Identification of Preferred Learning Style of Medical and Dental Students Using VARK Questionnaire

Abstract

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 considered significant. A total of 1473 students participated in the study. Among the students, 39.37% preferred unimodal learning style whereas 60.62% preferred multimodal style. Kinesthetic (K) and visual (V) were the most preferred unimodal styles. The preferred learning styles of female students are aural (A), visual (V), and kinesthetic (K), whereas male students preferred visual (V) and kinesthetic more (K). Students with lower academic record chose unimodal styles in comparison to high achievers that chose multimodal styles. Students of clinical year preferred multimodal and quadmodal styles in comparison to preclinical year students. An alarming 78% of students were dissatisfied with their teacher’s instructional style. Majority of students prefer multimodal learning styles over unimodal style. Gender, public/private sector, and academic record have influence on the preference of learning styles. Majority of the students are dissatisfied with their teacher’s instructional style and rely on social media platforms for understanding. Academics need to adapt their teaching methods according to student preferences in order to get better graduates.

Undergraduate dental student preferences for learning: a three-year prospective cohort study

“…Females favoured multi-modal learning, including online availability of presentations and written resources, and online lectures, while males preferred the classroom experience. This is in accordance with previous literature, which showed that female students preferred a multi-modal method of learning in contrast to males, who prefer a single modal learning experience [9,20] and that amongst those students with a single learning preference, the aural (discussions and lectures) are the most favoured [20].…”

“…Unlike previous studies [22] but in concordance with another [9], this study identi ed a difference in learning preferences between preclinical and clinical year students. The preclinical students signi cantly preferred face-to-face lecturing while the clinical year students favoured multi-modal online learning that included pre-recorded lectures, availability of various online resources, followed by tutorial sessions.…”

“…The provision of material through a virtual learning environment (VLE) platform using media that includes videos, presentations, or text to be accessed at will, before the class discussion, has been shown to provide all types of learners an equal opportunity to succeed [6] whilst allowing them the autonomy of self-paced learning. Although learning preferences have been shown to be in uenced by gender [7, 8], pre-clinical or clinical level of study [9], and the type of program of study [10,11], further investigation is still required in the area of dentistry as these studies [5-9] [10] do not provide a complete overview due to the inclusion of non-dentistry students, the inclusion of graduated professionals, low response rates and may have not explored the diverse realities of preclinical and clinical students.…”

“…The provision of material through a virtual learning environment (VLE) platform using media that includes videos, presentations, or text to be accessed at will, before the class discussion, has been shown to provide all types of learners an equal opportunity to succeed [6] whilst allowing them the autonomy of self-paced learning. Although learning preferences have been shown to be in uenced by gender [7, 8], pre-clinical or clinical level of study [9], and the type of program of study [10,11], further investigation is still required in the area of dentistry as these studies [5-9] [10] do not provide a complete overview due to the inclusion of non-dentistry students, the inclusion of graduated professionals, low response rates and may have not explored the diverse realities of preclinical and clinical students.Allowing dentistry students to participate in the process of change of faculty teaching modalities was seen as an opportunity to allow for improved motivation and learning and, ultimately, better application of knowledge. Guided by the principles of Adult Learning Theory, the SQUIRE-EDU process of implementing and reporting educational improvement [12], and ongoing student feedback on their educational experiences, preferences and challenges, the faculty embarked on a project to assess, modify and reassess its teaching methods to evaluate the impact of various multimodal teaching methods on student performance in the theoretical domain.…”

From text to e-text: perceptions of medical, dental and allied students about e-learning

“…Purposive, virtual snowball sampling via WhatsApp and Facebook groups was done [ 29 ]. In Pakistan, MBBS is five years whereas BDS and bachelor of Allied health sciences are four-year degree programs.…”