Enhancement of achievement and attitudes through individualized learning-style presentations of two allied health courses.

This investigation analyzed the effects of the instructional resource Programmed Learning Sequence (PLS) on the achievement and attitudes of college students and correlated the findings with the individuals' learning styles. The subjects were enrolled in Sonography I and Cross-Sectional Anatomy in a college of health-related professions. Both classes were administered the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey to identify learning-style strengths, and alternately presented with lessons using a PLS in a book format and traditional lectures. The sonography class also was exposed to a PLS in multimedia computer format. The Semantic Differential Scale measured the students' attitudes comparing the instructional methods experienced, and class examinations measured content mastery. In both classes, examination scores were significantly higher (effect size for the sonography class was 1.42; for the anatomy class, 0.63) and students' attitude scores were significantly higher when PLS rather than the traditional method was used. In the sonography class, achievement was significantly higher with the book PLS than with the computer PLS (effect size, 1.11). Significant correlations emerged between learning-style elements and achievement: students who preferred learning with the book PLS required more quiet in the environment than did those who preferred the computer PLS; students who preferred learning traditionally and with the computer PLS required more light than those preferring the book PLS; and students who preferred learning with an authority figure favored the traditional method. Examination of the data for other correlations between learning-style preferences and attitudes using the book PLS also revealed many other significant findings, demonstrating its ability to accommodate diverse styles.