scholarly journals Exploring the Preferred Learning Styles among Undergraduate Medical Students and Postgraduate Residents by Using VARK Inventory

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-30
Author(s):  
Amna Ahsan ◽  
Nabila Talat ◽  
Saira Fayyaz

Background: Factors which influence learning are educators, students, curriculum, and educational environment. To support the learning environment, educators should be aware of the different learning styles of students, so as to efficiently design the teaching strategies and methodologies to cater to the learning needs of students. Objectives: To determine various learning styles of undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents by using the VARK questionnaire. To determine the comparison between learning styles of undergraduates and postgraduates.                  Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted about the learning style preferences of undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents of Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. The VARK questionnaire was used to categorize the learning styles as Visual (V), Auditory (A), Read and Write (R) and Kinesthetic (K). This study was conducted from 15 July to 15 August 2019. A total of 208 students were selected randomly from final year MBBS and postgraduate residents of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. Results: Among 208 students, 102 were undergraduate students and 106 were postgraduate residents. The most common learning style was Kinesthetic (34%) followed by Auditory (29%), Visual (20%), and Read/Write (17%). The unimodal and multimodal percentage of students was 62% and 38% respectively. Conclusion: The majority of undergraduate students and postgraduate residents in this study had unimodal learning styles. The most common learning style of all students was Kinesthetic (K) which was followed by Auditory (A), Visual (V), and Read/Write (R). Keywords: Learning styles, VARK, Postgraduate residents

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Olsson ◽  
Hanna Lachmann ◽  
Susanne Kalén ◽  
Sari Ponzer ◽  
Cecilia Mellstrand Navarro

Abstract Background Interprofessional Education (IPE) is now included in curricula in universities worldwide. It is known that there are differences in attitudes towards IPE among students, but less is known regarding how students’ personalities and learnings styles correspond with those attitudes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether personality traits and learning styles have any impact on medical students’ attitudes towards IPE. Methods Seventy nine medical students in their 9th term (63% females, mean age 29 years) were questioned regarding their attitudes towards IPE according to the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale questionnaire, the Kolb’s learning style and Big Five Inventory questionnaires. For all three instruments we used the Swedish translated versions. Results When investigated with a logistic regression, adjusting for age and gender, there were no significant associations between Big Five inventory, Kolb’s learning style and IEPS, except for the Reflective-Pragmatic learning style that was moderately associated with a higher IEPS score. Conclusion There was no clear correlation between personality, learning style and attitude towards IPE as measured by the IEPS among medical students in our study population. Further investigations would benefit from a combination of qualitative and quantitative design.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Md Rezaul Karim ◽  
AKM Asaduzzaman ◽  
Md Humayun Kabir Talukder ◽  
Kazi Khairul Alam ◽  
Farhana Haque ◽  
...  

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


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Alfawzan ◽  
Omar Alfawzan ◽  
Reema Alessa ◽  
Abdulaziz Alturki ◽  
Kholoud Alshiha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Learning style refers to how students prefer to receive, process and recall information. Research in academia suggests that different teaching strategies could have an impact on learning style. The study aims to identify the learning style of medical students in three different universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method: This cross-sectional study examined the learning preferences among medical students in basic science years in three universities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. By using consecutive sampling, we collected 316 responses. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data and Index of Learning Style (ILS) instrument. Descriptive data were analyzed using chi-square by SPSS. Results Of the 316 participants, the male to female ratio was 1:1. Gender was associated with significant difference in the visual/verbal dimension (P = 0.034). Irrespective of college, most of the participants are primarily balanced in active/reflective (mean = 0.7), with slight shift toward sensing (mean =-3.2), visual (mean =-3.2), and sequential (-1.7). Significant differences between colleges were found in sensing/intuitive (P = 0.005) and sequential/global (P = 0.012) dimensions. There was no significant association between academic years with learning style in the three universities. Conclusion The study showed that age and GPA had no association with students’ learning styles, while gender was significantly correlated with the visual/verbal dimension. Most of the participants can learn alone, and/or in groups, and prefer visual illustrations supported by hands-on teaching in a stepwise process. It has also been shown that students in a single university tend to develop the same learning styles as they advance through the years.


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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 397-402
Author(s):  
Madeeha Malik ◽  
Mahjabeen Ahmad ◽  
Azhar Hussain

