VARK Learning Preferences and Teaching Styles in Science during Distance Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly transformed the delivery of science education, requiring schools to adopt distance learning modalities. This study examined the learning styles of Grade 8 students and the teaching styles of Science teachers during distance learning at a private Catholic school in the Philippines during the School Year 2021–2022. Using a descriptive-comparative research design, data were collected from 99 students using a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the VARK framework. Findings revealed that students demonstrated high preferences across all VARK learning style dimensions, with Visual emerging as the dominant learning style. Teachers were perceived as employing all teaching style dimensions at a high level, with Reading/Writing identified as the most frequently used instructional approach. Results further revealed a significant difference between students' learning styles and teachers' teaching styles (t = -2.084, p = 0.040), indicating a mismatch between students' preferred learning styles and the teaching styles they experienced during distance learning. The study concludes that, while teachers used diverse instructional approaches, the dominant teaching style did not fully align with students' preferred learning styles. These findings underscore the importance of adopting flexible and multimodal instructional strategies that address diverse learner preferences and enhance science learning experiences in distance and blended learning environments.