Not All Cut from the Same Cloth: Learning Styles and Curriculum Delivery in Higher Education

The goal of this study, related to the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education, was to better understand how journalism students at a Canadian university preferred to learn and, by extension, how they might best be taught. To achieve this, the Felder & Soloman Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire was administered to 80 students in their final year of the journalism program. Results from the survey revealed that participants favoured active and visual forms of learning, among their learning preferences. Although prior research suggests that respecting students’ learning preferences does not necessarily result in better learning outcomes as measured by tests, data suggest that using a wide range of teaching styles has the potential to increases student engagement. With this in mind, the study explores methods of curriculum delivery which respect students’ learning preferences.