Influence of matching student's learning styles with teacher's teaching styles upon mathematics achievement

This study was designed to investigate if matching teaching and learning styles with at-risk fourth grade students would have an effect on learning mathematics. Participants were drawn from 2 schools and 5 classrooms in an inner-city community and assigned to the matched or nonmatched groups. A posttest control group design was used. The assessment used for the posttest was the New York State Grade 4 Mathematics Achievement Tests. The scale's scores were used to determine any significant difference between teaching styles and students' academic achievement. Students' and teachers' perceptual preferences (auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, and visual) of the LSI and PEPS (standard scores) were used to examine matched and mismatched teaching and learning style preferences. The matched and nonmatched groups completed the Price and Dunn Learning Style Inventory, which determines students' preferred learning styles. Teachers were given the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey to determine their preferred teaching styles.; The findings did not support predicted differences in mathematic achievement between fourth graders who were and were not matched to their teachers' teaching styles. The results may have been affected by students' inability to process information, their low self-esteem and motivation, their inability to be emotionally involved in the learning process, their teachers' inability to teach mathematics, and a negative learning environment. Future research should explore whether changes in these factors would result in improvements when comparing teaching and learning styles.