scholarly journals Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najmeh Akhlaghi ◽  
Hosein Mirkazemi ◽  
Mehdi Jafarzade ◽  
Narjes Akhlaghi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Multimodal Learning ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Language Version

Purpose: The present study aimed to identify the learning preferences of dental students and to characterize their relationship with academic performance at a dental school in Isfahan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study included 200 undergraduate dental students from October to November 2016. Data were collected using a 2-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic data, and the second part was a Persian-language version of the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted with the chi-square test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. Results: The response rate was 86.6%. Approximately half of the students (51.5%) had multimodal learning preferences. Among the unimodal group (48.5%), the most common mode was aural (24.0%), followed by kinesthetic (15.5%), reading-writing (8.0%), and visual (1.0%). There was a significant association between academic performance and the reading/writing learning style preference (P< 0.01). Conclusion: Multimodal learning styles were the most preferred. Among single-mode learning styles, the aural style was most common, followed by the kinesthetic style. Students with a reading/writing preference had better academic performance. The results of this study provide useful information for preparing a more problem-based curriculum with active learning strategies.

scholarly journals Learning Style Preferences Among Undergraduate Medical Students: An Experience from Different Medical Colleges of Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Md Rezaul Karim ◽  
AKM Asaduzzaman ◽  
Md Humayun Kabir Talukder ◽  
Kazi Khairul Alam ◽  
Farhana Haque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Multimodal Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical Colleges

This descriptive type of cross sectional study was conducted to determine the learning styles of undergraduate medical students. The study period was from July 2017 to June 2018. The study was carried out among the students of 2nd, 3rd and 4th phases of MBBS course of 3 government and 4 non-government medical colleges of Bangladesh. Out of 7 medical colleges, 4 were within Dhaka and 3 were from outside Dhaka. The sample size was 1004 students. Medical colleges were selected purposively and convenience sampling technique was adopted for data collection. Bangla translated version Fleming's VARK (visual, auditory, read/write and kinesthetic) questionnaire was used to identify the learning styles of students. The study revealed that out of 1004 medical students, 64.2% preferred multimodal learning styles and rest 35.8% preferred unimodal learning styles. Among unimodal learning preferences, auditory (A) and kinesthetic (K) were the most preferred sensory modalities of learning. Among multimodal learning styles preferences, the combination of auditory & kinesthetic (AK) and auditory, read/write & kinesthetic (ARK) were predominant. There were only significant differences of the mean scores of visual (V) learning style among the male and female students. Majority of students preferred multimodal learning styles. Students are able to learn effectively as long as the teacher provides a blend of visual, auditory, read/writing and kinesthetic activates. The study recommended that teachers should be aware of the medical students' learning styles and aligning teaching-learning methods with learning styles will improve their learning and academic performance. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.10(2) 2019: 26-30

scholarly journals Assessment of learning styles of undergraduate medical students using the VARK questionnaire and the influence of sex and academic performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rathnakar P. Urval ◽  
Ashwin Kamath ◽  
Sheetal Ullal ◽  
Ashok K. Shenoy ◽  
Nandita Shenoy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Style Preferences

While there are several tools to study learning styles of students, the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, freely available, easy to administer tool that encourages students to describe their behavior in a manner they can identify with and accept. The aim is to understand the preferred sensory modality (or modalities) of students for learning. Teachers can use this knowledge to facilitate student learning. Moreover, students themselves can use this knowledge to change their learning habits. Five hundred undergraduate students belonging to two consecutive batches in their second year of undergraduate medical training were invited to participate in the exercise. Consenting students (415 students, 83%) were administered a printed form of version 7.0 of the VARK questionnaire. Besides the questionnaire, we also collected demographic data, academic performance data (marks obtained in 10th and 12th grades and last university examination), and self-perceived learning style preferences. The majority of students in our study had multiple learning preferences (68.7%). The predominant sensory modality of learning was aural (45.5%) and kinesthetic (33.1%). The learning style preference was not influenced by either sex or previous academic performance. Although we use a combination of teaching methods, there has not been an active effort to determine whether these adequately address the different types of learners. We hope these data will help us better our course contents and make learning a more fruitful experience.

scholarly journals An assessment of the learning styles of first year medical and dental students of North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1414
Author(s):  
Sumana Panja ◽  
Pratibha Rao Lahiri ◽  
Aditi Lahiri
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical College ◽  
North Bengal

