Abstract:

In higher education, learning style is known as the way in which learners receive and processes information when they learn new skills or knowledge. Moreover, student learning style is a relevant factor to consider when designing course curriculum in order to improve student learning outcomes. The main reason is that students have different learning style preferences; for example, some students prefer visual learning and understand better when information is presented to them in a visual way such as pictures, videos, diagrams, and illustration in general. Other students prefer verbal learning and understand better when information is described to them in a verbal way; for example, somebody tells them. For this reason, professors should consider their teaching style preferences in order to fill the gap between learning and teaching styles and reinforce student learning outcomes. Additionally, learning style in a virtual environment is an essential topic in the current pedagogical world and it has experienced a rapid growth, which revolves around didactic techniques, technologies and equipment, theoretical modelling and the design and integration of devices and systems. As online education expands rapidly across national borders to reach a global market, a comparative analysis of student learning style preferences among regions with many different cultures becomes increasingly important in terms of improving student outcomes in the classroom.

Technology can make syllabus appealing to students by enhancing the attractiveness of academic curricula, but the individual aspects in the classroom can frequently be taken for granted. For example, neuromarketing courses using a laboratory platform or simulation-based educational laboratories enhance interest and provide sufficient knowledge to students, but users of simulation have argued that neuromarketing experiments are limited, delicate, and very expensive to set up and maintain.

This work describes a neuromarketing course with technology and examines the impact of the proposed methodology. This paper aims:
(1) to propose a mix of technologies developing a neuromarketing experiment into a laboratory activity, and
(2) to clarify the relationship between learning style preferences and the development of neuromarketing courses using simulation-based labs.

The study focuses on the differences between student preferences in an experiment and for this, we applied a methodology based on a case study at International University of La Rioja. A survey was given to students before and after the experiment to assess whether the cross-cultural component has an impact on their academic outcomes. The findings suggest that there is not a difference between European and American postgraduate students but there is some particularity within individuals among nations. Individual data and student survey show that this academic experience was mainly used as a tool to prepare students to solve problems and design experiments, and a solid teaching approach was introduced in order to examine the impact of the methodology which was implemented.

Keywords:

Learning style preferences, cross-cultural comparison, virtual university, European students, American students.