The effects of matching/mismatching cognitive styles in E-learning

Cognitive styles and affective factors are critical factors affecting e-learning performance in this digital era. Learners can enhance their affective learning with a correct cognitive style. This study aims to examine various cognitive styles with effective learning measurement tools through subjective and objective instruments by observing physiological signals and mental load questionnaires as the matching and mismatching styles matter to learning outcomes. The research design adopted multiple measurements to examine the effects of cognitive styles on learning outcomes. The mental load measure included the system usability scale and the NASA task load index (NASA-TLX) scale. The objective measure adopted physiological signals, including emotion, brainwave attention, heart rhythm variability, blood oxygen concentration, breathing, skin temperature, and galvanic skin response. The results revealed that matching cognitive style learners had better learning performance with more positive emotion and less mental load, fatigue, and stress than mismatching cognitive style learners. We concluded that the matching cognition of learning materials could benefit learning outcomes.