COMMUNICATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS AND THE LEARNING PREFERENCES OF END USERS

Many researchers have recognized that there are sometimes gaps between the teaching strategies of teachers and the means through which learners learn. This is because teaching strategies sometimes do not recognize the different learning styles of the students. This poses difficulties in the communication process between the teacher and the student. Learning in the classroom is just an aspect of learning where the importance of the learning preferences of the learners may have been ignored. Beyond the learning activities that occur in the classroom, it is perceived that there could also be a gap between the methods used by researchers in reporting their findings and the learning preferences of the users of the research findings. The gap is also evident in architecture; between the researchers and the students and practitioners who are the intended beneficiaries of the research findings. Research has found that architecture students are predominantly visual learners. This study sets out to identify the predominant learning preferences of the post graduate students in the department of architecture, Covenant University and the methods used by the faculty in communicating their research findings. VARK questionnaires will be used to survey the learning preferences of the students. The result of this survey could indicate alternative methods of reporting research findings that are better suited to the learning preferences of architects.