The impact of learning styles on student satisfaction, stress and overflow in e-learning environments

Wpływ stylów uczenia się na zadowolenie studentów, stres i przeciążenie podczas e-nauki

Rapid technological advancements, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have made the e-learning experience a crucial aspect of the value proposition provided by higher education institutions to their students. However, general perception of the e-learning experience may be influenced by the characteristics of the students. This study specifically addresses one such critical characteristic: the individual learning style. The main research question of this study examines how individual learning styles might affect students' perceptions of e-learning experiences, with focus on their reported stress levels, feelings of overflow, and overall satisfaction with e-learning. A survey was conducted with a sample of 532 students to investigate these dynamics. The study utilized k-means cluster analysis to segment respondents based on their preferred learning styles and employed ANOVA with the Bonferroni post-hoc test to identify differences between the resulting clusters. The findings reveal that students with deep and strategic learning styles reported significantly lower levels of stress and overflow during the pandemic, compared to their peers with a surface learning style. Additionally, they expressed greater satisfaction with their e-learning experience. These insights indicate that online learning is best utilized as a supplement to traditional face-to-face instruction, as exclusive reliance on online modalities may increase stress and overflow for many students.

Postęp technologiczny, przyśpieszony przez pandemię COVID-19, sprawił, że doświadczenie e-nauki stało kluczowym elementem propozycji wartości, którą uczelnie oferują swoim studentom. Jednak percepcja doświadczenia e-nauki może być zależna od cech studentów. Niniejsze badanie skupia się szczególnie na jednej z cech, a mianowicie na indywidualnym stylu uczenia się. Główne pytanie badawcze dotyczy wpływu stylów uczenia się na percepcję doświadczeń e-nauki przez studentów, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem odczuwanego stresu, przeciążenia i ogólnego zadowolenia. W celu zbadania tych zależności przeprowadzono ankietę na próbie 532 studentów. W badaniu wykorzystano analizę skupień k-średnich do podziału respondentów na grupy na podstawie ich preferowanych stylów nauki oraz zastosowano analizę wariancji ANOVA z testem post-hoc Bonferroniego, aby zidentyfikować różnice między grupami. Wyniki wskazują, że studenci o głębokim i strategicznym stylu uczenia się doświadczali istotnie niższego poziomu stresu i uczucia przeciążenia w okresie pandemii w porównaniu ze swoimi rówieśnikami o stylu powierzchownym, a także wyrażali wyższe zadowolenie. Oznacza to, że zajęcia online najlepiej sprawdzą się jako uzupełnienie tradycyjnych zajęć stacjonarnych, gdyż wyłączne poleganie na metodach online może skutkować poczuciem wyższego stresu i przeciążenia.

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