Effects of Students Learning Styles on Adaptive e-Learning Design

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the research aimed at evaluating the effects of using branching scenario in the online learning course of Russian as a foreign language. The course was designed according to the distribution of the learners according to their learning styles and preferences. The aim of the research was to show how the structure of the course can be tailored around the individual learning styles. The paper gives a brief explanation of how learning styles and adaptive learning are defined in modern educational environment. The terms "learning styles" and "adaptive learning" are not new in the pedagogical research, but they have become popular recently with the emergence of distance learning. 178 students from different countries were interviewed using VARK questionnaire to get information about their learning preferences and cognitive characteristics. On the bases of the received data the e-learning Russian course was designed with adaptive content, sequencing and assessment. The survey of students' satisfaction after the study showed that adaptive learning is beneficial for training language skills and can be widely used in the situation when the students and teachers can communicate only through electronic media.