Learning style and teaching strategies in multi-grade class: Foundation for proposed differentiated program

Abstract

Rural Philippine public schools often have no other choice but to place students in multi-grade classrooms. These multi-grade setups indeed widen educational access for students, but they bring with them several daunting instructional challenges. It is difficult to teach effectively to such a diverse group of learners. This study, using the VARK learning models, sought to understand better how well the teaching strategies used by San Francisco Sur Elementary teachers aligned with the dominant learning styles of their intermediate-grade students. The methods of this study included descriptive-correlational research design, simple stratified random sampling for students and purposive sampling for teachers. Data were collected through validated questionnaires and interviews to assess dominant student learning preferences and instructional methods used in a multi-grade setup. The research indicated that learners favored kinesthetic, visual, and auditory styles of learning, with relatively less appeal to reading and writing. Teachers, for their part, employed varied strategies that included kinesthetic, visual, and auditory approaches, suggesting a general responsiveness to learner diversity. However, statistical analysis indicated no significant correlation between learning styles and teaching strategies. In effect, learners and teachers lived in parallel but separate worlds. Learners did the best when they had reading/writing tasks that could be transformed imaginatively. When they used the teachers invented methods and manipulatives. The study concludes that more intentional and data-informed alignment is needed between teaching strategies and student learning preferences in multi-grade classrooms. Limitations of the study involve its localized scope. The recommendation is made that schools implement programs that are inclusive and centered on the learners and that they provide teachers with in-service training in differentiated instruction that is ongoing. Future research may involve the testing of intervention-based models.