A Correlation Study of Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles against Students' Higher Level Thinking Skills in the Topic of Respiration

Abstract

Learning style is the style practiced by certain individuals in the learning process that distinguishes them from other individuals. Every student has a different learning style based on their ability and comfort level. There are three more general learning styles which are Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles that students usually have. This study aims to examine the relationship between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles on students' High-Level Thinking Skills (HTS) in the topic of Respiration in Form 3. A quantitative study through a survey research design was carried out involving a total of 60 Form 3 students from a school in the Tanjong Malim district with using simple sampling techniques. The two research instruments used are the learning style questionnaire and the HTS test. The data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 27. The results of the analysis showed that the overall mean for each questionnaire item was at a medium-high level, namely auditory learning style (3.81) followed by visual (3.78) and kinesthetic (3.68). Pearson's correlation findings show that there is a significantly low positive relationship between kinesthetic learning style (<0.019), on the other hand, there is no significant relationship between visual learning style (<0.135) and auditory learning style (<0.070), with students' KBAT. In conclusion, the kinesthetic learning style is able to apply students' high-level thinking in the topic of Respiration. The implication of this study is that teachers need to pay full attention to teaching strategies that target students with visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles. Appropriate teaching strategies and techniques can help students to improve higher-level thinking skills in Science.