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.

scholarly journals Learning strategies of dental undergraduates of orthodontics and prosthodontics.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (08) ◽  
pp. 1311-1314
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azeem ◽  
Momina Akram ◽  
Rubbab Asghar ◽  
Arfan ul Haq ◽  
Nadeem Tarique ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Index Of Learning Styles ◽  
Medical University

It is very important for faculty members to know how students learn so that they can modify teaching methods accordingly. To measure the learning preferences of dental undergraduates at Faisalabad Medical University, Pakistan. Study Design: A Cross-sectional study. Setting: Orthodontic Department, Dental Section- Faisalabad Medical University, Faisalabad. Period: Session 2017-18. Materials and Methods: Present study was conceived on the final year dental undergraduates (n=40) of Faisalabad Medical University, Pakistan to determine the learning preferences. Questionnaire was administered using Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles. The descriptive statistics were applied and survey data were converted in to scores. Results: The results showed that most of the undergraduate dental students were verbal learners (50%). On the sequential/global scale, 55% were balanced and 40% were sequential learners. On the active/reflective scale, 45% were balanced, and 30% were active. On the sensing/intuitive scale, 50% were balanced, and 38% were sensing. Conclusion: The undergraduate dental students were found to be mostly verbal learners.

scholarly journals Learning strategies used by dental students and dentists using the ark questionnaire.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (05) ◽  
pp. 1065-1069
Author(s):  
Farhan Butt ◽  
Asma Naz ◽  
Sajjad Ali Darvesh ◽  
Mudassir Hussain ◽  
Saad . ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Dental Students ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Learning By Reading ◽  
Efficient Learning

Objectives: To determine the preferred learning styles of Dental students and Dentists among various dental colleges using the VARK questionnaire. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Various Dental Colleges in Karachi & Rawalpindi using the VARK questionnaire. Period: From June 2018 to February 2019. Material & Methods: Students, house-officers and demonstrators of dental medical college and hospital were asked to fill the VARK questionnaire which consists of 16 items. Four modes of learning either uni modal, bimodal or trimodal could be identified. The four modes include: visual, aural, reading, kinesthic. Results: Kinesthetic mode of learning was used by 24.5% individuals. Aural mode of learning was used by 25.3% individuals. Visual mode of learning was used by 15.5% individuals. Learning by reading was used by 17.7% individuals. Learning by using all modes was used by 1.5% individuals. Conclusion: Identifying the effective modes of learning is the first step towards changing the teaching strategy. Training in medicine and dentistry require innovative teaching ideas incorporating all modes for efficient learning of doctors.

scholarly journals The learning style preferences of chiropractic students: A cross-sectional study

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephney Whillier ◽  
Reidar P. Lystad ◽  
David Abi-Arrage ◽  
Christopher McPhie ◽  
Samara Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Learning Style Preferences ◽  
Kinesthetic Learning ◽  
Style Preferences ◽  
Chiropractic Students

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 &lt; .001) and received a significantly greater mean VARK score (5.66 ± 2.47, p &lt; .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.

scholarly journals Learning styles in Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy students: an exploratory study

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benita Olivier ◽  
Lizelle Jacobs ◽  
Vaneshveri Naidoo ◽  
Nikolas Pautz ◽  
Rulaine Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Competitive Learning ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Learning Style Inventory ◽  
Physiotherapy Students

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Learning styles of health care professionals are unique and tend to be profession- specific. This study aimed to compare the learning styles of undergraduate occupational therapy and physiotherapy students and to determine the relationship between preferred learning styles, demographic factors, and academic performance METHOD: The study design was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Undergraduate occupational therapy and physiotherapy students completed a self-developed questionnaire and the Grasha-Reichmann Learning Style Inventory RESULTS: A total of 313 students with a mean age of 19.6±1.58 years participated in this study. The results showed that students preferred the collaborative (75%) learning style, with the first-year students scoring significantly higher in the collaborative style (3.97±0.48; p<0.001). The male students (2.67±0.65) scored higher in the competitive learning style than female students (2.20±0.62; p=0.001, d=0.757). The competitive learning style, when controlling for sociodemographic variables, is a significant predictor of an increase in academic performance in English language (B=2.28, [0.60-3.96]), physics (B=3.62, [0.22-7.02]) and overall academic performance (B=2.12, [0.34-3.90 CONCLUSION: The predominant preferred learning styles are the collaborative and participant styles. The application in the teaching space should be carefully considered for the selection of teaching approaches and activities. This study points to the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy programmes need to align to the collaborative style and respond with a variety of teaching methods. The associations shown between preferred learning styles and demographic variables point to the need to pay attention to diversity when selecting teaching approaches and activities Keywords: Grasha-Reichmann Learning Style Inventory, learning styles, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, undergraduate students

