Learning Styles of Medical Students

Scholars International Journal of Biochemistry

Every student has different learning style and if the method of information delivered conforms to their learning habits, they learn better. To get best out of a student, facilitator needs to understand the student's learning modalities and 'tailor instruction' in such a way that students appreciate and follow it to learning. In this regard a study was designed to analyze the learning style distribution among 1st year MBBS students. A cross sectional questionnaire based study was conducted among 1 st year MBBS students (n=152) using validated VARK questionnaire (version 7.8).The questionnaire consists of 16 questions with 4 options, each of which corresponds to a particular sensory modality preference (visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic). The responses in the questionnaires were assessed according to the keys provided in VARK guide. Demographic details were collected. Preferred learning styles were expressed as frequency and percentage. The response rate was 86.18% (131 students out of 152). Of these 71 (54.2%) were female and 60 (48.8%) were males. All the students preferred more than one sensory modality with 98% quad modal (n=129, M/F=59/70) and near 1% each in tri modal (n=1, M/F=1/0) and bimodal (n=1, M/F=0/1) learning preference. Knowing student's preferred learning modes; one can focus on developing strategies that are tailored for individuals. All the students in the present study showed multimodal learning styles which points towards the fact that they prefer information to arrive in a variety of modes. Lectures being the major proportion of teaching learning process in 1 st MBBS curriculum, one need to adopt active learning strategies and process during lectures which will cater to the needs of all types of learners.

Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 2019

Objectives: This research aims to describe the learning styles among undergraduate medical students at the College of Medicine, University of Bisha. Materials and methods: Type of study is a cross-sectional. Students preference of learning styles was assessed through VARK (abbreviation stands for Visual, Aural, Read/ Write, and Kinesthetic learning style) inventory questionnaire version 7.1. The questionnaire was bilingually translated. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS (V20). Data were presented in the form of descriptive statistics. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to assess the relations between study variables. Results: One hundred and eighteen students (86.8%) were unimodal in their learning preference , and 18 students (13.3%) were multimodal. The dominant unimodal style was aural (55.9%), and the lowest was reading (5.1%). Among multimodal the commonest preference was AK (77.8%) followed by VR and VK equally (11.1%). The multimodal pattern is limited to students in level one. Visual style increases in percentage with the academic levels. Conclusion: Students in the College of Medicine, University of Bisha (UBCOM) have different patterns and types of learning style. Aural is the dominant unimodal style. The visual style is widely distributed among students of different levels. Planning and implementation of educational activities that satisfy all learning styles will support the learning process.

Indian Journal of Clinical Anatomy and Physiology, 2023

Background: In the assimilation and processing of information, students favor different choices. Fleming described the VARK learning style model that includes a questionnaire which enables us to recognize a person’s sensory modality preference in learning. It categorizes the learning styles into four: visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R), and kinesthetic (K). Objectives: 1) To assess the learning styles of first year MBBS students of a Private Medical College in Kerala and find out prevalence of unimodal and multimodal learners. 2) To find association between scores of students in anatomy, biochemistry and physiology and their VARK categories. 3) To determine the association between gender and VARK categories. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among first year undergraduate medical students in a private medical college in Kerala. VARK questionnaire, consists of 16 multiple choice questions, was distributed to the participants after obtaining written consent. Scores of their internal assessment were also collected. The data was analyzed and the learning styles were presented as percentages. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to find the association between learning styles and gender, and the scores in internal assessment. Results: The total number of students enrolled for the study was 100. Age ranged from 17 to 22 years and females constituted 62%. It was observed that 84% students were unimodal, out of which Kinesthetic (45.2%) was the most preferred. There were 12 bimodal and 4 trimodal learners. No association between learning styles and gender as well as between learning styles and academic performance based on written and practical exams of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry were found. We found there were notable differences between males and females in unimodal kinesthetic and auditory learners in certain scores. Conclusion: The present study reported that unimodal learners were more frequent than bimodal and trimodal learners. There were no quadrimodal learners. The preferred method of learning amongst unimodal learners was the kinesthetic style. We found no association between gender and the preferred learning style. The study also found that there was no association between academic performance (scores) and their learning styles. Keywords: Learning styles, Medical students, Academic performance, Gender.

Advances in medical education and practice, 2019

Materials and methods: Type of study is a cross-sectional. Students preference of learning styles was assessed through VARK (abbreviation stands for Visual, Aural, Read/ Write, and Kinesthetic learning style) inventory questionnaire version 7.1. The questionnaire was bilingually translated. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS (V20). Data were presented in the form of descriptive statistics. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to assess the relations between study variables. Results: One hundred and eighteen students (86.8%) were unimodal in their learning preference, and 18 students (13.3%) were multimodal. The dominant unimodal style was aural (55.9%), and the lowest was reading (5.1%). Among multimodal the commonest preference was AK (77.8%) followed by VR and VK equally (11.1%). The multimodal pattern is limited to students in level one. Visual style increases in percentage with the academic levels. Conclusion: Students in the College of Medicine, University of Bisha (UBCOM) have different patterns and types of learning style. Aural is the dominant unimodal style. The visual style is widely distributed among students of different levels. Planning and implementation of educational activities that satisfy all learning styles will support the learning process.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH, 2014

