Relationships between Engagement and Learning Style for Using VPL on Game Design

Most learners will often express personal preferences about his/her own learning style. Do visual programming languages (VPLs) get more engagement than traditional programming languages? Do learning styles affect engagement of learning visual programming? Is visual programming language more suitable for learners with specific learning styles? This study designed an experiment to investigate the relationships among learning style, engagement, and visual programming language. The Fleming´s VARK model was first used to analyze freshman´s learning styles. Then, the visual programming language Scratch was used as supplemental instruction; moreover, learners´ engagement degrees were measure before and after the supplemental instruction. The experimental results show: (1) the distribution of freshman´s learning styles, (2) effects of Scratch on learning engagement, (3) relationship between learning styles and engagement improvement. The finding could be used for adaptive learning by instructors of programming design.