An Investigation of the Effect of Learning Style on Student Success in an Online Learning Environment

Ninety-eight information science students were tracked during an online masters degree program. At their initial orientation, each student completed a demographic data form and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Because of their major, it was hypothesized that students would fall into Kolb's Converger and Assimilator categories and these learning styles would be predictive of success in the program. Results indicated that 79.6 percent ( n = 78) of all students graduated from the program. Seventy-three students (74.5%) fell into the predicted categories and maintained an 83.6 percent ( n = 61) graduation rate. Students not falling into the predicted categories maintained a 68 percent ( n = 17) graduation rate. The implications are clear. First, the majority of students can succeed in an online learning environment regardless of their learning style. Care has to be taken, however, since a trend existed in this study for students with learning styles different from predicted to drop out in higher numbers. Institutions offering online programs should be aware of this and be prepared to address learning style issues.