Automatic prediction of learning styles: a comprehensive analysis of classification models

Abstract

Learning styles are a topic of interest in educational research about how individuals acquire and process information in offline or online learning. Identification of learning styles in the online learning environment is challenging. The existing approaches for the identification of learning styles are limited. This study aims to review the many learning styles characterized by various classification approaches toward the automatic prediction of learning styles from learning management system (LMS) datasets. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to select and analyze the most pertinent and significant papers for automatically predicting learning styles. Fifty-two research papers were published between 2015-2023. This research divides analysis into five categories: the classification of learning style models, the collection of the collected dataset, learning styles based on the curriculum, research objectives related to learning styles, and the comprehensive analysis of learning styles. This study found that learning style research encompasses diverse theories, models, and algorithms to understand individual learning preferences. Statistical analysis, explicit data collection, and the Felder-Silverman model are prevalent in research, highlighting the significance of algorithm improvement for optimizing learning processes, particularly in computer science. The categorization and understanding of various methods offer valuable insights for enhancing learning experiences in the future.