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Mapping students’ learning styles can help teachers adjust instructional strategies to better match students’ characteristics. This finding comes from a study by Dewi Rulia Sitepu and Khairina Afni of Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan (STKIP) Budidaya, Binjai, which examined 24 tenth-grade high school students. Published in 2026, the study found that 58.33 percent of the students showed a visual learning preference and 41.67 percent showed an auditory preference, while no kinesthetic learning preference was detected in the assessment. The findings provide teachers with an initial reference for designing learning activities that are more responsive to students’ needs and characteristics.
Students Have Different
Learning Preferences
Learning does not always take
place in the same way for every student. Some students may find it easier to
understand information through pictures, diagrams, or written materials. Others
may benefit more from explanations delivered verbally through discussion and
conversation.
These differences are one reason
differentiated learning has become increasingly important. This approach gives
teachers greater flexibility to adjust learning strategies, materials,
activities, and learning environments according to students’ needs rather than
relying on exactly the same method for an entire class.
The study by Dewi Rulia Sitepu
and Khairina Afni of STKIP Budidaya, Binjai, examined learning-style mapping as
one source of information that can be used by teachers when designing
differentiated learning at the high school level.
Study Involved 24 Tenth-Grade
Students
The researchers used a
descriptive quantitative approach involving 24 tenth-grade high school
students. A learning-style questionnaire based on the VARK model was used to
identify students’ tendencies in receiving and understanding information.
The study examined three
learning-style categories: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The questionnaire
results were then mapped to identify the most common preferences among the
students.
This approach provides teachers
with an initial picture that can be considered when preparing classroom
activities. However, the results should not be treated as permanent labels of a
student’s abilities. Learning preferences can vary depending on the subject,
task, learning environment, and instructional approach.
Visual Learning Was the Most
Dominant Preference
The study found that 58.33
percent of the students showed a visual learning preference. This means
that most students in the group demonstrated a tendency toward learning
approaches that rely on visual information.
Meanwhile, 41.67 percent of
students showed an auditory learning preference. This group demonstrated a
stronger tendency toward learning through verbally delivered information.
Interestingly, no students
were identified as having a kinesthetic learning preference in the
assessment used in the study.
This composition suggests that
teachers in the class studied could consider using visual materials and
activities involving verbal explanation or interaction. For example, lessons
could incorporate diagrams, illustrations, presentations, videos, discussions,
oral explanations, and group activities.
However, the findings do not mean
that every visual learner must always study through pictures or that auditory
learners only need verbal explanations. Learning-style mapping is more
appropriately used as one supporting source of information when designing
instruction.
Differentiated Learning Can
Become More Targeted
According to Dewi Rulia Sitepu
and Khairina Afni of STKIP Budidaya, understanding students’ learning
preferences can provide useful information for designing differentiated
learning strategies based on student needs. By understanding classroom
characteristics, teachers can adjust strategies, materials, and learning
environments to increase student engagement.
In practice, teachers can use one
core lesson while presenting it in several formats. The same concept, for
example, could be explained using an infographic or diagram while also being
presented through discussion. Students could then be given different options
for demonstrating their understanding.
Such an approach can make the
learning process more flexible while maintaining the learning objectives that
all students are expected to achieve.
Findings Align With More
Student-Centered Education
The study also places
learning-style mapping within the broader development of Indonesian education,
which increasingly emphasizes student-centered learning. The article notes that
the Merdeka Curriculum provides teachers and schools with flexibility to manage
learning in ways that better accommodate students’ needs, abilities, interests,
and characteristics.
For this reason, mapping student
characteristics can serve as one initial step before teachers develop
differentiated learning activities. Such information can help teachers select
learning materials and activities that are more relevant to the conditions of
their classrooms.
For schools, the approach can
also become part of instructional evaluation. Teachers can look beyond
examination results and consider how students interact with learning materials
and classroom activities.
Potential Benefits for
Teachers and Students
For teachers, learning-style
mapping can help determine how instructional methods can be varied. The
dominance of visual preferences in the group studied, for example, could
support greater use of visual learning media, while the relatively large
proportion of auditory learners could be accommodated through presentations,
discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and oral explanations.
For students, more varied
learning approaches may provide additional opportunities to understand lessons
through methods that are appropriate to their needs. The researchers state that
understanding students’ learning preferences can help teachers improve student
engagement, understanding, and learning potential.
However, the scope of the study
is relatively limited because it involved only 24 tenth-grade students. The
findings therefore cannot be generalized to all high school students. Further
research involving larger numbers of participants and students from different
schools would be needed to determine whether similar patterns occur across a
broader student population.
Author Profiles
Dewi Rulia Sitepu — STKIP
Budidaya, Binjai. First author and corresponding author of the article. The
study focuses on student learning styles, instructional design, and
differentiated learning.
Khairina Afni — STKIP
Budidaya, Binjai. Second author of the study on learning-style mapping as a
basis for designing differentiated learning.
The available article does not
provide the academic degrees of either author. Therefore, no degrees have been
added to ensure that the author profiles remain consistent with the source.
Research Source
Title: Mapping
Students' Learning Styles as the Basis For Designing Differentiated Learning in
High Schools
Authors: Dewi Rulia
Sitepu, Khairina Afni
Affiliation: Sekolah
Tinggi Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Budidaya, Binjai
Journal: International
Journal of Integrative Research (IJIR)
Volume: 4, No. 7
Year: 2026
Pages: 517–532
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijir.v4i7.210
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