The Influence of Different Personality Traits on Learning Achievement in Three Learning Situations

In order to explore the relationships among learning achievement, personality characteristics and learning context, and to test what kind of personality characteristics are suitable for what kind of learning situation, an experimental study was conducted on 45 college students (24 women, 21 men) in China. Participants were randomly assigned to 6 days of instruction in one of three learning situations: traditional classroom, online learning, and flipped classroom (blended learning). Personality was assessed in terms of the Big Five traits, and achievement scores reflected learning of the course material. Results showed that (1) There were no significant differences in the influence of the three learning situations on learning achievement; (2) Among the Big Five personality traits, Conscientiousness had a significant impact on learners’ academic performance, and positively predicted learning achievement; (3) There was a significant interaction between Openness and learning situation: students with high Openness showed the best performance in the online learning situation, and did worst in the traditional classroom; students with moderate Openness did best in the flipped classroom. The results of this study suggest that in the process of personalized education, we should attach importance to the matching of learning situation and individual differences. This may be especially true in online learning and flipped classroom environments, in order to optimize the learning effect in learners with different personality characteristics.