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

Author:

Fahim Ayesha1ORCID,Rehman Saba2ORCID,Fayyaz Fariha2ORCID,Javed Mariyah2ORCID,Alam Muhammad Anwaar2ORCID,Rana Sadia3ORCID,Jafari Fahim Haider4ORCID,Alam Mohammad Khursheed5ORCID

Affiliation:

1. University College of Dentistry, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan

2. Azra Naheed Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

3. Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

4. Sahara Medical College, Narowal, Sahara, Pakistan

5. College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakaka, 72345 Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia

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.

Publisher

Hindawi Limited

Subject

General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine

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