Learning Style and Level of Achievement in

Mathematics of Grade 11 Students of

SKSU-Laboratory High School
John Paul N. Cabotaje
Mathematics Department, Notre Dame of Marbel University
Alunan Avenue, Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506
[email protected]

Abstract—The study asserts to determine the learning style and attain their full potentials. As stated in the basic principles
achievement in General Mathematics among the Grade 11 of development, the rate at which (development) occurs
Students of the Sultan Kudarat State University – Laboratory may be different from one another (Espiritu, 1996). Such
High School (SKSU-LHS) of school year 2016-2017. A total of differences resulted in the interaction of heredity and
seventy three (73) students were enrolled in the school year
environment.
2016-2017. The learning style questionnaire was adapted from
the modality questionnaire reproduced by O’Brien (1985). In the theory of Multiple Intelligences, Gardner as
The instrument consisted of three parts, to wit: Part I-Visual cited by Allan and Tomlinson (2000) stated that people have
Learning Style; Part II- Auditory Learning Style; and Part III- different intelligences and learn in many different ways.
Kinesthetic Learning Style. Each part were composed of 10 Thus, learners acquire knowledge in distinctive manner.
questions. Then, the learning style which got the highest score Some ingest information through what they see or read,
interpreted to the student’s learning style. The descriptive- while others acquire more through what they hear. Further,
ANOVA method was used in this study. The quantitative some understands more if they do experience.
analysis of O’Brien learning style results and the General Acquisition of knowledge in Mathematics is done
Mathematics grades of Grade 11 students was made using this
in different ways (Asaro, 2010). Mathematics is the study of
design. Based on the findings of this study, the P-value is less
than to the F critical value which is 4.921872. This means that quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematics seek out
there is no significant difference between Grade 11 students patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by
learning style and their achievements in General Mathematics. rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and
This result agrees to the study that no significant association definitions. Through the use of abstraction and logical
observed between the learning style and the academic reasoning, mathematics evolved from counting, calculation,
performance. There could be other possible predictor of measurement, and the systematic study of the shapes and
academic performance. It may be attributable to the study motions of physical objects.
strategy, which has been proven to have significant In the teaching learning process, it is now the
relationship between the two constructs by Cano (2005) as
responsibility of the Mathematics teacher to provide the
cited by Phan (2008).
environment suited for learning of their students. According
Keywords—Learning Style; Level of Achievement; Visual; to Asaro (2010), all good teachers work to reach their
Auditory, and Kinesthetic learners using instructional styles that work for both the
teacher and the wide variety of students. Necessary to this,
preferred learning styles of the students must be identified.
INTRODUCTION Further, according to Cruey (2010), majority of students
have some other style as primary or favorite method of
No two individuals are exactly alike. Differences approaching learning.
especially among learners could be physical, emotional, Flemming (2003) claimed that visual learners have
mental or social, but each is capable of development since a preferences for seeing. They think in pictures. Visual aids
development is the product of maturation and learning such as overhead slides, diagrams, handouts, and the like
(Espiritu, et.al, 1996). In view of this, each individual is are of importance in their learning process. In addition,
provided with inherent potentials which can be fulfilled or visual learners are those who learn things best through
hindered by the experiences provided by the environment. seeing them. Visual learning students like to keep an eye on
As part of the environment, it is the rule of education, the teacher by sitting in the front of the class and watching
particularly of school, to assist individuals explore and the lecture closely.
