Learning Styles, Study Habits, and Learning Modalities of Mechanical Engineering Students at Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST)

Abstract

The proposed research is a descriptive study involving an analysis of the learning styles, study habits, choice of learning modality among students of Mechanical Engineering school at Bicol State College of Applied Sciences and Technology (BISCAST) and to propose a policy that address these differneces. The quantitative descriptive design was employed to collect the data which was collected using a structured questionnaire used on students of various year levels. The results show consistency in developmental trends by the students as they go through the program. Reflection, sensing, visual, and sequential learning preferences with a higher preference of face to face teaching and relatively weak study habits are typical of first-year students. However, the senior students have been found to move towards active, intuitive, global, and verbal learning orientations, as well as more sophisticated self-regulated learning styles of effective time management, strategic review, and sustained problem solving practice. Blended and online learning modalities are also more favored by higher year levels, indicating rising learner autonomy, computer skills and confidence in performing complex academic tasks. The correlation analyses also support the strong positive correlation between the active-intuitive learning styles, effective study habits, and preference to use blended or online modalities. These findings imply that learning preferences and behaviors are not predetermined characteristics but they change based on academic requirements and the exposure to instructions. Thus the researchers, proposes a policy advocates for a developmentally scaffolded instructional approach that aligns learning styles, study skills support, and learning modalities with students’ year-level progression to promote autonomous and flexible learning in the Mechanical Engineering program. This paper highlights the significance of scaffolded pedagogical practices whereby the instructional strategies are matched to the stages of development of students favoring the progressive transfer of guided learning to autonomous, integrative, and flexible learning conditions in engineering education.