Learning-style preferences of a diverse freshmen population in a large private, metropolitan university by gender, GPA, and institution

Three purposes of this researcher were to determine (a) the extent of diversity that actually existed among college freshmen's learning styles, (b) whether and how learning style might be influenced by gender, and (c) if high school grade-point average (HS GPA) was a determining factor in freshmen academic success. The Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS), (Dunn & Dunn, & Price, 1996) was administered to approximately 1500 diverse college freshmen. Its findings revealed statistical differences among students' learning styles for the elements of Sound, Light, Temperature, Motivation and Responsibility.; Pearson Correlations indicated that students with high GPAs had strong preferences for Light (p < .049) and a formal seating Design, (p < .001) while studying new and difficult academic material. They also evidenced high Motivation, ( p < .001), Persistence, (p < .001), and Responsibility, (p < .001) and preferred Evening (p < .035) as their optimal time for learning. Students with the highest HSGPAs preferred learning either Alone or with an Authority Figure present and in the Late Morning or Afternoon rather than in Evening. Students with the lowest HSGPAs preferred learning in the Evening, with Sound (music or conversation in the environment), in low Light, and they were Motivated but required frequent Mobility.; Concerning gender differences within the freshmen group, although male students indicated a stronger need for learning with an Authority Figure present, they also were more Visual, needed more Structure and Mobility, and were strongly Afternoon learners in comparison with the females in the sample. Conversely, female students revealed higher means for bright Light, a warm Temperature, a formal seating Design, Motivation, learning Alone rather than with Peers, Intake while concentrating, and a variety of approaches (learning in Several Ways). Consistent with female traits internationally, this sample appeared to have multiple perceptual strengths---being more Auditory, Tactile, and Kinesthetic, and consistently more Persistent and Responsible (Conforming) than their male counterparts. Another variable on which these males and females differed were females' preference for learning in the Late Morning in contrast with males' preference for Afternoon learning.; Only the element of Kinesthetic revealed pairwise differences between students in the Colleges of Business and Professional Studies in contrast with those students in the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health.