 On the other hand, auditory learners learn best in a learning situation especially in the SKSU-Laboratory
through listening. They learn best through listening to High School curriculum.
lectures, discussions, tapes, and other audio materials. These The study sought to determine the learning style
type of learners may struggle to understand a chapter they and achievement in General Mathematics among the Grade
have read, but then experience a full understanding as they 11 Students of the Sultan Kudarat State University –
listen to the lecture. Laboratory High School (SKSU-LHS) of the school year
The tactile/kinesthetic learners prefer to learn via 2016-2017.
experience – moving, touching, and doing. They have to do Specifically, this study sought to answer the
active exploration of the world; perform science projects following questions:
and experiments, or work with their hands and body in order 1. What is the distribution of SKSU Laboratory
for them to learn best.Moreover, tactile or kinesthetic High School Grade 11 students’ learning
learners are those who learn through experiencing or doing styles?
things. For this reason, tactile learners may become bored 2. What are the level of achievements of SKSU
more quickly than other students while listening to a class Laboratory High School Grade 11 students in
lecture. terms of:
In view of the preceding statements, Green (1999) a. Visual Learners’ Achievement;
stated that students can also use the model to identify their b. Audio Learners’ Achievement; and
preferred learning style and maximize their educational c. Kinesthetic Learners’ Achievement?
experience by focusing on what benefits them the most. 3. Is there a significant difference between
Being able to identify a student’s learning style and teach to Grade 11 students learning style and their
accommodate these can assist students to achieve better achievements in General Mathematics?
results academically and improve their attitudes toward
learning. Hence, learning style use in pedagogy allows
teachers to prepare classes that address each of these areas. METHODOLOGY
Stenberg (1997) believed that greater awareness of
learning preferences and styles helps teachers to be more This section presents the research design, research
flexible in their teaching and to utilize a wide range of participants, research instruments, and statistical analysis
classroom methodologies. The aim is not to match teaching which outline the process in which the study was conducted.
style to learner preferences, but to help the learner build Research Design
their skills and capacities to learn well in both preferred and The descriptive-ANOVA method was used in this
less preferred modes of learning (meta-learning), thus study. The quantitative analysis of O’Brien learning style
developing effective and lifelong learners who can monitor results and the General Mathematics grades of Grade 11
their learning strategies and evaluate their outcomes or students was made using this design.
achievement.
Additionally, a compatible learning style with the Research Participants
teaching style of a subject teacher enables the students to The Grade 11 students of SKSU-LHS were the
retain the information much longer, apply it more efficiently respondents of this study. A total of seventy three (73)
and effectively, and have more positive post-subject students were enrolled in the school year 2016-2017. All of
attitudes towards the subject than their counterparts who them were included in the study.
experience learning/teaching styles mismatches (Felder,
1993). In other words, since there are individual differences Research Instruments
in learning style, adapting academic materials to these The learning style questionnaire was adapted from
differences will facilitate learning and thus help increase the modality questionnaire reproduced by O’Brien (1985).
learning benefits “especially for low and moderate The instrument consisted of three parts, to wit: Part I-Visual
achieving students” (Zin, Zaman & Noah, 2002). Therefore Learning Style; Part II- Auditory Learning Style; and Part
the understanding students’ learning styles and their impact III- Kinesthetic Learning Style. Each part were composed of
on their academic achievement is important for teachers for 10 questions. Then, the learning style which got the highest
it is the first step in ensuring students’ achievement. score interpreted to the student’s learning style.
The findings of this research adds to the belief that
Statistical Analysis
learning styles as determined by self-assessment
The simple frequency counts and percentage were
instruments improve academic achievement, since the
used to identify the learning styles of the students. Hence,
learner is able to discover his/her preferred way of
the general mathematics mean grade of the students in every
knowledge acquisition and the learning process they employ
learning style was also identified.
 The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was others (O’Brien, 1985). This means that these students were
used in determining the significant difference between the depends on hearing and speaking as a main way of learning.
Grade 11 students’ learning styles and their achievement in The table only shows that the SKSU-LHS grade
General Mathematics. This test was set to 0.01 level of eleven students have varied learning styles. Thus, these
significance. students learn differently from one another and they should
be taught in various ways to cater their learning needs.
Definition of Terms Understanding these learning styles would help in providing
In order to grasp understanding of the study, the students with appropriate approaches in improving their
following terms are defined according to how they are use academic achievements. Therefore, educators should
in the study. consider this fact if they wanted learning to be meaningful
Level of Achievement refers to the grades of the among the learners.
students in general mathematics of grade 11 students.
