Using Multimedia for Effective Teaching: Matching Instructions to Student's Learning Styles

This paper discusses the evaluation of an adaptive multimedia courseware for teaching secondary school Mathematics. The courseware consists of a diagnostic module and the instructional modules. The diagnostic modules provide data for automatic adaptation of instructions based on user's learning styles and knowledge level in the given topic. The instructional modules were designed based on four dominant learning styles; global-visual, global-verbal, analytical-visual and analytical-verbal. The courseware was evaluated in a case study involving thirty five year one secondary school students. Results from the study indicated that matching students learning styles to instructions using multimedia courseware is effective in enhancing student's learning gains