Background: Preferred learning styles of learners are different, which depend on tastes, mentality preparedness, as well as physical condition, in terms of sensory modalities. Identifying and employing appropriate learning styles could play an important role in selecting teaching styles, which can improve education ultimately. Aim: The present study aimed to assess the diversity of learning styles amongst medical students of a medical sciences university which was located west of Iran, in 2010. Methods: A cross-sectional study which employed VARK learning style's questionnaire was done on 141 first year medical sciences students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences in 2010. Data was collected with use of VARK questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed on basis of experts' views and its reliability was calculated by using Cronbach's alpha coefficients (α=0.86). Data were analysed by using SPSS software and Chi-square test. Results: Overall, 41.6% of the samples preferred to use a single learning style (Uni-modal). Of these, 17.7% preferred the Aural style, 17% preferred Reading and Writing, 6.4% preferred Kinesthetic style and 0.7% preferred Visual styles. Among the rest of the 82 students who preferred more than one style (multimodal), 17% chose two modes (bimodal), 13.5% chose three modes (tri-modal), and 27.6% chose four modes (quad-modal). There was a significant difference between educational levels and majors on one hand and choice of quad modal of VARK styles on the other hand (p=0.008). A significant association was also found between participants' genders and selection of visual and reading/writing styles (p=0.03). Conclusion: The preferred learning styles of medical students in the present study were aural and reading/writing. It is suggested that all medical students must be tested to determine their desired learning styles by using VARK questionnaire, also to choose appropriate teaching methods and to improve educational goals.

Background Extensive factors affect students' learning such as their learning style, the identification of which is considered as important in solving the problems and shortcomings of educational system in the current situation. The present study aimed to determine the learning style of first-year medical students in the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2018.Methods In the present descriptive and analytical study, 111 first-year medical students at the university were included through census method. The data were collected by using VARK learning style standard questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS16 software based on the questionnaire guide.Results Most students had a multi-modal learning style (52%) although no significant difference was observed between preferring single- and multi-model styles. Among the multi-modal learning styles, bi-modal style was more applied by subjects (21.62%). In addition, aural and visual learning styles were determined as the most ...

BioMed Research International, 2021

Students have unique preferences when it comes to knowledge acquisition, information processing, retention in memory, and recall. This study is aimed at examining the preferred learning styles of medical and dental undergraduate students of Pakistan. It is also aimed at investigating the influence of gender, preclinical or clinical academic year, and academic record on the preferred learning style. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Pakistan. The learning styles of undergraduate students were identified using visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Students were also asked about their satisfaction towards teaching style of their teachers in institute. Descriptive statistics were done to characterize the learning styles of the students. The Fisher test and chi-square test were used to compare the learning preferences between genders and public/private sector students and among preclinical/clinical years. A p value of less than 0.05 was consi...

Journal of Research in Medical Education & Ethics, 2017

The goal of this study was to determine preferred learning styles of first year medical students of BankuraSammilani Medical College, Bankura, a rural medical college of West Bengal, India. Methods: A cross sectional study of first year medical students with 65 male and 30 female (n=95) was performed. The validated VARK questionnaire Version7 was used to categorize the preferred mode of learning styles of students. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the learning styles of the students. Results: 95%was the response rate. 84.21% of students preferred multiple learning styles. Among multi modal learners bimodal learners (32.63%) surpass quad modal (30.52%) and tri modal (21.05%) learners. The most preferred combination of learning style among bimodal students were Auditory-Kinesthetic (9.47%) and Kinesthetic-Reading/Writing (9.47%). Conclusion: The result of this study shows that most students of this medical college are able to learn effectively as long as the teacher provide a blend of visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic activities

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 2020

Background: Learning is the act of acquiring, modifying and reinforcing existing knowledge, behavior, skills and values. This phenomenon of learning is dominated by an individual's learning style. Learning style is a popular concept in psychology and education, and it refers to how a person learns best. This study aims to identify the Learning Styles of the first year MBBS and BDS students at NBMC by administering the questionnaire of the VARK model. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Physiology at North Bengal Medical College, West Bengal after. The VARK questionnaire 7.8 version was administered to 180 first year MBBS and BDS students from the 2017-2018 batch who had volunteered for the study. The Questionnaire consisted of 16 questions, along with a scoring chart. Students were allowed to choose more than one option. If in majority of the questions they opted for a single sensory modality they were considered as unimodal learners and if they chose multiple options, they were recognized as multimodal learners. Results: The study showed 57% of the students to be multimodal learners and 43% to be unimodal learners. Read/Write was the most preferred (31.22%) sensory modality followed by kinesthetic mode (29.57%). Conclusions: As majority of our students are multimodal learners teachers should incorporate active teaching and learning strategies to cater to all types of learners. Also, as the most preferred method is Read/Write which includes googling and the use of internet to browse for information, we must try and incorporate e-learning into our curriculum.