International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2023, pp. 2149~2156 ISSN: 2252-8822, DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v12i4.24858  2149 Journal homepage: http://ijere.iaescore.com The impact of active learning and learning style on blended learning: Insights from higher education students Fazilah Razali 1 , Tajularipin Sulaiman 1 , Ahmad Fauzi Mohd Ayub 1 , Noraziela Abdul Majid 2 1 Department Foundations of Educations, Faculty Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Department of Hospitality Management, Faculty of Social Science and Humanity, Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Article Info ABSTRACT Article history: Received Jun 30, 2022 Revised Sep 22, 2023 Accepted Oct 2, 2023 Blended learning is a progressive teaching technique combining online and face-to-face instruction to encourage active learning and improve academic achievement. However, various problems, such as different attitudes and learning styles between educators and students, influenced the implementation of blended learning effectively. Therefore, there is a need to identify the factors that impact blended learning to improve students’ performances and enhance blended learning. In this study, the proposed framework examines the mediation effect of active learning on the relationship between learning styles and accessibility of learning through blended learning. The study sample consisted of undergraduate students from Universiti Putra Malaysia. In addition, this study also utilized a random sampling method. In total, 224 responses were collected and analyzed using a partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that active learning fully mediated the relationship between learning style and blended learning. Active learning also mediated the relationship between accessibility and blended learning with complementary mediation. Moreover, this study offers several practical suggestions for essential parties, including the government and the education sector, to optimize blended learning approaches in Malaysia. Keywords: Accessibility of learning Active learning Blended learning Learning style Malaysia PLS-SEM Tertiary education This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA license. Corresponding Author: Fazilah Razali Department Foundations of Education, Faculty Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Email: fazilahrazali@upm.edu.my 1. INTRODUCTION Education experts are becoming increasingly worried about the effects of this pandemic on the day- to-day operations of the education sector and students worldwide. Accordingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges in education [1], [2]. Based on the statistics from the United Nations, by March 18th, 2020, 107 countries had closed their universities, secondary, and primary institutions for an unspecified period due to the increased risks of contagion dangers in heavily populated regions, impacting 862 million students or probably half of the worldwide student population [3]. Therefore, face-to-face (F2F) lectures became a thing of the past as a virtual learning environment utilizing multiple platforms and social media technologies have taken over [1], [4]. Consequently, academicians and institutions of higher learning implemented new teaching and learning methods to improve student performance through various educational techniques, notably technology-enhanced learning [5], [6]. As a result, blended learning (BL) appears to be a viable answer to the health concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As one of the most common approaches for incorporating digital technology into