Learning styles of allied health sciences students at Kuwait University

Abstract

Background/aim Little is known about learning style preferences of allied health students in the Middle East as the majority of learning style studies have been conducted in the western world. This study examined the learning styles of undergraduate allied health students at Kuwait University. Methods A stratified sampling method was used to compare the learning styles of 256 students enrolled in five allied health programs at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences Centre at Kuwait University. The students completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI-IIa) questionnaire in the first weeks of their course. Results The response rate was 73.1% (n=256). All of the allied health students from the five educational programs were highest in the areas of abstract conceptualization (AC). All the other allied health students, except physical therapists (PT), also indicated a preference for reflective observation (RO). Conclusion This study's participants' learning style preferences were ‘assimilator’, which is formed by an intersection of the AC and RO learning styles. Healthcare educators working in the Arab cultures are encouraged to modify their teaching styles in order to improve learning among their students.

The Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences of EFL College Students in Kuwait

“…Data gathered from the present study showed that there is a mismatch between the students' learning styles and multiple intelligences and the preferred teaching styles of EFL college teachers in Kuwait. In addition to Manee et al (2013), the present study provided fresh evidence on the majority of EFL college teachers in Kuwait as being teacher-centered. Therefore, college teachers are recommended to accommodate their students' learning styles and multiple intelligences in the classroom.…”

“…The literature concerning learning styles and multiple intelligences especially among EFL college students presented two distinct bodies of evidence. While some EFL colleges have accommodated their students' learning styles and multiple intelligences, other EFL colleges were dominated by teachers who preferred the traditional teacher-centered method of teaching that promoted a classroom environment that did not accommodate students' learning styles and multiple intelligences (e.g., Abbasian & Shirazifard, 2016;Almigbal, 2015;Manee et al, 2013;Samarakoon et al, 2013;Winit-Watjana, et al, 2015). Data gathered from the present study showed that there is a mismatch between the students' learning styles and multiple intelligences and the preferred teaching styles of EFL college teachers in Kuwait.…”

“…The interaction between students' learning styles and multiple intelligences, on the one hand, and their specialty areas on the other, was investigated by a number of researchers. For example, Manee et al (2013) investigated the learning style preferences of Allied Health Sciences students at Kuwait University. These researchers noted that "students' learning styles may evolve during their academic and practical training, and as they become socialized into the qualified health professional role" (p. 255).…”

“…The results of a number of studies that were conducted in EFL settings indicated that students' achievements were also enhanced when their learning styles and multiple intelligences were accommodated by college teachers. However, several other studies indicated that students' achievement levels suffered when their learning styles and multiple intelligences were not adequately accommodated by college teachers (e.g., Abbasian & Shirazifard, 2016;Almigbal, 2015;Manee, Nadar, & Jahrami, 2013;Samarakoon, Fernando, Rodrigo, & Rajapakse, 2013;Winit-Watjana, Baraka, Mostafa, & Aljaizani, 2015). The totality of studies conducted in EFL settings thus provided two distinct bodies of evidence.…”

Exploratory Examination of Relationships between Learning Styles and Learner Satisfaction in Different Course Delivery Types

“…A number of studies have been investigated student learning styles in different contexts, including mathematics (Akib, 2013), pharmacy (Crawford, Alhreish, & Popovich, 2012), EFL (English as a foreign language, Weng, 2012), health science (Manee, Nadar, & Jahrami, 2013), secondary schoolchildren (Ogundokun, 2011), medical students (Nuzhat, Salem, International Journal of Social Science Research ISSN 2327-5510 2013 Hamdan, & Ashour, 2013), business students (Ramayah, Sivanandan, Nasrijal, Letchumanan, & Lim Chee, 2009), and online-learning (Shaw, 2012). This survey of literature clear implies that the importance of learning styles of students for educators and practitioners to evaluate the appropriateness of pedagogies and curricula.…”