Learning Style refers to visual, auditory, and Students’ Achievement in Mathematics
kinesthetic behavior that serve as relatively stable indicators The students’ achievements in General
of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the Mathematics according to their learning styles were being
learning environment. displayed in this portion. These include the Visual Learners’
Achievement, the Auditory Learners’ Achievement, and the
Kinesthetic Learners’ Achievement.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Visual Learners’ Achievement
This section presents the gathered data and the There were 32 students who were visual learners. It
corresponding analyses and interpretation could be noted that most of these students who were
gradedranging from 85 to 89 with 13 or 40.63%. Only one
Students’ Learning Styles studenthas grade from 75 to 79 which is only 3.12% of the
Table 1 below shows the grade eleven students’ students. Table 2 below presents frequency distribution of
learning styles. As seen in the table, the whole sample was the visual learners’ grades.
distributed into three learning styles. The percentage on
every learning style was also included in the table. Table 2. The Achievements of Visual Learners

Table 1. The Learning Styles of Grade 11 Students Grading Description Frequency Percentage
Scale
Learning Style Frequency Percentage 90-100 Outstanding 10 31.25
Visual 33 45.21 85-89 Very Satisfactory 13 40.63
Auditory 17 23.28 80-84 Satisfactory 8 25.00
Kinesthetic 23 31.51 75-79 Fairly Satisfactory 1 3.12
Below 75 Did not meet Expectations 0 0.00
N = 73
Mean Grade = 87.81 SD= 4.36
Most of the students were visual learners with 33
or 45.21% of the entire grade eleven students. This means The table shows that 10 or 31.25% of the students
that most of the students are preferences for seeing or grade from 90 to 100 which belong to the outstanding
watching demonstrations (O’Brien, 1985). They think in grading scale. This followed by 8 or 25.00% of the students
pictures, visual aids such as overhead slides, diagrams and who were graded ranging from 80 to 84.
handouts. The mean found to be 87.81 with the standard
Accordingly, kinesthetic learners appeared to be deviation of 4.36. Thus, the grades were not that disperse.
the next dominant learning style with 23 or 31.51%. The There exists close distances among the visual learners’
learning takes place by the students carrying out physical grades.
activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching The visual learners’ achievement were considered
demonstrations.They tend to remember best what was done, very satisfactory. Visual learners can organize work and
not what was seen or talked about (O’Brien, 1985). living space to avoid distractions (O’Brien, 1987) and they
Among the three, auditory learners have the lowest should use visual association, visual imagery, written
frequency with 17 or 23.28%. This only tells us that repetition, flash cards, and clustering strategies for
auditory learning style is the least preferable way of the improved memory. It should also be noted that they really
students in learning through verbal instructions from self or appreciate working in teams; hence, they are supposed to
work in pairs or in groups. Furthermore, their achievements
show that their learning have been properly addressed by Table 4. The Achievements of Kinesthetic Learners
the teachers.
Grading Description Frequency Percentage
Auditory Learners’ Achievement Scale
Table 3 below is the distribution of the auditory learners’ 90-100 Outstanding 9 37.50
grades.
85-89 Very Satisfactory 10 41.67
As seen on the table, there were two (2) or 11.76%
80-84 Satisfactory 5 20.83
who obtained grades ranging from 80 to 84. There were
75-79 Fairly Satisfactory 0 0.00
nine (9) or 52.95% who obtained grades ranging from 85 to
Below 75 Did not meet Expectations 0 0.00
89 and six (6) or 35.29% got grade from 90 to 100.
Mean Grade = 87.97 SD = 3.74
Table 3. The Achievements of Auditory Learners The table also presents that ten (10) or 41.67% of
these students obtained grades ranging from 85 to 89 while
Grading Description Frequency Percentage nine (9) students or 37.50% reached the highest grade
Scale interval. Moreover, there were five (5) or 20.83% who were
90-100 Outstanding 6 35.29 graded from 80 to 84.
