THE ASSOCIATION OF LEARNING STYLES WITH KNOWLEDGE AND PERFORMANCE IN VERTEBRATE IDENTIFICATION OF BIOLOGY STUDENTS

Learning style (LS), either visual or verbal, has become debatable in the field of education vis-à-vis its relation to student success. However, it remains a valuable research theme for improving learning activities in the teaching of highly visual science fields, including biology, physics, and chemistry. Previous studies have primarily focused on the success of participants in the courses they took according to their predetermined learning preferences. Conversely, in this study, all participants attended the vertebrate course and took the same tests. Notably, this study aimed to reveal the relationship between participants' LS, the type of acquired knowledge (visual or verbal), and the retention of knowledge. Accordingly, a self-reported, revised Visualizer-Verbalizer Questionnaire (VVQ) and interviews were used to assess participants' (N = 66; 38 females and 28 males) LS. According to the study results, the visualizers’ identification test scores correlate with LS in the first tests, while those of the verbalizers do not. Retention tests are a distinctive factor in revealing the relationship between LS and test scores. This study shows that investigating the effects of LS in different circumstances contributes to the field of education, and that more in-depth data can be obtained from individuals' learning activities. Keywords: visual and verbal knowledge; learning outcomes; learning style; biology education;