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The Impact of Student Verbal/Visual Learning Style Preference on Implementing Groupware in the Classroom

by Sloan-C

Author Information

Author(s):

D’Arcy Becker, Assistant Professor

Author(s):

Meg Dwyer, Associate Professor

Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where Research Occured:

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

Volume and Issue Information

Volume:

2

Issue:

2

Month:

September

Year:

1998

Educators believe that group projects are an increasingly essential part of classroom assignments. The working world is one of working groups, and student exposure to the benefits and pitfalls of group work is assumed to be beneficial for all students. However, in distance education and other asynchronous learning environments, group work may be difficult to incorporate in the classroom. Among other problems, face-to-face student meetings may be difficult or impossible to facilitate in some classes. Recent innovations in groupware have made it possible for educators to address these problems and to enhance the group experience through exposure to technologies that increase effectiveness and/or efficiency of group work. This study reports the impacts of adding groupware technology to project groups in accounting classes. Students who preferred a more visual learning style reported that the use of groupware enhanced their group project experience and helped the project run more smoothly. Students who preferred learning more verbally found significantly less enhancement from the use of groupware and did not feel that the groupware helped the project process as much.

Find related content with this links:

• groupware
• Verbal/Visual learning style