Manuel P. Rosales Almendra^1,, Bertha L. González Becerra¹

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of Problem Based Learning (PBL) using a strategy mediated by learning styles on variables of academic performance, attitude and motivation of students within a Statistics online course. Participants in the study were alumni of Statistics II subject course at the University of Guadalajara’s Regional Campus in Autlan. Two groups were formed: an experimental one lead through online supported instructional PBL strategy, and a control one attended in a classroom (traditional way). Three questionnaires were applied: first one identified predominant learning styles of students (PEPS), the second one attitude (CUAC) and third one was to interpret motivation (CUMO) towards the proposed learning environment; which were applied at the beginning and at the end of the course. Results of T-test and ANOVA test showed that the learning styles are not related to the instructional strategy of PBL; no differences were found in variables, attitude nor motivation when learning styles were compared within the PBL group. However, such results showed differences in academic performance, attitude and motivation among students of the PBL online group compared to the one that participated in a traditional way.

problem based-learning, learning styles, teaching statistic