85-89 Very Satisfactory 9 52.95 Table 4 further shows that the students’
80-84 Satisfactory 2 11.76 achievements on general mathematics were also very
75-79 Fairly Satisfactory 0 0.00 satisfactory.These students are supposed to use direct
Below 75 Did not meet Expectations 0 0.00 involvement, physical manipulation, imagery, and "hands
on" activities to improve motivation, interest, and memory.
Mean Grade = 88.18 SD =3.76
They should allow for physical movement and periodic
The highest grade was 96 and the lowest was 82. breaks during tests, while reading, or while composing
The mean score was 88.18 with the standard deviation of written assignments. Yet, it shows that these kinesthetic
3.76. Likewise, the table further shows that most of the learners have very satisfactory achievements on general
students’ grades were around the mean. This shows that mathematics. Hence, these learners met how they are
most of these students grade are very satisfactory. supposed to learn.
Based on the previous table, the auditory learners’
achievement on general mathematics were also very Students’ Achievements in Relation to their Learning
satisfactory. According to O’Brien (1985), people with Styles
these learning styles are using mnemonics, rhymes, jingles, The summary of the mean scores, standard
and auditory repetition through tape recording to improve deviation scores and the computed r-value is presented on
memory to obtain the accurate solution to a problem. Hence, the table below.
lecture method would still be appropriate but demonstration
should follow it immediately. Teachers must be used test Table 5. Learners’ Sum Square, df, Mean Square, F
preparation strategies that emphasize auditory processing of Statistic, P-Value and F Critical.
information since these learners respect the knowledge of
the experts. Moreover, these students prefer work in quiet Source of
areas to reduce distractions, avoiding areas with Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
conversations, music, and television. Nevertheless, their Between
achievements appeared to be very satisfactory. Thus, Groups 1.601944 2 0.800972 0.047118 0.954005 4.921872
these activities had been given emphasis to this particular Within
Groups 1189.955 70 16.99936
set of learners.

Kinesthetic Learners’ Achievement

Total 1191.557 72
These students were able to learn by doing and Table 5 shows the sum of squares of between
direct involvement (O’Brien, 1987). As seen on the next groups is 1.601944 and 1189.955 for within groups
table, the scores were in a cluster. It reveals that the lowest respectively. Since 𝛼 = 0.01 and df = 2, 70, and there is a
grade was 82 and the highest was 95. Their mean score is
significant difference if 𝐹2,70 ≤ 4.921872 which is the
87.97 with a standard deviation of 3.74. The kinesthetic
value of F critical. The computed value of the F statistic is
learners’ grades were displayed on Table 4 below.
0.047118.
 The table shows that the computed P-value was B. Paz for the intellectual support, unselfish suggestions and
0.954005. This implies that there is no significant difference constructive criticisms; Prof. Gemena C. Billano for
of the students’ achievements on general mathematics in allowing to conduct the study in SKSU-LHS, and to the
relation to their learning styles. This means that the Grade 11 STEM Students, who become the respondents of
students’ achievements regardless of their learning styles this study, for their cooperation; Friends and classmates for
are not suitable to how learners prefer to learn. the loyal friendship, sisterly and brotherly advice, and for
sharing the smiles and tears; Mamang Aida for the
CONCLUSIONS unconditional love; Loving brothers and sisters for the
encouragements, sacrifices, and financial support needed for
Today’s teacher knows that the ways in which the completion of the study. Above all, the researcher wants
students learn vary greatly. Individual students have to bring back all the glory to the Almighty God, my Creator
particular strengths and weaknesses which can be built upon for all the love, blessings, guidance, talents and strengths
and enhanced through effective instruction. Based on the bestowed on me and wisdom for making this study
findings of this study, the P value is less than to the F successful. To God be all the glory.
critical value which is 4.921872. This means that there is no
significant difference between Grade 11 students learning
style and their achievements in General Mathematics. This REFERENCES
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