Learning Style Preferences of Pharmacy Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-129
Author(s):  
Zoriah Aziz ◽  
Tey Xin Yi ◽  
Syireen Alwia ◽  
Chong Nyuk Jet

Students have preferences about how they like to learn. Available evidence suggests that understanding students’ learning style is helpful in providing them a successful learning experience. The aim of the study was to determine the learning styles preferences of pharmacy students. The Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) was administered twice to all undergraduate pharmacy students (n=240) in the University of Malaya, Malaysia. The LSQ covered four different learning preferences: activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist. The LSQ showed satisfactory test-retest correlation (0.57 to 0.66) and moderate internal reliability (0.53 to 0.61). Reflector learning style was the most common among the students (60.4%) followed by theorist and pragmatist (both 8.8%) and activist (6.2%). Another 15.8% of the students did not show any dominant learning styles. The preferred learning styles were statistically independent of the demographic variables examined such as level of academic year, sex, race and pre-university qualifications. A range of teaching methods and learning activities should be provided in pharmacy education in order to match the variety of learning styles.

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephney Whillier ◽  
Reidar P. Lystad ◽  
David Abi-Arrage ◽  
Christopher McPhie ◽  
Samara Johnston ◽  
...  

Objective The aims of our study were to measure the learning style preferences of chiropractic students and to assess whether they differ across the 5 years of chiropractic study. Methods A total of 407 (41.4% females) full-degree, undergraduate, and postgraduate students enrolled in an Australian chiropractic program agreed to participate in a cross-sectional survey comprised of basic demographic information and the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire, which identifies learning preferences on four different subscales: visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Multivariate analysis of variance and the χ2 test were used to check for differences in continuous (VARK scores) and categorical (VARK category preference) outcome variables. Results The majority of chiropractic students (56.0%) were found to be multimodal learners. Compared to the other learning styles preferences, kinesthetic learning was preferred by a significantly greater proportion of students (65.4%, p < .001) and received a significantly greater mean VARK score (5.66 ± 2.47, p < .001). Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time chiropractic students have been shown to be largely multimodal learners with a preference for kinesthetic learning. While this knowledge may be beneficial in the structuring of future curricula, more thorough research must be conducted to show any beneficial relationship between learning style preferences and teaching methods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58
Author(s):  
Rumana Rafique

The paper aims at discovering the language learning style preferences of the ELT graduate students of the English Department of the University of Dhaka. The paper explores the students’ learning style preferences based on Reid’s (1984) six perceptual learning style categories such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, group and individual style preferences. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a questionnaire and interview of the ELT students of a public university in Bangladesh. The results revealed that the ELT students are more or less aware of their own learning styles and the way they learn better. It was found out from the study that majority of the students preferred the auditory style of learning while individual style is the least preferred. The study also brings students’ opinions regarding learning styles in the field of learning ESL (English as a Second Language) or EFL (English as a Foreign Language) to light. The paper then discusses the implications of the findings and offers some recommendations regarding the need to identify students’ learning styles in Bangladeshi classroom.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamya Alkooheji ◽  
Abdulghani Al-Hattami

The purpose of this study was to determine what factors other than individual preferences affect undergraduate students’ learning style preferences, if learning style is influenced by gender, age, college affiliation and/or type of activities. A total of 185 students from the University of Bahrain, Bahrain, participated in an online VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic) for younger people questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items about learning style preferences and three about participants’ demographics. The results showed that participants generally preferred multi-modular learning style with both kinesthetic and visual learning styling being most preferred while Reading/Writing was the least preferred. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between students learning styles based on age and gender, but it was a moderate difference. What mostly affected the preferences, however, was the type of activities or tasks, something which in turn resulted in some difference among colleges. This suggests that VARK preferences need to be related to activity type rather than be observed at individual reference. Recommendations were provided at the end of the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. p12
Author(s):  
Timothy Sibanda ◽  
Nchindo R. Mbukusa ◽  
Ezekiel G. Kwembeya

Massification of Higher Education (HE) has made it difficult for teachers to design instructional strategies that are responsive to the diverse student needs. We here argue that student profiling is a handy tool that the HE teacher can use for inclusive instructional design by thoughtfully selecting learning and teaching strategies, and materials and supports that will maximise student achievement. We designed a student-profiling instrument focusing on capturing students’ biographical information, learning preferences, anticipated learning outcomes, personality traits, and learning related skills-set and administered to students in a 3rd Year Biotechnology class at the University of Namibia. The data on learning style preferences was analysed using the VARK Questionnaire (version 8.01) while a Chi-square (?2) test of association (SPSS software version 24) was used to determine whether there was a relationship between students’ preferred learning styles and the other variables. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the students had multimodal learning preferences while 25% were unimodal for kinesthetic learning style. No students preferred visual or auditory learning alone. The ?2 test revealed no significant relationship between students’ preferred learning styles and any of the other variables including age, place of origin, home language, home setting, residence during school semester, pre-course anticipation, skills set, and personality traits (P > 0.05). We conclude that profiling students’ learning preferences prior to teaching and learning helps HE teachers to tailor their instructional strategies to students’ learning style preferences, maximises epistemological access, as well as enhance inclusivity, equality and equity.


