| Summary: | This study is conducted to identify how learning styles (LS) influence the
students’ academic achievement based on cognitive mastery and vocational elements
in Building Construction Subject (BCS) involving the students and teachers of
Building Construction Course (BCC) from three secondary vocational schools in
Johor. Descriptive case study was applied with quantitative and semi-structured
interview as supporting components in this study. The quantitative data were
gathered based on Felder and Silverman Learning Styles Model (FSLSM), FelderSoloman
Index of Learning Styles (ILS) and vocational cognitive elements which
consist of the aspects of knowledge, skills and problem solving were taken into
account in constructing the question items. Purposive sampling was used to select
the schools and stratified sampling procedure was applied in the selection of 128
students as research respondents. Purposive sampling was also chosen to select
teachers as respondents for interview. The quantitative data was analyzed in
descriptive and inferential statistic involving parametric test; Chi Square and
Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Kruskal-Wallis was used for nonparametric
test for this study. The content analysis for interview was managed to
analyze the narrative text from interview record. The study discovered that students
in BCC tend to be visual learners. Visual learners represent the input dimension of
FSLSM and the result showed there are significant differences between input
dimension with skills and problem solving but not with knowledge. The discussions
with teachers revealed that most teachers accommodate students learning styles with
cognitive mastery by using visual approach to increase students’ academic
achievement. Research findings suggested a few framework of learning styles with
vocational elements in BCS and concluded the need for a framework based on the
dominant students’ learning style through the cognitive mastery and vocational
elements. In conclusion, the research proposed that the Cognitive Learning Styles
Framework (C-LSF) could act as a guideline for teachers to facilitate students to
learn more effectively and to boost the academic achievement in Building
Construction Subject.
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