Preferred Learning Styles Among Interior Design Students of Generation Z- How Do They Learn

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preferred learning styles among undergraduate interior design students of Generation Z. The Gregorc Style Delineator, a self-report instrument to determine learning style, was administered to 500 undergraduate interior design students enrolled in 14 Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) programs located across the United States. This wide range of data collection will help identify key demographic characteristics of the current interior design students in the United States. The findings indicated that interior design students have diverse learning styles. It is also particularly notable that a majority of the participants were bimodal 55% (n=258; 55%). The most common learning styles found among interior design students was the combination Concrete Random/Abstract Random second-most-common learning style was the unimodal Concrete Sequential. This study further investigated the relationship between the learning styles of interior design students and their gender identities. Interestingly the analysis did not find any dependent relationships between unimodal style and bimodal style however there was a marginally significant relationship between the participants’ AR/CR and CS dominant learning styles and their gender identities. Additionally, the study investigated the relationship between the learning styles of interior design students and their academic performance as measured by GPA, lecture and studio course grades. The findings provide relatively weak evidence of a link between learning styles and academic performance. Overall the results from this study can be used to help evaluate and design the best methods to facilitating instruction that supports students learning preferences and the appropriate types of technology to enhance learning outcomes.