Impact of Learning Styles on the Development of 3Cs (Collaboration, Communication and Creativity) among University Students: The Mediating Role of Teaching Strategies and Curriculum

Abstract

This research article discussed the impact of learning styles on collaboration, communication, and creativity skills (3Cs) development among university students in Punjab, Pakistan, and the mediating effect of teaching strategies and curriculum and the moderating effect of university type. A mixed-methods design with predominant quantitative design was used to collect data using a structured questionnaire with 600 undergraduate and graduate students. Measurement and structural model evaluation, mediation and moderation analysis and bootstrapping were conducted by use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and selected qualitative responses were analyzed with the aid of thematic analysis. The results showed that the collaboration, communication, and creativity skills are highly predicted by learning styles. These relationships were partly mediated by the teaching strategies and curriculum which implied the significance of instructional alignment. Dissimilarities among the public and the private universities imply the contextual impacts on the process of learning. In general, the article outlines the significance of the flexible, student-oriented instructional strategies to facilitate the impact of different learning styles and improve the 21st-century skills of graduates.