Learning styles for interactive learning systems

This paper explores the learning styles profile of undergraduate learners as part of a research project concerned with the design of an interactive learning system (ILS). Whilst it has been argued that an ILS has the potential to produce a high-quality learning environment that actively and purposefully engages learners, in most cases the design does not take into account actual studies of learners' different learning styles or empirical knowledge of their learning preferences. In this paper we argue that a more learner-oriented approach to ILS design should be employed in order to achieve the creation of more effective interactive learning systems. The paper describes and discusses a study we have made of the learning-style profile of a cohort of undergraduate learners at a UK university. Some suggestions are then made about how these findings might be embedded within the design of interactive learning systems. Our approach is based on a newly formulated 'balanced' learning design model called 'BLADE'.