Investigating the impact of learning styles on student behaviors towards creating reflective videos: an analysis of QUTopia

Industry reports indicate that millennials are the most active video viewers of any U.S. age group, accounting for more than 18% of 204 million digital video viewers in the U.S. (eMarketer 2015). Furthermore, a study by Animoto shows that marketers who leverage video in their email marketing and social media campaigns increase the chances of connecting with consumers (Animoto 2015). The application of videos has also gained attention in higher education as today's students have the expectation to be entertained as well as educated (Steffes and Duverger 2012). Furthermore, "Digital Millennial Learners" or "NetGen" learners are regarded as visual and kinesthetic learners who prefer to experience the world through multimedia and not print (Close et al. 2005; Matulich et al. 2008). Past research has advocated the application of videos (e.g. YouTube) as instructional technology for the purpose of "edutainment". However, watching hedonic (humorous) You Tube videos in the classroom inhibit only passive consumption value and lack of interactivity and student involvement. They do not shape students capacity to solve real­world problems. As marketing educators are faced with the challenge of equipping students with various professional competencies and preparing them "to be productive employees who can communicate effectively, work well in teams and( ... ) demonstrate content knowledge" (Parsons and Lepkowska-White 2009, p. 154 ), the concepts of active and experiential learning have gained widespread attention (see Journal of Marketing Education special issue on experiential learning including Gremler et al. 2000). Furthermore, past literature has stressed the importance of developing students' reflective ability to enhance individual learning. However, Ackerman and Hu (2011) suggest, active and reflective earning approaches may not be suitable for all types of students. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of learning styles on watching (passive value) vs. creating (active value) reflective videos, a novel approach of reflective journaling. We begin to analyze the impact of technology barriers on students' attitudes and behaviors to create and/or view reflective videos. Then, we investigate how different learning styles moderate the adoption process of creating and/or viewing reflective videos. The findings of our study will make several important contributions. First, our study contributes to marketing education as we extend the existing research on the use of video in the classroom. Second, we contribute to the body of education literature that has emphasized the importance of reflective journaling. The development of reflective video assignments such as QUTopia TV is as a novel approach how reflective learning can be implemented in the classroom. Our study also integrates reflection learning theory and learning style theory as we demonstrate that students' attitude towards viewing vs. creating reflective videos is moderated by the student's learning style.