scholarly journals Relationship between Learning Styles and Academic Performance among Virtual Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Noushin Kouhan ◽  
Maryam Janatolmakan ◽  
Mansour Rezaei ◽  
Alireza Khatony
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Academic Failure ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
The Relationship

Background. The lack of attention of nursing professors to students’ learning styles can cause academic failure. The results of studies on the relationship between students’ learning style and academic achievement are contradictory. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the relationship between VARK learning styles and academic performance among virtual nursing students. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, 237 virtual nursing students were enrolled by the convenience sampling method. The VARK learning styles questionnaire was used for data collection. The basis for determining academic performance was the grade point average(s) (GPA) of the previous semester(s). Students were divided into two groups based on their GPA, including strong (GPA ≥15) and weak (GPA ≤14.99) groups. Results. In both strong and weak groups, most of the subjects were unimodal (with a frequency of 92.9% and 78.5%, respectively), and the rest were multimodal. The most common learning styles in strong and weak students were kinesthetic (57.1%) and auditory (37.2%), respectively. The results of chi-square test did not show statistically significant differences between learning styles and academic performance of strong and weak students. Conclusion. There was no significant relationship between the dominant learning styles and academic performance of strong and weak students. However, nursing professors need to adapt their teaching methods to the students’ learning styles. More studies are recommended to shed more light on this area of research.

scholarly journals Learning Style Scales: a valid and reliable questionnaire

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdolghani Abdollahimohammad ◽  
Rogayah Ja’afar
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Scree Plot ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
Style Preferences

Purpose: Learning-style instruments assist students in developing their own learning strategies and outcomes, in eliminating learning barriers, and in acknowledging peer diversity. Only a few psychometrically validated learning-style instruments are available. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable learning-style instrument for nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in two nursing schools in two countries. A purposive sample of 156 undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Face and content validity was obtained from an expert panel. The LSS construct was established using principal axis factoring (PAF) with oblimin rotation, a scree plot test, and parallel analysis (PA). The reliability of LSS was tested using Cronbach’s α, corrected item-total correlation, and test-retest. Results: Factor analysis revealed five components, confirmed by PA and a relatively clear curve on the scree plot. Component strength and interpretability were also confirmed. The factors were labeled as perceptive, solitary, analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles. Cronbach’s α was > 0.70 for all subscales in both study populations. The corrected item-total correlations were > 0.30 for the items in each component. Conclusion: The LSS is a valid and reliable inventory for evaluating learning style preferences in nursing students in various multicultural environments.

Learning styles of physiology students interested in the health professions

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Breckler ◽  
David Joun ◽  
Huy Ngo
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Learning Preferences ◽  
Multimodal Learning ◽  
Student Groups

Student learning may be classified according to the sensory modalities by which one prefers to take in information. One such classification scheme uses the VARK instrument, which categorizes learning preferences as visual (V), auditory (A), reading-writing (R), or kinesthetic (K). Many students have a single, strong preferences (“unimodal”), whereas others have multiple (“multimodal”) learning preferences. Although limited in scope and reliability, knowledge of student learning preferences is important for reasons of pedagogy. Teaching and student learning styles may also affect student academic success in science coursework and fulfillment of student career goals. In our study, we determined the learning preferences of upper-division students in a human physiology course during a 2-yr period at a public undergraduate institution in California. We also sought to determine the association between individual learning styles and stated career intentions. We found that the majority of students interested in the health professions have multimodal learning preferences. Furthermore, a greater percentage of premedical students had multimodal preferences compared with predental and prescientist students. When data were compared by gender, we found that more female than male students had multimodal learning preferences. We also observed some gender differences when separating student groups by career choice. For example, more premedical men had multimodal preferences compared with nonpremedical men. In contrast to men, women showed little differences in their learning style profiles whether premedical or not and also self-predicted their learning preferences more accurately. Thus, career choice may be an important consideration in determining whether or not there are gender differences among students.

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