Students’ Perceptions of ILS as a Learning-Style-Identification Tool in E-Learning Environments

Abstract

This paper presents the evaluation of the Index of Learning Styles, an assessment tool of the Felder–Silverman learning model. A few studies have previously evaluated this tool, but as far as we know, none of them considered the learners’ opinion to achieve their goals. Considering that many studies suggest continuing with the Index of Learning Styles’ evaluation, an experimental study was conducted using Protus, developed as an adaptive learning system. Analysing the concurrent validity of the Index of Learning Styles, students’ learning preferences were acquired via two different tools: the Index of Learning Styles and the subjective questionnaire. Results suggest that the Index of Learning Styles is valid for defining learning style at the beginning of the learning process, resolving the cold-start problem. We found some differences between the results of the Index of Learning Styles and subjective assessment. By enhancing the Protus user interface with new functionality, which allows a free choice of the learning style during the learning process, we overcome the observed limitations of the Index of Learning Styles. This solution could be implemented in different personalised e-learning environments, regardless of the applied assessment tool, leading to a more reliable student model.