Learning and teaching styles are very important factors in the process of learning and teaching, as they should match together for the students to succeed in the studies. When the learning styles among the students do not match with the teaching styles used by the teachers, it will cause de-motivation, frustration, and learning failures ( Gilakjani, 2012 ). When the students fail, the teacher as well will have failed. Therefore, the teacher should choose the teaching styles matching the needs of the learners. Moreover, learning experiences determines the success of the students. For example, the technological application used when learning and the environment contributes to their success or failure. The topic is important and interesting, as it touches education as the most important and crucial sector globally ( Holzweiss et al., 2014 ). Through this essay, I will investigate the impacts of match or mismatch between the learning styles among students and teaching styles used by the teachers as well the learning experiences among learners.
Summary of the Empirical Research Articles
The two articles that I selected are “ Online Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Best Learning Experiences ” by Holzweiss (2014) and “ A Match or Mismatch between Learning Styles of the Learners and Teaching Styles of the Teachers ” by Gilakjani (2012). Before locating and selecting the two empirical articles, I had many articles that I narrowed to the two depending on the contents of the abstract as well as the methodology section ( Gilakjani, 2012 ). I selected the two because they are primary studies and peer-reviewed. Their abstracts showed the participants and the methods used in selecting the participants thereby confirming their nature as primary research articles.
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Considering the evaluation process conducted regarding the two empirical articles, I consider them as credible and trustworthy. Holzweiss et al. (2014) funded their research because they were prepared from the beginning to bear the cost of the research study. With the funds raised by the researchers, the research article was credible because no external organization or individual influenced the results ( Holzweiss et al., 2014 ). The article was published after its credibility had been proven considering the aims of the study, participants, recommendations and its implications. The article recommended more research studies on the experiences among the online learning students claiming that the topic had not been adequately investigated as the most of the researchers focus on graduate studies and the application of technology on face-to-face instruction.
In his part, ( Gilakjani, 2012 ) funded his research because he had the passion for education especially languages for a long period. Since he has been working in the education sector for a long period, the researcher and author of this article were focused in ensuring that the match between the learning styles among the students and the teaching styles used by the teachers is achieved such that the students can succeed ( Gilakjani, 2012 ). The experience held by the researcher, topic of the research, and the procedure of identifying and selecting the participants as well as the presentation of the results proved that the article was credible and trustworthy. Additionally, the credibility and trustworthiness of the article played a major role in the review process before publication. The review process determined that the researcher had met most of the requirements needed before an article is published for the members of the public to access. The contents of the research study were helpful to the students as well as the teachers in determining and matching the learning with the teaching styles. Many teachers have been teaching without considering the guidelines as well as the training offered to them regarding the identification of learning styles among the students. The article would address such issues among the teachers, students, and education stakeholders prompting its publication after the review process.
In his study, ( Gilakjani, 2012 ) article focused on determining the learning styles among the students and whether it matches with the teaching styles used by teachers. Additionally, the researcher wanted to explain learning styles, teaching styles, match, or mismatch and its implications for the English as First Language and English as Second Language classrooms. The researcher selected and administered questionnaires to more than 100 students addressing issues regarding their learning styles and their nature as kinesthetic, visual, or auditory. The questionnaires were designed to guarantee students’ confidentiality regarding their personal information ( Gilakjani, 2012 ). They would fill the questionnaires, which could be later analyzed by the researcher together with the contributions from the teachers. The results augured with the hypotheses. The research study had two hypotheses; the mismatch between learning, teaching styles causes failures, de-motivation, and frustration, and that all the students have to learn styles and to learn strengths and weaknesses. However, I was surprised that the matching of learning and teaching styles would not enable the students to achieve their success goals and targets without considering other factors. It was determined that teachers have different teaching styles, which can work for a given period that they can be changed. The weaknesses of this study are that teachers were not given a chance to offer their views through filling the questionnaires.
In their article, Holzweiss et al. (2014) invited 86 students who had enrolled in online Master of Arts programs to participate in the study. The students were aged between 19 and 61 years with an average age of 36 years. The students came from different races with 53 % being white, 24% African America, 15% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 1% Native American and 1% multiracial. The students were invited to respond to an online survey through email. All the invited students were given five weeks to respond, and they were frequently reminded. From the invited students, 60 of them responded to the online survey, which was 70% of the 86 invited students. The online survey required the students to respond regarding their experiences regarding the online learning at the graduate level ( Holzweiss et al., 2014 ). Considering the results obtained from the study, especially the five major themes were consistent with the hypotheses. The five major themes that featured in the results of the survey were interaction with peers, faculty engagement, critical thinking assignments, personal responsibility, and instructional technology. The surprising finding in the study was the understanding that limited researchers had been conducted regarding the online learning and environment among the graduate students. Its strength is that it covered a wide range of students that they offered different views about online learning experiences that represented the field adequately.
Conclusion
The two articles are accurate regarding the results obtained, which helped in understanding the learning experiences and teaching styles. The aspect of linking the two was lauded although teachers had to be allowed to apply their best teaching styles updated periodically. Ideally, they will enable the students to learn which the teacher can teach effectively ( Gilakjani, 2012 ). Online learning among the graduate students had not been fully utilized as many students preferred face-to-face instruction methods. It was found that the face-to-face instruction is still preferred as the instructors can interact with the students directly and they can interpret their level of understanding as compared with online learning. Such students reported that best learning experience enables them to create and share knowledge through critical thinking and problem-solving assignments. With their publishing years as 2012 and 2014, the findings can still be applied today with slight changes as per some changes in the education sector. The articles help me understand all groups of people in the society. The article by Gilakjani (2012 helped me understand the learning strategies adopted by graduate students aged between 19 and 61 years while that by Holzweiss et al. (2014) widened my understanding on students and teachers in general.
References
Gilakjani, A. P. (2012). A match or mismatch between learning styles of the learners and teaching styles of the teachers. International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science , 4 (11): 51-60.
Holzweiss, P. C., Joyner, S. A., Fuller, M. B., Henderson, S., & Young, R. (2014). Online graduate students’ perceptions of best learning experiences. Distance education , 35 (3): 311-323.
