOC was 91.1%.- A pilot questionnaire with 65 diploma students in three programs calculated by Cronbach Alpha was 0.898.

Analysis of research questionsAnalysis of research questions

- Research question one : statistical procedures, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation

- Research question two : One-Way ANOVA at a significance level of p<0.05

RESULTS

Students' Demographic Background

Table 4.1: Summary for Demographic Background of Samples by Genders and Programs

Result of Question One

Research Question One: What are the perceptual learning styles of vocational education students in six programs at Trat Technical College?

Table 4.2: Mean and Level of Perceptual Learning Styles

The result showed the two levels of perceptual learning styles: Major and Minor levels.

Figure 4.1 Overall of Mean in Students’ Perceptual Learning Styles

Major: Group, Kinesthetic, and Auditory.

Minor:Visual, Tactile, and Individual.

Result of Question TwoResearch Question Two: Are there any differences between the perceptual learning styles of vocational education students from different programs?

Table 4.3: The Comparison of Students' Perceptual Learning Styles in 6 Programs

Statistical significant differences : Electrical Power Technology (p=.001*), Electronics Technology (p=.002*), and Accounting (p=.001*)No statistical significant differences : Building Construction Technology (p=.019), Mechanical Technology (p=.113), and Marketing (p=.011)

Based on the result of Table 4.3, it can be seen in Figure 4.2

Figure 4.2: The Comparison of Students' Perceptual Learning Styles in 6 Programs

Table 4.4: Mean ( ), Standard Derivation (SD) and Frequency of Learning Styles in each Program

The statistical significant differences at the level of 0.05 found according to learning styles in three programs: Electrical Power Technology (F = 2.871, p = .001*), Electronics Technology (F = 2.496, p = .002*), and Accounting (F = 2.462, p = .001*).

Electrical Power Technology students "High" level in Group, Kinesthetic, and Auditory learning styles"Medium" level in Tactile, and Visual learning styles"Low" level in Individual learning style

Electronics Technology students"High" level in Group, Kinesthetic, Auditory, and Tactile learning styles"Medium" level in Visual and Individual learning styles

Accounting students "High" level in Group, Kinesthetic, Auditory, Visual, and Tactile learning styles"Medium" level in Individual learning style

Research Question One: What are the perceptual learning styles of vocational education students in six programs at Trat Technical College?

CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Research Question Two: Are there any differences between the perceptual learning styles of vocational education students from different programs?

The statistical significant differences at the level of 0.05 were found according to learning styles in three programs: Electrical Power Technology, Electronics Technology, and Accounting.There was nono statistical significant difference of students' learning styles in Building Construction Technology, Mechanical Technology, and Marketing.

It showed two levels of learning styles preferences: Major learning style preference and Minor learning style preference. The Major learning style preference included Group, Kinesthetic and Auditory styles, while the Minor learning style preference included Visual, Tactile and Individual styles.

This section discusses perceptual learning styles of 170 students in six programs; Building Construction Technology, Mechanical Technology, Electrical Power Technology, Electronics Technology, Accounting, and Marketing at Trat Technical College.

DiscussionDiscussion

Singhasiri et al. (2004) studied learning styles 63 first year Architecture student at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. Most students liked learning in groups through games and pictures.

Boonsuk (2008) surveyed 433 Pondok schools students. Most students preferred the Group learning styles as their Major learning styles.

Matched findings in previous studiesMatched findings in previous studies

Watanasin (2004) studied 20 students at Chulalongkorn University. Students preferred Group learning style and nearly preferred Visual, Auditory and Tactile and Kinesthetic learning styles.

Simsek (2005) explored 134 Thai secondary school students.Most students preferred Kinesthetic style while Individual style was the Negligible learning style preference.

Banbang (2010) investigated 114 Applied Science students at King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok. Students preferred Kinesthetic learning styles as the most preference style.

Matched findings in previous studiesMatched findings in previous studies

Stebbins (1995) replicated Reid’s (1987) study ESL learners and Native English Speakers. Kinesthetic and Tactile learning styles were strongly preferred by ESL students when compared to NESs.

The results in vocational education were different from Reid (1997)

ESL learners strongly preferred Kinesthetic and Tactile learning styles.Group learning styles was chosen as the Negligible learning style.

Nimmanpisut (1992) surveyed 1,181 certificate students in the Department of Vocational Education. Students used Group and Auditory at the moderate level.

In Vocational EducationIn Vocational Education

Lin et al. (2006) investigated 400 vocational Taiwanese students in vocational college and junior collegeMost students preferred Visual styles, while Individual style and Group style were the least preferred styles.

Thai students preferred Kinesthetic and Tactile as Major learning styles preferences, Visual, Auditory and Individual learning styles as the Minor learning styles,Group learning styles as the Negligible learning style.

In this research, the findings showed that, the statistical significant differences were found in three programs: Electrical Power Technology, Electronics Technology, and Accounting.

Simsek's (2005) showed that Individual was the Negligible learning style of secondary school students.

This study was different from Simsek's (2005) and Boonsuk's (2008) findings, they indicated that Individual style was the lowest rank in students’ perceptual learning styles.

Boonsuk's (2008) indicated that the students from the three Pondok schools chose Individual learning styles as the lowest preference.

This supported Simsek (2005), she found the significant difference between males and females in group learning style and there was the significant difference between males and females in Kinesthetic learning style.

There was no statistical significant difference of students' learning styles in Building Construction Technology, Mechanical Technology, and Marketing

Students in vocational education should be provided the opportunity to learn through their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

Students can get over obstructions for their learning achievement and in lifelong learning in the future.

They are able to use their Major learning style (Group, Kinesthetic and Auditory styles) and Minor learning style (Visual, Tactile and Individual styles) in learning.

This study showed that students used both Major learning style and Minor learning style levels.

Major: Group, Kinesthetic and Auditory styles. Minor: Visual, Tactile and Individual styles. They didn't use Negligible learning style level at all.

They need to integrate every learning style to succeed the task in classrooms. Sometimes, they feel comfortably in some learning styles (Major) and they also learn well in particular way (Minor).

3) Teachers should use learning style instrument to determine students' learning styles preferences, thus they are able to prepare the lesson properly according to students’ learning styles preferences, but also they should modify learning styles preferences of students to be covered all six learning styles.

2) Teachers should provide the classrooms with the teaching methods which meets the way of students' learning styles preferences.

SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions for Pedagogical Instruction

4) Teachers should try to enhance every learning style preferences. This can develop their students' learning styles and build more skills for their learning and communication.

1) Teachers should design the curricula by integrating all learning styles into the course with various activities.

3) Further research should determine students' learning styles in different disciplines and various colleges over Thailand.

2) Further investigation should be considered both on learning styles and learning strategies as they both have the effect in students' learning.

Suggestions for Further Studies

4) Further study can be investigated by using interview and class observation.

1) Further research should be focused on both teaching styles and learning styles as it can significantly enhance academic achievements.

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