Context: Recognizing the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students will equip educators to more effectively improve their teaching methods and optimize student learning.Objective: To determine the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students using Marshall and Merritt's Student Learning Style Questionnaire based on Kolb's theory of experiential learning.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Colleges with Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education accredited professional undergraduate and/or graduate athletic training programs.Patients or Other Participants: Four hundred twenty-nine students (men ¼ 125, women ¼ 303, not available ¼ 1) from 88 professional undergraduate programs and 69 students (men ¼ 27, women ¼ 42) from 21 professional graduate programs. Intervention(s):A 40-item Student Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) was administered. Participants chose between words that were characteristic of how they learn. After scoring the LSQ, the learning style preferences were determined. The styles were Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, or Accommodator.Main Outcome Measure(s): Learning Style Questionnaire survey scores were used to determine the preferred learning style of male and female professional undergraduate athletic training students, male and female professional graduate athletic training students, and any significant differences between learning styles. The v 2 goodness of fit test and v 2 test of independence were used to compare differences between the groups.Results: A significant difference (P .0001) was observed between learning styles. The Diverger style was preferred by both professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students. We found no significant difference in preferred learning style between the undergraduate and graduate student groups or between men and women.Conclusions: Although undergraduate and graduate athletic training students have a variety of learning styles, the Diverger style of learning, which relies on concrete experience and reflective observation, was preferred in our study. Educators should provide learning opportunities in a variety of ways to reach all preferred learning styles.

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The study assessed the preferred learning style (LS) of college students and compared LS preferences among students majoring in Dietetics, Exercise Science, and Athletic Training. LS questionnaires were distributed to students (N=693, mean age 20.5±1.7) enrolled in health science courses at three Midwestern universities. Most students preferred a converger LS followed by assimilator, accommodator, and diverger. Some students preferred a combination of two LS. Chi square results indicated a significant relationship between college major and LS. Students in health majors were all observed to have a significant LS preference, namely the converger LS. However, distributions of preferred LS within each major differed. Understanding preferred LS of college students in different academic programs may increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning.

A 20-year-old female collegiate volleyball athlete (body mass, 74.8 kg; height, 177.8 cm), with no previous history of abdominal injury, dove for a ball during a match and was struck in the anterolateral abdominal region by a teammate’s knee. She experienced a solar plexus spasm, shortness of breath, and nausea. On-site evaluation revealed sharp pain in the right upper quadrant and epigastric area, pallor, continued nausea, and excessive sweating. Upon arrival to the emergency department, an abdominal/pelvic computed tomography (CT) scan with intravenous contrast showed a small amount of fluid along the posteromedial surface of the liver indicating a subcapsular hematoma. A trace amount of free fluid in the right paracolic gutter and pelvis was also noted, suggesting a hemoperitoneum. The athlete was diagnosed with a grade III laceration (> 3 cm parenchymal depth) on the right lobe of the liver. She was hemodynamically stable and vital sign values were normal ~2.5 hours postinjury (blood pressure, 118/76 mm Hg; heart rate, 68 beats per minute; respiratory rate, 16 breaths per minute; tympanic temperature, 36.3°C). The athlete was admitted into the intensive care unit for observation, and the attending physician decided on a conservative, nonoperative approach to treatment. Forty-eight hours postinjury, a second abdominal/pelvic CT scan was ordered and revealed no increased bleeding or extensive damage to the liver. Two days later, after being discharged from the hospital, she was prohibited from practicing until a third abdominal/pelvic CT scan was performed and showed no residual injury to the liver (5 weeks postinjury). The athlete returned to play 6 weeks postinjury without complications; however, she continued performing rehabilitation focusing on cardiorespiratory endurance.

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