Search

This paper presents an approach to integrate learning styles into adaptive e-learning hypermedia system and an approach to evaluate the impact of such a learning system. The main objective was to develop an adaptive e-learning system based on individual student's learning style, then to try and assess the effectiveness of the system on the students' learning. From a technical perspective, the system development involved the combination of SQL server 2005, SQL database and Active Server Pages were used to implement the system based on learning styles to present the appropriate subject matter, including the content, Teaching strategies and Electronic Media. The system was organized into 3 models; domain model, learner model and adaptation model. The 3 models interact together to perform adaptively. From an experiment design perspective, experiments involved applying using the system on two cohorts of students and evaluating the impact on learning achievement. Inferential statistics were applied to make inferences from the sample data to more general conditions. Descriptive statistics were applied simply to describe what's going on in the sample data. Results showed that students taught using learning style adaptive system performed significantly better in academic achievement (p<0.05) than students taught the same material without adaptation to learning style. Measuring the effect of providing educational experiences individualized to the learning style of the students is an open research issue: There are many potential influences on any learning achieved other than the adaptive learning system. This paper hopes to make contribution by presenting a case study of a dedicated adaptive educational system and providing guidance and discussion on both development issues and how to evaluate the effectiveness of an adaptive learning system. First, the adaptation logic, methods and techniques employed in the system, the Teacher Assisting and Subject Adaptive Material (TASAM), are briefly presented. Next, the validity and effectiveness of the system are assessed by means of an empirical evaluation approach, involving experiment with 53 undergraduate students of The 'Arts and Humanities' faculty at the King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. The results obtained (in terms of discusses the Final of the system using two different Arabic speaking groups with different use profiles of the system, performance, efficiency and satisfaction) are analyzed and discussed. This paper covers Test-Retest Reliability of student`s first evaluation survey, Result of Student`s First evaluation Survey and the final evaluation and assessment of the adaptive learning system by students. The findings support the use of learning styles as guideline for adaptation into the adaptive e-learning hypermedia systems. This paper provides discussion and guidance on how to evaluate the impact of adaptive learning systems. The overall results of the experimental study indicate a positive effect of adaptation to learning styles on the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are challenges when applying English language versions of robust psychometric instruments to identify learning styles, to a non-English speaking learning environment. The instruments have typically been written in English for a Western culture. Used in a different language raises issues of translation and culture. For instance, there may be linguistic differences in a literal translation of questions or items, resulting in subtle or even significant different meanings in the translated instruments, thus threatening the validity and reliability of measurement. This paper reports on research in progress on the development of an Arabic version of the Felder- Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument. The research is part of an overall project producing an adaptive learning environment for students at a Saudi University. Literal translation of the ILS applied to a pilot study resulted in lower internal validity in the instrument than found in the English language versions. The paper discusses the development of a translation protocol undertaken to improve the validity and internal reliability of the Arabic version of the ILS. This includes test-retest reliability, factor structure and internal reliability. As part of this, the paper explores the development of a Scale for content validity of the Arabic version of the ILS by computing a content validity index (CVI), using ratings of item relevance by content experts. We analyzed how the CVI was calculated and found considerable consistency for item-level CVIs (I-CVIs). The paper argues that Scale developers should indicate which method was used to provide readers with interpretable content validity information. The paper's contribution is providing guidance on applying robust instruments across languages and cultures. The overall research hopes to make a contribution by providing a robust instrument that can be applied to Arabic speaking communities as well as providing a firm base for developing adaptive learning system based on the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles for non-English speaking students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]