Introduction: The quality of student learning depends on the approaches that are used for learning. An association exists between different learning methodologies and learning outcomes. Objective: The present study was designed to assess preferences for different learning styles among pharmacy students in Islamabad, Pakistan. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. A self-administered pre-validated questionnaire VARK version 8.0 was distributed to 387 undergraduate students from both public and private pharmacy schools located in Islamabad and 100 graduate students selected from public sector pharmacy schools using the convenience sampling technique. After data collection, it was cleaned, coded, and analysed using SPSS version 21. Results: The results of the present study showed that the most common learning style among graduate students was Aural (Total Score = 492), followed by kinesthetic (Total Score = 467), read/write (Total Score = 351), and visual (Total Score = 290). On the other hand, the most common learning style among undergraduate students was Aural (Total score = 1926), followed by kinesthetic (Total score = 1859), read/write (Total score = 1241), and visual (Total score = 1166). Conclusion: The result of the present study concluded aural as the most preferred learning style followed by kinesthetic among both undergraduate and graduate pharmacy students. Graduate female pharmacy students showed more preference towards kinesthetic learning style as compared to graduate male students who showed more preference towards aural learning modality. However, both undergraduate and graduate male and female students preferred aural learning style. Identifying the learning style at the start of pharmacy degree can help mentors to assess the appropriate field for them after graduation. Moreover, information regarding such styles would be helpful for stakeholders to devise effective strategies for teaching and introduce changes accordingly into the curriculum.


1969 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-177
Author(s):  
Manzoor Ali ◽  
Muhammad Hussain ◽  
Samiullah ◽  
Shahkar Ali Khan

Objective: Most of the experience of students in theatre depends upon the interaction between student andsurgeon, also as a result of the opportunity in taking part in the procedures. Theatre-based learning has littleinherent benefit otherwise. We wished to identify other factors happening in the operation theatre,contributing to this opportunity.Design: This was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was designed, which included forced-choice andopen questions. This was given to the undergraduate students of 4th and 5th year MBBS of Saidu MedicalCollege, Swat, who had just finished their surgical attachment.Analysis: Responses from the closed questions were presented as percentages and those from openquestions were identified as themes and the relationship among these further explored.Results: A total of 96 students returned the completed questionnaire. Overall rating was given by 98%, outof which, 39% very good, 7% excellent, 30% good and 22% poor. Thirty five percent felt welcomed inoperation theatre, and 45% students received instructions beforehand. Only 52% students knew beforehand,what operation they are going to see that day. Operation theatre etiquettes were taught to 38% and 40% ofstudents were unclear about the learning objective of attending operation theatre. Unfriendliness of theatrestaff was reported by 48%. 31% stated that they should improve their communication skills and another 44%said that they should leam, how to explain things to undergraduate medical students. The experience wasstressful for 12% and another 39% experienced poor visibility. Student's expectations of learning weremainly focused on acquiring knowledge. Their learning experience varied widely. Students did not feeladequately prepared for getting the most out of this learning opportunityConclusion: The student experience may be distorted by unrealistic expectations of theatre-based learning.Clear and realistic learning objectives, familiarizing the students with the environment, explaining staffroles, involving students in patient's care pathway, faculty expectations being clearly communicated to theclinical teaching staff and most important, the approachability and welcoming behavior of the operationtheatre staff are likely to improve this learning experience.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Challa Venkata Suresh

The prevalence of psychological disturbances in medical undergraduate students has been reported from various countries. Very few studies regarding student distress reported from India. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the presence of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students in MNR Medical College, Sangareddy, Telengana. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 257 students from MNR Medical College after obtaining written voluntary consent. DASS 42 questionnaire was used to collect information on basic demographic. Scores for each of the respondents were calculated as per the severity- rating index. Data was analysed by SPSS 20.0. DASS scores were slightly higher in males than female, but it was not statistically significant. Depression, anxiety and stress in students has high negative effect in their social and personal lives. So there is a need for urgent attention to the psychological well-being of undergraduate medical students to improve their life style.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rathnakar P. Urval ◽  
Ashwin Kamath ◽  
Sheetal Ullal ◽  
Ashok K. Shenoy ◽  
Nandita Shenoy ◽  
...  

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.


Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Prajapati ◽  

Background: Fast-food is food that is prepared and served quickly at outlets called fast-food outlets. It is high in calories and lacks micronutrients. It has been proved that its intake leads to many diseases and disorders like obesity which is likely to cause cardiovascular diseases later on. Fast-food culture is a vigorously uprising trend among the youngsters and medical students are no exception to it. Objectives: 1). To determine the burden of Fast-food consumption among medical students. 2). To assess the pattern and associated factors for Fast-food consumption among study subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among all the undergraduate medical students studying at UPUMS, Saifai, Etawah. A pre-designed pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding their socio-demographic profile, pattern of fast-food consumption, and various factors which promoted the consumption of Fast-food among students. The data thus collected were analyzed using SPSS software Version 25.0. Results: Out of 800 undergraduate students pursuing MBBS at UPUMS, Saifai, only 620 students could be contacted for data collection. 26 forms were rejected as the data was incompletely filled. Hence, data of 594 students were entered into excel sheet and analyzed. Conclusions: Out of 594 students, 524 (88.2%) students were aware of the fact that consuming fast-food leads to many diseases and disabilities, while 20 (3.3%) students did not know its adverse effect. Study shows that consumption behaviour of Fast-food does not depend on age or gender of the people, rather it highly depends on its taste and pocket money of the consumer.


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