Learning styles of medical students and related factors

Abstract

Background The concept of learning style is quite important for teachers to teach, organize students’ learning experiences, and accomplish educational goals. Motivation is one of the most important psychological concepts in education. Motivation is multidimensional and ranges from amotivation to extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. When students are motivated extrinsically, they enjoy striving toward rewards and goals which may differ from individual goals. Intrinsically motivated students enjoy exploring, learning, and curiosity-oriented academic efforts. Understanding learning styles can make it easier to create, modify, and develop more efficient curriculum and educational programs. It can also encourage students’ participation in these programs and motivate them to gain professional knowledge This study aims to determine the learning styles of medical school students and to evaluate whether there is a relationship between their learning styles and academic motivation and the sociodemographic variables. Methods In this study a questionnaire containing socio-demographic factors, Grasha-Reichmann Learning Styles Scale, Academic Motivation Scale was filled out by 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th -year medical students of the 2019–2020 academic year. Frequency, percentage, mean, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and independent group t-test (for analyzing data with normal distribution) were applied. Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used for analyzing data without normal distribution. Results We found that the mean of independent learning was the highest among the learning style dimensions, and the mean of the intrinsic motivation to know (IMKN) was the highest among the academic motivation dimensions. We found that there were significant relationships between independent learning and intrinsic motivation (IM), between avoidant learning and extrinsic motivation (EM) and between collaborative learning and IMKN, IM to accomplish things (IMAT) and IM to experience stimulation (IMES). Conclusion We think that different teaching methods can be applied to strengthen collaborative learning, participant learning, and intrinsic motivation. We hope that this research will contribute to medical education on the subject of establishing appropriate teaching methods. Teachers have to plan and implement activities based on students’ learning styles and academic motivation to encourage students to effectively participate in the classroom.

Improved Understanding of Learning Characteristics among International Students in Post-Baccalaureate Medical Education for Sustainable Development

“…The academic performance of medical students can be influenced by their learning styles, and there is a need for further research in this area. Specifically, future studies should investigate the consistency and evolution of student's attitudes toward learning and thinking over time, as well as the correlation between these attitudes and academic achievement across different educational backgrounds [42][43][44][45]. Moreover, international medical students have the potential to make significant contributions to the fields of medicine and public health in their home countries, in line with the World Health Organization's Sustainable Development Goals [44].…”

“…Specifically, future studies should investigate the consistency and evolution of student's attitudes toward learning and thinking over time, as well as the correlation between these attitudes and academic achievement across different educational backgrounds [42][43][44][45]. Moreover, international medical students have the potential to make significant contributions to the fields of medicine and public health in their home countries, in line with the World Health Organization's Sustainable Development Goals [44]. These goals include eradicating poverty and inequality, preserving the environment, and ensuring that everyone has access to health, justice, and prosperity, ultimately transforming our society.…”

Rolling the DICE (Design, Interpret, Compute, Estimate): Interactive Learning of Biostatistics With Simulations

“…The key learning objectives and outcomes of DICE, as highlighted in Figure 2 , target experiential learning [ 15 ] and active learning styles [ 16 ] according to Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, including applying recently learned concepts and theories, making informed judgements and evaluations, and generating new knowledge [ 17 ]. DICE is a flexible method that accommodates different learning styles that have been shown to play an important role in medical education [ 18 ]. As such, each student can work according to their strengths (eg, taking a leading role in the group to cover a specific aspect of the design of a simulated study, like computer coding or result interpretation).…”

“…As such, each student can work according to their strengths (eg, taking a leading role in the group to cover a specific aspect of the design of a simulated study, like computer coding or result interpretation). Due to the heterogeneity in the working groups, it can be expected that students will use their own learning styles and strengths to learn from other students with different skills [ 18 ].…”

Mapping the learning styles of medical students in Brazil

“…Motivation and the correct use of active methodologies are essential for academic learning [ 8 ] and structuring education according to the student’s learning style is key to developing study skills [ 9 ]. It is therefore necessary to use teaching practices that encourage student engagement; however, first the profile of the students must be mapped since the learning process is complex and is not limited to the acquisition of answers or knowledge but rather involves numerous individual and social variables [ 10 ].…”