They all learn the same . . . don’t they? : an evaluation of the learning style preferences of the NZ Dairy Industry

The New Zealand Dairy industry is committed to developing the knowledge and skills of its farmers by investing time, energy and money into training activities. What is uncertain is how effective this training is in terms of learning. Fleming and Bonwell (1980) believe that the effectiveness of training is largely determined by the learning styles of the participants relative to that of the trainer. The term “learning styles” refers to an individual’s characteristics and preferred way of gathering, organising and thinking about information and splits learning into four preferences: Visual (V), Aural (A), Read/write (R), Kinaesthetic (K). An individual’s learning style is expressed as either a single preference or, most commonly, multi-modal i.e. VK; ARK etc. Questionnaires to determine their learning styles were delivered to every dairy farmer supplying Fonterra (n=8000). From these data reasonable assumptions can be made as to the most appropriate and effective extension and training materials to promote learning.