Demographical factors may have an impact on learning and teaching styles across the continents. This study was to explore whether demographical factors namely age, gender and English learning experience are related to the learning style preferences of English Major Students from the foreign languages faculty in Iran. The sample for this study comprised of 310 English Major Students. In this study, quantitative approach was used in the collection of the data .The instruments used in this study included the Index of Learning Styles Inventory by Felder and Soloman (2006) and Oxford (1990). The results of the study revealed that except for Learning Style Pair 2 (LSP2) (Sensing/Intuition), all the other learning styles pairs were not related to demographical factors.


Author(s):  
Tonderai Washington Shumba ◽  
Scholastika Ndatinda Iipinge

This study sought to synthesise evidence from published literature on the various learning style preferences of undergraduate nursing students and to determine the extent they can play in promoting academic success in nursing education of Namibia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on electronic databases as a part of the systematic review. Although, kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learning styles were found to be the most dominant learning style preferences, most studies (nine) indicated that undergraduate nursing students have varied learning styles. Studies investigating associations of certain demographic variables with the learning preferences indicated no significant association. On the other hand, three studies investigating association between learning styles and academic performance found a significant association. Three studies concluded that indeed learning styles change over time and with academic levels. The more nurse educators in Namibia are aware of their learning styles and those of their students, the greater the potential for increased academic performance.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 390-409
Author(s):  
Nadia Nur Afiqah Ismail ◽  
Tina Abdullah ◽  
Abdul Halim Abdul Raof

Background and Purpose: Education at higher institutions prepares graduates for the real world. To develop and maintain quality, the focus must not only be on what institutions can offer but also on the learning needs and styles of learners. Despite many studies on engineering learners’ learning styles, limited research has been conducted to compare the learning styles of Engineering and Engineering Education learners. This study was conducted to ascertain the learning style preferences of first-year undergraduates from both groups in a science and technology-driven university in Malaysia.   Methodology: This descriptive study consisted of 40 Engineering and 40 Engineering Education learners who attended an English language course at the university. Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire was adopted as the survey instrument. The data were analysed using self-scoring sheet and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.   Findings: While both groups chose Kinaesthetic as a major learning style preference, the Engineering Education learners also chose Group, Tactile, and Auditory learning styles as their other major preferences. Both groups chose Visual and Individual as their minor preferences.   Contributions: The findings extend research demonstrating the significant role of specific disciplines in Engineering to determine the learning style preferences of learners. The findings also provide useful insights that suggest implications for practice and policy.   Keywords: Engineering, engineering education, English language, learning styles, teaching and learning.   Cite as: Ismail, N. N. A., Abdullah, T., & Abdul Raof, A. H. (2022). Insights into learning styles preference of engineering undergraduates: Implications for teaching and learning.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1) 390-409. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp390-409


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1072-1074
Author(s):  
Marshall A. Geiger ◽  
Jeffrey K. Pinto

This note is a reply to Ruble and Stout's 1992 critique of our 1991 study of changes in learning style over time. While some of their comments have merit, the remaining conclusions are that the dimension scores on the Learning Styles Inventory exhibit considerable stability over time and should be analyzed when assessing changes in learning style.


Author(s):  
Yu-Hsin Hung ◽  
Ray I. Chang ◽  
Chun Fu Lin

3D visualization specifically has been widely applied in a broad range of fields, including computer science, pedagogy, and so forth. 3D visualization instruction has become the essential tool that uses computer programs to generate 3D representations of manmade objects. For users, 3D visualization instruction can be manipulated, altered and efficiently communicated to others, and it is efficient for teaching and learning. The aim of this study is investigating students' perception toward 3D visualization instruction, and the influence of learning-style preferences on learners' intentions to use 3D visualization instruction. We are trying to develop the experiment which undergraduate students participated in this study, the purpose of which was to investigate the utilize 3D visualization instruction access to the single learning style and multiple learning styles. Data mining technology was employed in this study to identify multiple learning styles. The result showed that high visual and high sensing learning style has potential of using 3D visualization instruction.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Fakhra Yasmin ◽  
Ahsan Akbar ◽  
Zhang Yan

Every individual adopts a unique way to obtain knowledge and this way of acquiring knowledge is known as learning style. These learning approaches of the students can significantly influence their learning outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the learning styles of Master level students enrolled in Education programs of the public sector universities in southern Punjab region of Pakistan. The study findings reveal that students majoring in Education practice multiple learning styles to accomplish their academic goals endeavors. Moreover, assimilating was the most practiced learning style by the sampled students. The results of ANOVA posits that there are significant differences in learning styles adopted by the students of different universities. The findings of this study provide useful information about the learning style preferences of the social science students and postulate that the choice of university significantly influences the learning style adaptation of students.


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