Learning Styles and Instructional Preferences in Continuing Education for Health Professionals: A Validity Study of the LSI

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct validity of the Learning Styles Inventory (LSI). Learning styles of participants in a continuing professional education program were associated with both the evaluative statements learners make about the design of the program and their attitudes toward lecture and small group sections of the program. Fifty-four responses were analyzed using analysis of variance procedures. Learning style as indicated by LSI score was the independent variable. Scores on learning style based evaluative statements index and extent of preference for lecture and small group formats were dependent variables. No significant relationship between learning style of respondent as indicated by the LSI scores and either scores on evaluative statements or preferences for lecture or small group methods was evident. The failure of this study to support the hypotheses was discussed in terms of its implications both for future research using the LSI as well as for basing continuing education design on LSI based learning styles of participants.